Adsorption of toxic organic compounds from water with hydrophobic silica aerogels

Silica monolith aerogels with different degrees of hydrophobicity were prepared by incorporating methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) or trimethylethoxysilane (TMES) in standard sol–gel synthesis followed by supercritical drying of gels with carbon dioxide (CO2) at 40 °C and 100 bar. The hydrophobicity of the aerogels was tested by measuring the contact angle (θ). The aerogels were also characterised by FTIR, DSC, and porosity measurements. Adsorption capacity measurements show that such modified hydrophobic silica aerogels are excellent adsorbents for different toxic organic compounds from water. In comparison to granulated active carbon (GAC) they exhibit capacities which are from 15 to 400 times higher for all tested compounds. Adsorption properties of hydrophobic silica aerogel remain stable even after 20 adsorption/desorption cycles.

Graphical abstractThe improved performance in adsorptivity of hydrophobic silica aerogel adsorbents over GAC, successful regeneration and repeated use make aerogels competitive to GAC for large-scale VOCs trapping and solvent clean-up applications.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide