Synthesis and characterization of nanosilica and adsorption of metal ion

In present work, the nanosized silica particles were synthesized using acidic hydrolysis of sodium silicate by precipitation under controlled pH conditions. The synthesized nanosized silica particles were characterized by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The nanosized silica particles have been demonstrated the various properties according to its purity, shape, size and distribution. One of the applications of synthesized nanosized silica particles is the adsorption of heavy-metal ions, which is investigated using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The adsorption energies of heavy metal ions on nanosized silica particles were calculated using ab-initio method and compared the binding energies of metal ions onto silica.