Synthesis and Characterization of Flower-like Carbon-encapsulated Fe-C Nanoparticles for Application as Adsorbing Material

Abstract

Carbon-encapsulated Fe-C (Fe-C@C) nanoparticles with a divergently flower-like morphology were successfully synthesized for application as an adsorbing material by using freeze-drying and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods. The Fe metallic source was first loaded onto a sodium chloride (NaCl) supporter via freeze-drying to obtain the Fe/NaCl composite powder. Then, Fe-C@C nanoparticles were synthesized in the temperature range of 300–450 °C via CVD of acetylene in the Fe/NaCl composite powder using Fe nanoparticles as catalysts and NaCl as supporters. Because the NaCl supporter is water-soluble, the synthesized Fe-C@C nanoparticles were easy to purify, and a high purity was obtained by simple washing and centrifugation. The optimal Fe-C@C nanoparticles, synthesized at 400 °C, possessed a unique divergently flower-like structure and a high specific surface area of 169.4 m2/g that can provide more adsorption sites for contaminants. Adsorption experiments showed that the flower-like Fe-C@C adsorbent exhibited high adsorption capacity (90.14 mg/g) and fast removal of methylene blue (MB). Moreover, the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles, with saturation magnetization of 36.544 emu/g, facilitated their magnetic separation from wastewater. Therefore, the novel flower-like Fe-C@C nanoparticles with integrated adsorptive and magnetic properties have the potential to be an effective adsorbent in dye wastewater treatment.

Synthesis and adsorption characteristics of pudding-like Fe/C magnetic composites for methylene blue removal

“…18,24,25 In recent years, magnetic materials X/C (X = Co, Ni, and Fe) have been applied in wastewater treatment and exhibited application value because of their magnetic detachability conferred by X (X = CO, Ni, and Fe) and excellent adsorption capacity imparted by C. For instance, Li et al 2 synthesized Fe/C nanocapsules through an electric arc discharge method. And Zhao et al 26 synthesized Fe-C/C nanoparticles by the freeze-drying and chemical vapor deposition methods. Although purity and industrial scale production are guaranteed in the former synthetic method, which involves high-voltage discharge, the power consumption is high and the system is prone to explosion.…”

“…And Zhao et al . 26 synthesized Fe–C/C nanoparticles by the freeze-drying and chemical vapor deposition methods. Although purity and industrial scale production are guaranteed in the former synthetic method, which involves high-voltage discharge, the power consumption is high and the system is prone to explosion.…”