Novel engineered nanomaterials for water remediation and gas adsorption: Graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes decorated with metal-organic frameworks and magnetic nanoparticles
Abstract
In the current study, a series of novel magnetic and non-magnetic hybrid nanocomposites based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) of M3(BTC)2 (M: Ni, Cu, Zn, and Cd), graphene oxide (GrO), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were developed via a green, simple and versatile solvothermal method at which GrO and CNT were used as platform to grow the MOFs and Fe3O4 MNPs over them. The as-synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, IR, Raman, TGA, and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms. Morphological analysis confirmed successful growth of nano-size Fe3O4 MNPs and M3(BTC)2 MOFs over GrO and CNT platforms. XRD results exhibit highly crystalline structure for the prepared hybrid nanocomposite. Chemical and elemental analysis verified chemical structure and successful compositing of the parent materials. TGA experiments further confirm successful loading of Fe3O4 MNPs and M3(BTC)2 MOFs over GrO and CNT substrates. It was also found that presence of GrO and CNT platforms during synthesis of the MOFs have several benefits for the MOFs: different physicochemical properties, increasing dispersive forces during MOFs formation, suppression of MOFs aggregation, different morphology and smaller size, and formation of small pores between MOF and the platforms. Furthermore, adsorption capacity of the prepared magnetic and non-magnetic hybrid nanocomposites was examined over methylene blue (MB) as model organic pollutant and a large improvement in adsorption capacity of the hybrid composites compared to that of parent materials was recorded. The improved adsorption capacity is attributed to synergetic effect of parent materials. Overall, it is proposed that due to promising features of the synthesized nanocomposites, they can be excellent candidates for environmental applications such as water remediation and pollutant adsorption.
Subject Area
Nanotechnology|Environmental engineering|Materials science
Recommended Citation
Jabbari, Vahid, "Novel engineered nanomaterials for water remediation and gas adsorption: Graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes decorated with metal-organic frameworks and magnetic nanoparticles" (2015). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI10000807.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI10000807