Colorimetric detection of copper and efficient removal of heavy metal ions from water by diamine-functionalized SBA-15

SBA-15 functionalized with N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylene-diamine (TPED) was synthesized and used for the colorimetric detection of Cu(2+) and removal of heavy metal ions in aqueous solutions. Compared to free SBA-15, the adsorption ability of diamine-functionalized SBA-15 (depicted as SBA-TPED) increased remarkably, the maximum adsorption capacity of SBA-TPED for Cu(2+), Pb(2+) and Zn(2+) was 27.22, 96.43 and 12.16 mg g(-1), respectively. Furthermore, SBA-TPED exhibits high selectivity for Cu(2+) with the relative selectivity coefficient of SBA-TPED for Cu(2+)/Pb(2+) being over 10 and for Cu(2+)/Zn(2+) being over 60. The naked-eye detection limit of SBA-TPED for Cu(2+) is 0.95 ppm, and the determination of Cu(2+) in real water samples also displays satisfactory results. Moreover, SBA-TPED possesses fast kinetics for removing Cu(2+) with a saturation time of less than 30 min, and can be regenerated by simple acid treatment.