Considering the properties of both SBA-15 mesoporous material
and amino groups, the aim of the study was to investigate the feasibility
of using amino-functionalized SBA-15 as adsorbents for the
removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solution. To achieve this aim, the
conditions for adsorption, including amine group concentration,
contact time, pH and initial Pb(II) concentration were required to
be optimized with respect to the efficiency of the removed Pb(II).
In addition, to understand the adsorption of Pb(II) in conjunction
with amino-functionalized SBA-15, the evidences for physicochemical characteristics of amino-functionalized SBA-15 obtained
from FTIR spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption–desorption
isotherms, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA–DTG) and X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are presented. The objective of
this work was the investigation of the nature of sorbent sites involved
in lead adsorption. In this sense, XPS results will provide
the basis for evaluating the nature and location of adsorption sites
on SBA15–0.3NH2 substrate for Pb(II) ions.