Fe 3 O 4 -PEDOT core-shell nanoparticles were fabricated by acid treatment mediated seeded polymerization and applied for highly efficient separation of heavy metal ions from contaminated waste water with an external magnetic field.Heavy metal ion removal has attracted considerable attention for beneficial water usage due to their long-term environmental toxicity as well as short-term public health damage. 1 To date, there have been various techniques to remove heavy metal ions such as chemical precipitation, oxidation/reduction sedimentation, ion exchange, membrane filtration and carbon adsorption. 2 However, most of these processes require high capital investment and operation costs in order to maintain the separation and purification procedures for wastewater treatment. Recently, magnetic nanoparticle-polymer core-shell nanostructures have received attention in practical application fields including heavy metal ion removal from contaminated waste water. Polymer encapsulation provides the surface functionalization and protection of the magnetic core from environmental perturbation. 3 Furthermore, the polymer shell also prevents the core part from particle-particle aggregation as well as improving the dispersion stability of the core-shell nanostructures in suspension medium.Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is one of the most promising conducting polymers because of its high conductivity, excellent environmental stability, and simple acid/base doping/ dedoping chemistry. 4 In addition, PEDOT contains sulfur which can endow two unpaired electrons. This thiol-functionalized polymer is readily conjugated with positively-charged heavy metal ions according to the coordination formation. Therefore, PEDOTfunctionalized magnetic nanoparticles can be regarded as an excellent candidate for efficiently separable and reusable absorbance of heavy metal ions using an external magnetic field. 5 However, there is limited information concerning a facile synthetic route to magnetic nanoparticle-PEDOT core-shell nanostructures. Thus, it is highly desirable to develop a simple and reliable method to fabricate magnetic-PEDOT core-shell nanoparticles with welldefined and uniform structure for heavy metal ion removal.Herein we report the facile fabrication of thiol containing polymer encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles by seeded polymerization mediated with acidic etching. Fe 3 O 4 -PEDOT core-shell nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 -PEDOT NPs) were prepared by inducing ferric cations onto the magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with a partial etching process followed by seeded polymerization. The Newly generated ferric cations were used as oxidizing agent for polymerization of EDOT monomers. 7 Consequently, Fe 3 O 4 NPs were coated and functionalized with PEDOT. The uniform and thin PEDOT shell was produced by seeded polymerization mediated with acid treatment. The Fe 3 O 4 -PEDOT NPs were applied as highly efficient separable and reusable materials for heavy metal ion removal.
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