Synthesis and characterization of magnetic nanoparticles

Abstract

The high toxicity of heavy metals can cause serious health problems and the environment. Cupric ions (Cu2+) from industrial effluents can be accumulated in the environment for many years. For a correct discard it is necessary to remove these ions from wastewater. In the past years many methods has been studied for copper removal by chemical adsorption. However, majority of the materials used for this application has low performance due to few actives sites on the surface as well as the difficulty of adsorbents separation in the effluents. In this context, iron oxide nanoparticles, magnetite, presents magnetic properties and can be applied to remove heavy metals and separated by external magnetic field interaction. However, the particles needs the surface functionalization by ligand that interact with the target metal. This project objective is the synthesis and characterization of the iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles. The techniques such as DLS, Zeta Potential, MEV, VSM and FTIR Spectroscopy will be applied in the characterization process. The functionalization of these nanoparticles is under study for Cu2+ ions removal application using wastewater simulated at the laboratory. (AU)