The
wide industrial use of cadmium, one of the most hazardous toxic
metals, leads inevitably to an increased contamination of effluents.
In this study, Cd(II) removal by bioinspired thiol-functionalized
mesoporous silica has been carried out. SBA-15 mesoporous silica with
a high specific surface area (>900 m2 g–1) has been synthesized, and furthermore, 0.3 mmol g–1 glutathione has been successfully grafted (SBA-GSH). The obtained
material was able to capture Cd(II). Optimum Cd(II) adsorption parameters
as a function of the pH, contact time, and initial Cd(II) concentration
have been studied. An S-shaped isotherm and further Fourier-transform
infrared characterization suggest a multi-site adsorption involving
thiol and carboxylic groups, with an adsorption capacity of 1.04 mmol
g–1 that makes the SBA-GSH material a promising
candidate for cadmium removal. Reusability studies have been performed
in three cycles, and 90% of the adsorbed Cd(II) has been recovered
using 0.01 M HNO3.