Transforming Industrial Waste into Amine-Functionalized Mesoporous Materials Using Alkali Fusion-Hydrothermal Method for Environmental Humidity Control Applications

This research utilizes the rich SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ sources in light-emitting diode waste quartz sand (LEDWQS) and granite sludge (GS) through alkali fusion and hydrothermal method as the precursor of synthetic mesoporous humidity control material (MHCM). The effect of adding amine functional groups on the amine functionalized mesoporous humidity control material (AF/MHCM) was also discussed. The results show that the crystalline phase and surface composition of MHCM are consistent with typical MCM-41 characteristics. The specific surface area of AF/MHCM was 29.91m²/g. The results confirm that the amine functional groups have been effectively modified on the pore surface, and the nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm of AF/MHCM has changed from type IV to type II. In addition, this study also proves that AF/MHCM has excellent humidity control performance, with a moisture adsorption–desorption performance of up to 63.36 g/m², which is in line with the Japanese Industrial Standards for humidity control building materials (moisture adsorption–desorption performance > 29 g/m²). AF/MHCM synthesized by reused waste derived from the manufacturing process of electronic and electrical equipment as raw materials has excellent humidity control performance, and the result can be used as a smart indoor humidity control material in various construction applications.