Facile microwave-assisted fabrication of nano-zirconium silicate-functionalized-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane as a novel adsorbent for superior removal of divalent ions

•Solvent-free and fast microwave-assisted fabrication approach was used to fabricate a novel Nano-ZrSiO4–NH2 adsorbent.•Characterization was confirmed using the FT-IR, SEM, TGA and surface area.•Nano-ZrSiO4–NH2 was found highly selective for Cu(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II).•Optimization of all experimental controlling factors.•The reaction of Nano-ZrSiO4–NH2 with Cu(II) was confirmed.

A method is described for functionalization of nano-zirconium silicate with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane by a fast solvent-free reaction using microwave-assisted fabrication approach to produce a novel Nano-ZrSiO4–NH2 adsorbent. The structure was confirmed from the FT-IR, SEM, TGA and surface area analysis. The metal adsorption and selectivity properties were examined and evaluated from the distribution coefficients (Kd) of a series of metal ions. Nano-ZrSiO4–NH2 was identified to exhibit 6.300, 4.000 and 2.100 mmol g−1 as the highest capacity values for Cu(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively using 0.005 g of the adsorbent per 10.0 mL solution. Other important controlling factors were also explored.

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