Aminopropyl-grafted various silica mesostructures for adsorption of molybdenum ions from Re-containing effluent

Four different silica mesostructures, SBA-15 with mesopore size (8.5 nm), SBA-15 with mesopore size (10.3 nm), mesocellular foam (MCF) with uniform cell size (33.2 nm), and MCF with bimodal mesoporosity, were grafted with aminopropyl groups and used for selective recovery of Mo(VI) from Re(VII)-containing effluent. Adsorption isotherms and mechanism of Mo(VI) adsorption on these materials were studied. The adsorbed complexes of Mo(VI) could be formed by ion exchange process or/and by chelation reaction. This study shows a new approach for fractional recovery and separation of Mo(VI) from Re(VII) by using amino-modified SBA-15-type mesoporous silica.