Modifying MCM-41 as an efficient nitrosamine trap in aqueous solution

The attempt of preparing efficient adsorbent to capture nitrosamines in aqueous solution is reported in this paper, in order to develop new mesoporous functional materials for environment protection. Adsorption of nitrosamines in an aqueous solution containing the tobacco-extract, by zeolite and mesoporous silica was investigated in detail. The influence of structural parameters such as pore size, Si/Al ratio and cation on the adsorption of zeolite was examined. Emphatically, two modification methods, one-pot synthesis and solid state grinding were employed to incorporate aluminum in mesoporous silica MCM-41 since MCM-41 possesses the suitable pore size for the trap of tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) in solution. The resulting composites were characterized by XRD, N₂ adsorption at 77 K, FTIR and NH₃-TPD to inspect their property and function. The impact of modifier amount and preparative method on the actual adsorption of the Al-containing composite was investigated.