Somit Kumar Singh

Synthesis and characterization of guar gum templated hybrid nano silica

The objective of the present study was the fabrication of green adsorbent hybrids for which native guar gum was used as template to polymerize tetraethoxysilane. The properties and performances of the hybrids could be tailored by using varying molecular sizes of the partially depolymerized guar gum templates of various molecular sizes as control. Zn(II) uptake from aqueous solution was used as a criterion for evaluating the adsorbent efficiency. The optimum material (H4) in terms of maximum Zn(II) uptake, was obtained when the template size used was 375 kDa at a calcination temperature of 700°C. H4 was also evaluated for Ca(II), Mg(II), Cd(II) and Hg(II) adsorption. To explore the other applicability areas, the hybrids have been extensively characterized using FTIR, XRD, TGA-DTA, PL, SEM, TEM and BET analyses. H4 was found to be as efficient as previously reported vinyl modified-silica nanohybrids. It had a high surface area (264 m(2)/g) with silica nanoparticles in the size range of 90-140 nm. Being thermally very stable and photoluminescent, the material can be potentially used for many biological, medical and environmental applications.

Synthesis and characterization of gum acacia inspired silica hybrid xerogels for mercury(II) adsorption

In a sol-gel process, gum acacia inspired silica xerogels have been synthesized from tetraethylorthosilicate. Besides showing photoluminescence under ultraviolet excitation, the hybrid xerogels were very efficient in capturing mercury(II) from synthetic solution. To synthesize the optimum sample (in terms of Hg(II) uptake), different ratios of H(2)O:TEOS:EtOH were taken at fixed GA and catalyst concentrations where 4:1:1 ratio was found to be most favorable. Calcination in air further enhanced the mercury binding capacity of this sample. Optimum sample (H4) was obtained on calcination of the gel at 600°C. The hybrids have been structurally characterized using Infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermo gravimetric analysis, photoluminescence spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. In a preliminary batch adsorption experiment, H4 was evaluated to be highly efficient in the removal Hg(II) from synthetic aqueous solution.