Removal of Water Contaminants by Iron Oxide Nanomaterials

Abstract

In recent years, there has been increasing concern about the usage of a broad range of organic substances, heavy metals and aromatic compounds in the aquatic environment due to their wide distribution and potential adverse health effects. The presence of toxic contaminants in water effluent, even at very low concentrations, is extremely harmful and undesirable. Various treatment processes have been investigated to reduce these toxic pollutants from wastewater. Because of the chemical stability of the contaminants, these technologies have proved to be ineffective for handling waste effluents. Nanotechnology offers the possibility of efficient removal of pollutants as nanoparticles have a smaller size and higher adsorptive surface area. From the past few years, nanoscale iron oxides such as magnetite, maghemite, and hematite have been used for the separation and removal of organic and inorganic contaminants. In this review we summarize the use of iron oxide nanomaterials performed over the last few years for the removal of dyes, heavy metals and aromatic compounds.

On the ‘centre of gravity’ method for measuring the composition of magnetite/maghemite mixtures, or the stoichiometry of magnetite-maghemite solid solutions, via57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy

“…Both phases have found important technical applications in everyday life, from ferrofluids and magnetic oils [14,15] and battery components [16], through to their large-scale use in water treatment plants [17,18]. In their fine particle form they have also attracted a great deal of recent interest in biomedical applications ranging from magnetic actuation for drug delivery, magnetic hyperthermia treatments for brain and prostate cancers, and novel medical imaging agents [19,20].…”

The use of starch‐modified magnetic Fe0 nanoparticles for naphthalene adsorption from water samples: Adsorption isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic studies

“…used nanoscale zero‐valent iron to remove tetracyclone from aqueous solution . In recent years, other studies have reported that iron oxide nanoparticles are very effective for removal of colour, heavy metals and aromatic compounds …”

“…[17] In recent years, other studies have reported that iron oxide nanoparticles are very effective for removal of colour, heavy metals and aromatic compounds. [18] In the study reported here, starch was used to modify and stabilize Fe 0 nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).…”

Fluorescence quenching of APTES by Fe2O3 nanoparticles – Sensor and antibacterial applications

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Recently, the Fe 2 O 3 , one of the important metal oxide materials has received a considerable attention due to its narrow band gap, bio-compatibility, thermodynamically stable nature and environmental friendly, low-synthesis cost and so on [20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”