Publication
Title
Effect of pretreatment and temperature on the properties of **Pinnularia** biosilica frustules
Author
Abstract
Diatoms are unicellular microalgae that self-assemble an intricate porous silica cell wall, called frustule. Diatom frustules possess a unique combination of physical and chemical properties (chemical inertness, high mechanical strength, large surface area, low density, good porosity and highly ordered features on the nano-to-micro scale) making diatom frustules suited for many nanotechnological applications. For most proposed applications the organic material covering the frustules needs to be removed. In this paper we investigate the effect of different frustule cleaning methods (drying, autoclavation, SDS/EDTA treatment, H2O2 treatment and HNO3 treatment) and subsequent heat treatment at different temperatures (105 °C, 350 °C, 550 °C and 750 °C) on the material characteristics of the diatom Pinnularia sp. Material characteristics under study are morphology, surface area, pore size, elemental composition and organic content. The cleaned Pinnularia frustules are subsequently investigated as adsorbents to remove methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution.
Language
English
Source (journal)
RSC advances
Publication
2014
ISSN
2046-2069
DOI
10.1039/C4RA09305D
Volume/pages
4 (2014) , p. 56200-56206
ISI
000344997800060
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Bio-template silica titania diatoms for gas phase photocatalysis.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 19.12.2014
Last edited 09.10.2023
To cite this reference