Efficient oil removal from wastewater based on polymer coated superhydrophobic tetrapodal magnetic nanocomposite adsorbent

• Published in: Applied materials today 2019-12, Vol.17, p.130-141
• Main Authors: Sharma, Mahima, Joshi, Monika, Nigam, Subhasha, Avasthi, Devesh Kumar, Adelung, Rainer, Srivastava, Sanjeev Kumar, Mishra, Yogendra Kumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Iron oxide nanorods; Oil adsorption; Superhydrophobic nanocomposite; Wastewater; Zinc oxide tetrapods
• ISSN: 2352-9407; 2352-9415
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apmt.2019.07.007

[Display omitted] •Magnetic nanosorbent based on PDMS@zinc oxide-tetrapods@iron oxide-nanorods nanohybrid was synthesized.•Magnetic nanosorbent showed superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity.•Developed magnetic nanosorbent exhibited excellent adsorption capacity for oil removal. We report the synthesis of an effective, biocompatible, magnetic nanosorbent polydimethylsiloxane@zinc oxide tetrapod@iron oxide nanorod nanohybrid using a hydrothermal process. The synthesized nanohybrid has been applied as a magnetic nanosorbent for oil removal from wastewater. The structural, chemical and magnetic characterizations of synthesized nanohybrid have been performed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis and magnetization measurements using a superconducting quantum interference device. The prepared nanohybrid consists of ZnO tetrapods that are coated on the surface by Fe2O3 nanorods. The as-synthesized nanohybrid exhibits an exceptional adsorption ability and considerable magnetic separation due to its large surface area and high magnetic saturation value. The mechanism for the oil adsorption has been explicated by exploring different adsorption kinetics and isotherms models. It is inferred that this magnetic nanosorbent can be employed for effective oil removal from oily wastewater.