Agnes Pholosi1,Olayinka Emmanuel1,Saheed Sanni1,Samson Akpotu1
Vaal University of Technology1
Agnes Pholosi1,Olayinka Emmanuel1,Saheed Sanni1,Samson Akpotu1
Vaal University of Technology1
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are promising materials in emerging pollutants remediation due to their biocompatibility and easy surface modification. However, challenges of oxidation, agglomeration and surface defects still impair their commercial application. As such, a benign and green approach is a proposed strategy to overcome the limitations. In this study, magnetic nanocomposite was synthesized by coating magnetite with silica (SiO<sub>2</sub>) using the modified stober route. The synthesized Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>-SiO<sub>2 </sub>was polymerized with dopamine in a basic solution to obtain Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>-SiO<sub>2</sub>-PDA followed by functionalization with β-cyclodextrin. The successful synthesis of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>-SiO<sub>2</sub>-PDA-CD nanocomposite was confirmed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). Batch adsorption studies were conducted to investigate if the synthesized nanocomposite could adsorb ciprofloxacin from an aqueous solution. Functionalization of magnetite with polydopamine and cyclodextrin led to improvement in surface characteristics and incorporation of relevant functional groups. VSM results showed that magnetite retained its magnetic properties after incorporation of PDA and CD. Morphological and structural analysis showed the presence of iron, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen with spherically shaped nanoparticles with average particle size of 12.02 nm. Maximum adsorption was achieved at pH 7 and equilibrium time was reached before 30 min. The adsorption kinetics suited pseudo second order model equilibrium data fitted Langmuir isotherm. The results indicate that the Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>-SiO<sub>2</sub>-PDA-CD is most efficient and could be applied over wide concentration ranges and temperature, and therefore, would be potentially feasible for the removal of ciprofloxacin and other emerging pollutants from wastewater.