Síntese, caracterização e aplicação de nanopartículas de óxido de ferro (Fe3O4)

Abstract

The textile industries present a high polluting potential, due to the generation of large volumes of liquid waste, containing high organic load and strong coloration derived from the dyes. These effluents can be treated by physical, chemical and biological processes. Among these processes, the adsorption has been widely studied for the removal of water dyes, due to the lower costs, simplicity of operation and high efficiency. Methylene blue (AM), a dye widely used in the textile industry is responsible for the strong staining in the effluents. Even in small amounts (<5 mg Pt Co / L), just as other textile dyes are very visible and affect the appearance, transparency and solubility of the gases, damaging the environment. A material that has been applied as adsorbent for dye removal in wastewater treatment is the magnetic nanoparticle, because it has high adsorption capacity, low cost and magnetic character. The nanoparticles can be prepared by the electrochemical method, thermal decomposition, hydrothermal synthesis, microemulsion, decomposition-precipitation, coprecipitation, chemical vapor deposition and impregnation. Of the most well-known methods of preparation, the coprecipitation method is the oldest, the simplest, the most efficient, and the one that allows greater production on a large scale. In this work, the coprecipitation method was used to synthesize the iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticle obtained by the stoichiometric mixture of Fe2+ and Fe3+ salts in aqueous medium. This material was characterized and applied in solutions with different concentrations of the methylene blue dye in order to study its adsorption capacity. The same procedure was performed with the nanoparticulate compound (Sigma-Aldrich), in order to compare the adsorption capacity. The nanoparticulate material was characterized by magnetization, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet/ visible (UV/VIS) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy) and optical microscopy (MO). By magnetization it was possible to observe the movement of the dispersed particles in aqueous medium toward the magnetic field of the neodymium magnet, which is a property of the ferromagnetic materials. With the solid samples, the supported weight capacity was tested, whereas for the synthesized compound it was 85, 3 g and for the nanoparticulate compound was 105,3 g, it being possible to explain this difference by packaging the particles. The greater the packing of the particles, the greater the magnetic force exerted. By the study of the effect of the pH and temperature of the medium, it was confirmed that at pH 7 and ambient temperature, the interference of the medium does not occur by the surface charges of the adsorbents and thus favoring the dye adsorption process. By reading the absorbances of the AM solutions, it was possible to calculate the equilibrium concentrations and to determine the amount of dye adsorbed by the nanoparticles. At low concentrations (5,0 x 10-6 mol L-1 to 1,0 x 10-5 mol L-1) a linear behavior is observed due to the presence of monomers already in concentrations higher than 1,0x10-5 mol. L-1 has the alteration of the linear behavior of the adjusted line, characteristic of the formation of aggregate and alteration of the coefficient of molar absorption. Scanning and optical electron microscopy showed that the images presented different forms for the nanoparticulate and nanoparticulate nanoparticles (Sigma-Aldrich), and the nanoparticulate presented reduced size and rounded shape when compared to the synthesized compound. By the diffractograms it was inferred that the synthesized material presented in its composition the magnetite (Fe3O4) and hematite (Fe2O3), the nanoparticulate only the presence of magnetite. Through the FTIR spectra for the nanoparticle samples, the major bands corresponding to the Fe-O and O-H bonds were investigated. By means of the TGA analysis, a loss of 2,31% of mass was observed in the variation of 50 to 150ºC, attributed to the presence of water in the sample. Above 150°C, there was another loss of 1,20% corresponding to the mass of gaseous substances, possibly carbon dioxide (CO2) or oxygen gas (O2).