Yousaf B, Liu G, Abbas Q, Wang R, Ullah H, Mian MM, Amina A, Rashid A. Enhanced removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous media using a highly stable and magnetically separable rosin-biochar-coated TiO2@C nanocomposite.
RSC Adv 2018;
8:25983-25996. [PMID:
35541944 PMCID:
PMC9082923 DOI:
10.1039/c8ra02860e]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, nanosized metal-oxides have been extensively investigated for their ability to remove metal ions from aqueous media. However, the activity and capacity of these nanosized metal-oxides for removing metal ions decrease owing to their agglomeration in aqueous media. Herein, we synthesized a highly stable and magnetically separable rosin-biochar-coated (RBC) TiO2@C nanocomposite through a facile and environment-friendly wet chemical coating process, followed by a one-step heating route (pyrolysis) for efficient removal of Cr(vi) from aqueous solution. An array of techniques, namely, TEM, HRTEM, TEM-EDS, XRD, FTIR, VSM, BET and TGA, were used to characterize the prepared nanocomposite. The pyrolysis of rosin into biochar and the fabrication of Fe onto the RBC-TiO2@C nanocomposite were confirmed by FTIR and XRD examination, respectively. Moreover, TEM and HRTEM images and elemental mapping using TEM-EDS showed good dispersion of iron and carbon on the surface of the RBC-TiO2@C nanocomposite. Sorption of Cr(vi) ions on the surface of the RBC-TiO2@C nanocomposite was very fast and efficient, having a removal efficiency of ∼95% within the 1st minute of reaction. Furthermore, thermodynamic analysis showed negative values of Gibb's free energy at all five temperatures, indicating that the adsorption of Cr(vi) ions on the RBC-TiO2@C nanocomposite was favorable and spontaneous. Conclusively, our results indicate that the RBC-TiO2@C nanocomposite can be used for efficient removal of Cr(vi) from aqueous media due to its novel synthesis and extraordinary adsorption efficacy during a short time period.
A biochar-coated RBC-TiO2@C nanocomposite was synthesized using a wet chemical coating followed by a one-step heating route (pyrolysis) for the efficient removal of Cr(vi).![]()
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