Synthesis of a unique nanostructured magnesium oxide coated magnetite cluster composite and its application for the removal of selected heavy metals

Ranjini Nagarajah, Kien Tiek Wong, Gooyong Lee, Kyoung Hoon Chu, Yeomin Yoon, Nam Chan Kim, Min Jang

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38 Scopus citations

Abstract

The removal of heavy metal such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and copper (Cu) was assessed using magnesium oxide cores with silica coated nano-magnetite (MTM) prepared by a simple method using chemicals such as iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate (FeSO4·7H2O), magnesium (II) nitrate hexahydrate [Mg(NO3)2·6H2O], tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), and urea. The MTM was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and alternating gradient magnetometer (AGM) analyses. The isotherm, kinetic, and intra-particle diffusion studies indicated that the MTM had excellent removal capacities towards heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu) and the adsorption capacities were as high as 238 mg g−1 (1.15 mmol g−1) for Pb, 85.1 mg g−1 (0.75 mmol g−1) for Cd, and 33.5 mg g−1 (0.5 mmol g−1) for Cu. The intra-particle diffusion, FE-SEM, XPS, and XRD results indicated that the mechanism of heavy metal removal was mainly substitution, followed by precipitation. A leaching test revealed that MTM showed no leaching of Fe ions at pH > 2. This material is cheap, simple, and can be produced in massive amounts. MTM can be used for the large-scale remediation of waste water containing heavy metals via applying a simple and fast magnetic separation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)290-300
Number of pages11
JournalSeparation and Purification Technology
Volume174
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Mar 2017

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The present has been conducted by the Research Grant of Kwangwoon University in 2016 and an Exploratory Research Grant Scheme (ERGS) grant funded by the government of Malaysia (MOHE) , No. ER009-2013A .

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

  • Cluster
  • Composite
  • Heavy metals
  • Magnesium oxide
  • Magnetite

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