Nanoscale Adsorbents for the Removal of Heavy Metals and Dyes

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Nanoscience and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 813

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Departamento de Química and CICA—Centro Interdisciplinar de Química e Bioloxía, Universidade da Coruña, As Carballeiras, s/n, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Interests: ionic interactions; acid-base properties; adsorption; green technologies; nanoparticles
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Dear Colleagues,

Various remediation techniques are available to prevent pollution episodes originating from effluents. Among these techniques, adsorption has attracted scientists’ attention, particularly in recent decades, with intense work being conducted in the production of cost-effective adsorbents. Sorption processes consist of the sequestration of one or more species of interest on the surface of a solid, known as a sorbent. Being a surface phenomenon, it is clear that nanosorbents can constitute the next step in the research of sorption. Nanoparticles, for which surface interactions are enhanced, owing to the large surface/volume ratio of these systems, can be considered the definitive evolution in the development of sorbents. However, the practical manipulation of nanosorbents, subsequent separation after sorption, and the possibility of the regeneration of nanosorbents are still limitations that need to be fully explored. In this Special Issue, the state of the art in nanosorbents for metal and/or dye pollution remediation will be analyzed.

Dr. José Luis Barriada
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • nanoscale
  • sorbents
  • pollution
  • surface phenomena
  • heavy metals
  • dye
  • regeneration

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Research

18 pages, 24802 KiB  
Article
One-Step Solvothermal Synthesis of Fe3O4 Acicular Aggregates Induced by Reaction Medium and Urea for Photocatalytic Degradation of Azo Dyes
by Yaohui Xu, Yuting Li, Quanhui Hou, Liangjuan Gao and Zhao Ding
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(5), 341; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15050341 - 22 Feb 2025
Viewed by 559
Abstract
Based on the magnetic sensitivity of Fe3O4 in various fields, we aimed to propose a one-step solvothermal process for the synthesis of single-phase Fe3O4 induced by the reaction medium and urea, avoiding high-temperature reduction in H2 [...] Read more.
Based on the magnetic sensitivity of Fe3O4 in various fields, we aimed to propose a one-step solvothermal process for the synthesis of single-phase Fe3O4 induced by the reaction medium and urea, avoiding high-temperature reduction in H2 or N2 atmospheres. Feasibility was tested with purified water (H2O), methyl alcohol (MA), ethyl alcohol (EA), and ethylene glycol (EG) as reaction media. The findings indicated that the solvothermal reaction system utilizing EA was more effective for the synthesis of cubic magnetic Fe3O4. Optimal conditions for synthesizing pure Fe3O4 were obtained by optimizing the urea amount and solvothermal reaction parameters. The optimal formulation consisted of 10 mmol of FeCl3, 80 mmol of urea, and 60 mL of EA subjected to a solvothermal process at 200 °C for 12 h. The resulting Fe3O4 (magnetite, cubic) exhibited commendable crystallization with a morphology of acicular aggregates and displayed excellent magnetic sensitivity properties with a magnetization of 92.2 emu/g at 15,000 Oe. The photocatalytic degradation behaviors of the resulting Fe3O4 to Methyl Orange, Orange G, and Acid Red 37 azo dyes and the repeated degradation performance of Methyl Orange dye were investigated. Nearly complete degradation of Methyl Orange dye occurred after 2.0 h of photocatalytic reaction, while Orange G and Acid Red 37 dyes achieved similar results after 3.5 and 4.5 h, respectively. The exploration strategy in this work for synthesizing magnetic Fe3O4 can be applied to design and fabricate other metal oxides or composites, potentially resulting in novel discoveries in morphology or performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoscale Adsorbents for the Removal of Heavy Metals and Dyes)
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