摘要：Iron loaded spherical mesoporous silica particles were synthesized to prevent agglomeration of iron particles. By carrying out sol-gel process in presence of dissolved ferric salt and subsequent reduction of the obtained particles yielded zero valent iron loaded spherical mesoporous silica particles. The results indicated that mean diameter of the particles reduced from 627 nm to 229 nm on increasing the iron content from 0.00 mmol to 1.25 mmol, depicting an inverse relationship between the particle size and molar ratio of the iron salt. The surface area analysis at lower iron loading revealed surface area of the particles significantly high (417 m2 /g). In batch experiments, the synthesized particles successfully removed 95% of trichloroethylene in short duration (60 min). The results of this study illustrate the potential use of iron loaded spherical mesoporous silica particles for dechlorination of chlorinated organic compounds in underground waters and contaminated soil.
