Fe(III) doped ZnO nano-assembly as a potential heterogeneous nano-catalyst for the production of biodiesel

• Published in: Materials letters 2019-02, Vol.237, p.232-235
• Main Authors: Saxena, Varun, Sharma, Swati, Pandey, Lalit Mohan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bimetals; Biodiesel; Biodiesel fuels; Catalysis; Catalysts; Chemical synthesis; Coercivity; Esters; Ferromagnetism; Heterogeneous catalyst; Iron; Magnetic nano-catalyst; Materials science; Nanoparticles; Reusability; Soybean oil; Soybeans; Transesterification; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0167-577X; 1873-4979
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2018.11.101

[Display omitted] •Fe3+ ion doped ZnO nano-catalyst was synthesized via simple co-precipitation method.•The synthesized heterogeneous catalyst possessed excellent ferromagnetic properties.•Successful transesterification reaction produced biodiesel rich in C18 methyl esters.•The synthesized nano-catalyst was magnetically recovered 90% and effectively reused. Bimetallic Fe(III) doped ZnO (FZO) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized to be utilized as heterogeneous nano-catalysts. The synthesized NPs were characterized using various physical techniques. Average particle size and surface area of NPs were found to be 76.24 ± 17 nm, and 12.39 m2 g−1, respectively. Designed nano-catalyst was found to be soft ferromagnetic in nature, with 1.32 ± 0.2 emu g−1 magnetization and 75.52 ± 2 Oe coercivity. FZO NPs indicated efficient transesterification reaction using soybean oil and methanol. The biodiesel was produced within 3 h, and was found to be remarkably rich in C18 methyl esters. The heterogeneous catalyst was recovered around 90 ± 2% and exhibited excellent transesterification ability upon its reuse. Therefore, the present study postulates the designed bimetallic FZO NPs as a potential heterogonous nano-catalyst for the efficient production of biodiesel.