Rice husk ash-based silica aerogel/UiO-66-NH₂ hybrid for fast and highly selective Pb(ii) capture: a green route toward advanced water treatment.
4 affiliations
- 1Optical Materials Research Group, Science and Technology Advanced Institute, Van Lang University Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam.
- 2Faculty of Applied Technology, Van Lang School of Technology, Van Lang University Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam.
- 3Center for Environmental Intelligence, VinUniversity Hanoi Vietnam.
- 4School of Chemistry and Life Science, Hanoi University of Science and Technology Hanoi Vietnam [email protected].
Abstract
A sustainable adsorbent design strategy integrating circular economy and green chemistry principles was developed by using silica recovered from rice husk ash as a three-dimensional aerogel scaffold, followed by the incorporation of green-synthesized UiO-66-NH₂ and subsequent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) functionalization. Rather than relying on commercially produced silica or solvent-intensive MOF fabrication, this approach simultaneously valorizes agricultural waste and constructs a hierarchical composite in which the mesoporous silica aerogel (SA), microporous UiO-66-NH₂, and EDTA coordination sites act cooperatively to maximize Pb²⁺ uptake. Structural characterization by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and BET verified the successful integration of all components, revealing homogeneous dispersion of UiO-66-NH₂ throughout the aerogel framework together with an increased density of accessible adsorption sites. Under the optimized synthesis conditions, the composite achieved a Pb²⁺ uptake efficiency of 98.12% and a maximum Langmuir uptake ability of 383.33 mg g⁻¹, and reached uptake equilibrium within 15 min. Adsorption kinetics were well represented by the second-order model (R ² = 0.999), whereas the removal mechanism was dominated by coordination between Pb²⁺ and the -COO⁻, -NH₂, and Zr-O functional sites, assisted by electrostatic attraction. In addition, the adsorbent exhibited excellent selectivity toward Pb²⁺ in multi-ion solutions and maintained 82.27% removal efficiency after five adsorption-desorption cycles. These findings highlight the effectiveness of coupling biomass-derived silica with environmentally benign MOF synthesis to produce high-performance adsorbents, providing a viable platform for sustainable remediation of heavy-metal-contaminated wastewater.
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BibTeX
@article{nguyen2026rice,
title = {{Rice husk ash-based silica aerogel/UiO-66-NH₂ hybrid for fast and highly selective Pb(ii) capture: a green route toward advanced water treatment.}},
author = {Van-Doan Nguyen and Danh Cuong Do and Anh Tuan Vu},
journal = {Nanoscale advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6na00777e},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42936221},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Rice husk ash-based silica aerogel/UiO-66-NH₂ hybrid for fast and highly selective Pb(ii) capture: a green route toward advanced water treatment.
AU - Van-Doan Nguyen
AU - Danh Cuong Do
AU - Anh Tuan Vu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Nanoscale advances
DO - 10.1039/d6na00777e
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42936221
AB - A sustainable adsorbent design strategy integrating circular economy and green chemistry principles was developed by using silica recovered from rice husk ash as a three-dimensional aerogel scaffold, followed by the incorporation of green-synthesized UiO-66-NH₂ and subsequent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) functionalization. Rather than relying on commercially produced silica or solvent-intensive MOF fabrication, this approach simultaneously valorizes agricultural waste and constructs a hierarchical composite in which the mesoporous silica aerogel (SA), microporous UiO-66-NH₂, and EDTA coordination sites act cooperatively to maximize Pb²⁺ uptake. Structural characterization by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and BET verified the successful integration of all components, revealing homogeneous dispersion of UiO-66-NH₂ throughout the aerogel framework together with an increased density of accessible adsorption sites. Under the optimized synthesis conditions, the composite achieved a Pb²⁺ uptake efficiency of 98.12% and a maximum Langmuir uptake ability of 383.33 mg g⁻¹, and reached uptake equilibrium within 15 min. Adsorption kinetics were well represented by the second-order model (R ² = 0.999), whereas the removal mechanism was dominated by coordination between Pb²⁺ and the -COO⁻, -NH₂, and Zr-O functional sites, assisted by electrostatic attraction. In addition, the adsorbent exhibited excellent selectivity toward Pb²⁺ in multi-ion solutions and maintained 82.27% removal efficiency after five adsorption-desorption cycles. These findings highlight the effectiveness of coupling biomass-derived silica with environmentally benign MOF synthesis to produce high-performance adsorbents, providing a viable platform for sustainable remediation of heavy-metal-contaminated wastewater.
SN - 2516-0230
ER -