Preparation of Hybrid Material Based of PANI with SiO2 and Its Adsorption of Phenol from Aqueous Solution

Abstract

PANI and PANI-SiO2 were prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization in acidic medium of hydrochloric acid (1 M) using ammonium persulfate as oxidant. The developed adsorbents were characterized using various analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and physical adsorption of gases. To further explore the advantages of these materials for real applications, we investigated the electrochemical properties of these samples electrodes. The efficiency of PANI, SiO2 and PANI-SiO2 for the adsorptive removal of phenol (Ph) from aqueous solutions has been evaluated with respect of several experimental conditions. These latter has to do with the effect of contact time and the effect of pH. The experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The Langmuir isotherm fits the experimental data very well due to the homogeneous distribution of active sites onto adsorbents surface. The kinetics study revealed that adsorption of Ph onto three samples follows the pseudo-second order kinetic model.