Mesoporous aluminosilicate macrospheres obtained by spray gelling technique

Porous aluminosilicate macrospheres were prepared by spray gelling technique using chitosan, chitosan and yeast cells and respectively chitosan, yeast cells and gelatin as templating agents. The removal of the template by calcination generated the hierarchical porous structure. The synthesized macrobeads were characterized by the nitrogen sorption technique, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray analyses analyses. The scanning electron microscopy images and Brunauer - Emmett - Teller nitrogen sorption data proved that the porosity of the samples is highly influenced by the nature of the templating agent. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the formation of Si–O–Si and Si–O–Al bonds. The Wide angle X ray scattering patterns indicate that the samples are amorphous-crystalline materials. The ratio between the crystaline and amorphous phases is influenced by the nature of the template used to synthesis. The macrobeads were tested as adsorbents for the removal of Blue Basic 3 dye from aqueous solutions and the separation performance proved to depend strongly on the preparation procedure. The macrospheres templated with chitosan, yeast cells and gelatin were reused ten times without significant loss of adsorptive capacity. Graphical Abstract