Application of magnetic adsorbent with silicate and phenyl polymers to adsorb Rhodamine B

The extensive use of Rhodamine B (RhB) for textile, paper, pigment, food, cosmetic, and drug manufacturing and its indiscriminate disposal leads to serious human, biological, and environmental hazards. A magnetic adsorbent with silicate and phenyl polymers (Ph/SiO2/Fe3O4) has been prepared to absorb RhB. The morphology and structure of the adsorbents have been characterized by TGA, XRD, FTIR, and adsorption-desorption measurement. The results revealed that Ph/SiO2/Fe3O4 exhibited a paramagnetic behavior and could easily and quickly be separated from a suspension. The RhB adsorption behavior was almost pH independent due to the adsorption between the phenyl ring of Ph/SiO2/Fe3O4 and RhB by pi-pi electron-donor-acceptor interactions. The adsorption behavior of RhB adsorption was in good agreement with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 142.186 mg g(-1). Good desorption performance of Ph/SiO2/Fe3O4 showed that this novel magnetic adsorbent cannot only be activated by ethanol extraction process but also reuse by the recovery of magnetic force.