Valorization of Tunisian Silica Sand for the Synthesis of Silica Gel and its Application as a Sustainable Adsorbent for Crystal Violet Dye Removal

Valorization of Tunisian Silica Sand for the Synthesis of Silica Gel and its Application as a Sustainable Adsorbent for Crystal Violet Dye Removal | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Valorization of Tunisian Silica Sand for the Synthesis of Silica Gel and its Application as a Sustainable Adsorbent for Crystal Violet Dye Removal Amal Andolsi, Islem Chaari This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7801990/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Environmental Science and Pollution Research → Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract An eco-friendly mesoporous silica gel (SG) was synthesized from raw Tunisian sand and evaluated for the adsorption of the toxic crystal violet (CV) dye from water. The SG characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, N 2 physisorption, TGA, and ZP. Structural analysis confirmed an amorphous phase and identified surface silanol (Si–OH) groups. The material exhibited a highly porous morphology and a pure SiO 2 composition. N 2 physisorption revealed a high SSA of 103 m²/g and a mesoporous structure with an average pore diameter of 19 nm. ZP measurements confirmed a negative surface charge, thereby promoting the uptake of CV. Optimal adsorption conditions were identified as pH 10, an adsorbent dosage of 0.05 g, and a contact time of 30 min. Equilibrium isotherms were well-described by both Langmuir and Freundlich models, with a maximum uptake of 164 mg/g. were found to be pseudo-second-order. The SG demonstrated remarkable stability, retaining 84% over three consecutive cycles. These findings confirm the use of the derived SG is reliable and stable, highlighting the successful valorization of natural sand for environmental remediation. Silica sand Sodium silicate Silica gel Crystal violet Adsorption Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Environmental Science and Pollution Research → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major Revision 18 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 28 Oct, 2025 Editor invited by journal 27 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 23 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 21 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7801990","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":536428924,"identity":"55c51a85-1fe0-42c6-9605-c62638175f08","order_by":0,"name":"Amal Andolsi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Centre National de Recherches en Sciences des Materiaux","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amal","middleName":"","lastName":"Andolsi","suffix":""},{"id":536428925,"identity":"1c5f3555-53dc-41c0-ba63-2ddc87b2ccff","order_by":1,"name":"Islem 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The SG characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e physisorption, TGA, and ZP. Structural analysis confirmed an amorphous phase and identified surface silanol (Si\u0026ndash;OH) groups. The material exhibited a highly porous morphology and a pure SiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e composition. N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e physisorption revealed a high SSA of 103 m\u0026sup2;/g and a mesoporous structure with an average pore diameter of 19 nm. ZP measurements confirmed a negative surface charge, thereby promoting the uptake of CV. Optimal adsorption conditions were identified as pH 10, an adsorbent dosage of 0.05 g, and a contact time of 30 min. Equilibrium isotherms were well-described by both Langmuir and Freundlich models, with a maximum uptake of 164 mg/g. were found to be pseudo-second-order. The SG demonstrated remarkable stability, retaining 84% over three consecutive cycles. 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