Non-Hydrolytic and Solvent-Assisted Mechanochemical Synthesis of Surface Modified Spinel Ferrite Nanoparticles: Comparative Investigation of Arsenic Extraction From Water

Magnetic nanoparticles are a class of nanomaterials commonly containing a magnetic aspect (a magnetic element or a compound) and a functional aspect. Magnetic nanoparticles can be synthesized by a variety of methods such as co-precipitation, sol-gel method, microemulsion, thermal decomposition, solvothermal, chemical vapor deposition, carbon arc, and laser pyrolysis. In this work, magnetic nanoparticles of cobalt ferrite have been synthesized by novel non-hydrolytic open and closed (pressure-assisted) reaction methods and solvent-assisted mechanochemical synthesis using iron/cobalt precursors. Cholic acid and stearic acid were used as capping agents to modify the surface of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles. The major goal was to prepare carboxylate capped spinel ferrite magnetic nanoparticles using an environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and facile method. In addition, a general comparative study was conducted exploring different chemical and physical properties of the particles as well as their efficiency for the removal of arsenic from aqueous solutions. The extraction efficiency of arsenic (V) was evaluated by using inductively coupled plasma (ICP). The carboxylate-capped nanoparticles were characterized through different characterization methods. The presence of the capping agents was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Particle diameter was characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS). The crystallite size of the particles was studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD).