Effects of nano-confinement on Zn(II) adsorption to nanoporous silica

This study shows that adsorption of Zn(II) in variably porous SiO2(am) results in differences in surface complex geometry as pore size decreases and as surface coverage of Zn(II) increases. Although surface complexation modeling of Zn(II) adsorption edges on macroporous and nanoporous SiO2(am) does not independently identify these molecular-level differences, combination of SCM and molecular-level observations reveals unique insight into the overall adsorption reaction and neighboring surface site reactivity.