Efficient Removal of Hazardous P-Nitroaniline from Wastewater by Using Surface-Activated and Modified Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes with Mesostructure.

P-nitroaniline (PNA) is an aniline compound with high toxicity and can cause serious harm to aquatic animals and plants. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are a multifunctional carbon-based material that can be applied in energy storage and biochemistry applications and semiconductors as well as for various environmental purposes. In the present study, MWCNTs (CO2-MWCNTs and KOH-MWCNTs) were obtained through CO2 and KOH activation. ACID-MWCNTs were obtained through surface treatment with an H2SO4-HNO3 mixture. Herein, we report, for the first time, the various MWCNTs that were employed as nanoadsorbents to remove PNA from aqueous solution. The MWCNTs had nanowire-like features and different tube lengths. The nanotubular structures were not destroyed after being activated. The KOH-MWCNTs, CO2-MWCNTs, and ACID-MWCNTs had surface areas of 487, 484, and 80 m2/g, respectively, and pore volumes of 1.432, 1.321, and 0.871 cm3/g, respectively. The activated MWCNTs contained C-O functional groups, which facilitate PNA adsorption. To determine the maximum adsorption capacity of the MWCNTs, the influences of several adsorption factors-contact time, solution pH, stirring speed, and amount of adsorbent-on PNA adsorption were investigated. The KOH-MWCNTs had the highest adsorption capacity, followed by the CO2-MWCNTs, pristine MWCNTs, and ACID-MWCNTs. The KOH-MWCNTs exhibited rapid PNA adsorption (>85% within the first 5 min) and high adsorption capacity (171.3 mg/g). Adsorption isotherms and kinetics models were employed to investigate the adsorption mechanism. The results of reutilization experiments revealed that the MWCNTs retained high adsorption capacity after five cycles. The surface-activated and modified MWCNTs synthesized in this study can effectively remove hazardous pollutants from wastewater and may have additional uses.

Preparation of Amino-Functionalized Mesoporous SBA-15 Nanoparticles and the Improved Adsorption of Tannic Acid in Wastewater.

Ordered mesoporous Santa Barbara amorphous (SBA-15) materials have high surface areas and are widely used in adsorption, separation, filtration, and heterogeneous catalytic processes. However, SBA-15 surfaces contain hydroxyl groups that are unsuited to the adsorption of organic pollutants; thus, SBA-15 must be chemically modified to promote its adsorption activity. In this study, amino-functionalized nanoporous SBA-15 was fabricated by employing sodium silicate as a precursor. The structural characteristics of the prepared composites were examined using thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and surface area analysis. The prepared SBA-15 had a large pore size (6.46-7.60 nm), large pore volume (1.037-1.105 cm3/g), and high surface area (546-766 m2/g). Functionalization caused a reduction in the SBA-15 pore volume and surface area, whereas amino groups that promoted an interaction between adsorbates and solids facilitated solute adsorption. The adsorption of tannic acid (TA) onto amino-modified silica composites (SBA-15 and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (SBA-15/APTES) and SBA-15 and pentaethylenehexamine (SBA-15/PEHA)) was studied. Their adsorption capacities were affected by solution temperature, solution pH, agitation speed, adsorbent dosage, and initial TA concentration. The maximum adsorption capacities for SBA-15/APTES and SBA-15/PEHA were 485.18 and 413.33 mg/g, respectively, with SBA-15/APTES exhibiting ultrafast removal of TA (98.61% removal rate at 15 min). In addition, this study explored the thermodynamics, adsorption isotherms, and kinetics. A comparison of two types of amino-functionalized SBA-15 was used for the first time to adsorb TA, which providing valuable information on TA adsorption on high adsorption capacity materials in water media.

Utilization of Rice Husk Ash in the Preparation of Graphene-Oxide-Based Mesoporous Nanocomposites with Excellent Adsorption Performance.

Rice husk is an agricultural biomass waste. Burning rice husks in an oxygenic atmosphere releases thermal energy and produces ash that is rich in silica. Rice husk ash (RHA) can be used as a sustainable source of silica for producing high-value-added products. In this study, mesostructural graphene oxide (GO)/SBA-15, a graphene-based hybrid material, was synthesized from RHA. The materials are inspected by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, Raman spectrometer, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, surface area analyzer, and X-ray diffraction analyzer. Studies have revealed that GO/SBA-15 possesses various oxygen functional groups that are helpful for dye adsorption. The material consisted of high pore volume of 0.901 cm3/g, wide pores of diameter 11.67 nm, and high surface area of 499 m2/g. Analysis of the methylene blue (MB) adsorption behavior of GO/SBA-15 composites revealed that their adsorption capacity depended on the gelation pH, GO content, adsorbent dosage, and initial dye (MB) concentration. The highest adsorption capacity of GO/SBA-15 was 632.9 mg/g. Furthermore, the adsorption isotherms and kinetics of GO/SBA-15 were investigated. This study demonstrated the great advantage of treated RHA and the potential of this material for use in organic dye adsorption.

Utilization of rice husk wastes in synthesis of graphene oxide-based carbonaceous nanocomposites.

Rice husk is an agricultural waste-based biomass that can provide an alternative renewable source of bioenergy. Rice husk carbon and rice husk ash are major solid residues obtained after converting rice husk to bioenergy. This paper reports the synthesis of two graphene oxide-based activated carbons using rice husk carbon through H3PO4 and ZnCl2 activation, respectively. By contrast, mesoporous silica was produced using recycled rice husk ash. Graphene oxide/ordered mesoporous carbon was prepared using mesoporous silica as a template source. These composites were inspected using a Raman spectrometer, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, transmission electron microscope, field-emission scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, and surface area analyzer. Experimental results indicated that graphene oxide-based H3PO4 activated carbon, ZnCl2 activated carbon, and ordered mesoporous carbon had a surface area of 361, 732, and 936 m2/g, respectively; a pore volume of 0.299, 0.581, and 1.077 cm3/g, respectively; and an average pore size of 2.31, 3.17, and 4.35 nm, respectively. The carbonaceous composites with graphene oxide exhibited a higher adsorption ability than did pure carbon materials without graphene oxide. The maximum adsorption capacities using methylene blue as adsorbate followed the order of ordered mesoporous carbon (1591 mg/g) > ZnCl2 activated carbon (899 mg/g) > H3PO4 activated carbon (747 mg/g). The isothermal adsorption and kinetics study for graphene oxide/ordered mesoporous carbon indicated that adsorption followed the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second order kinetic model. Rice husk waste has excellent prospective potential for producing highly valuable nanoproducts and for reducing environmental pollution.

A Sustainable Route to Synthesize Graphene Oxide/Ordered Mesoporous Carbon as Effect Nanocomposite Adsorbent.

Rice husk is an agricultural waste that provides an alternative renewable source of bioenergy. Burning rice husk can produce rice husk ash. The rice husk ash is a potential resource of low-cost precursor for synthesizing high value-added materials. This paper reports the synthesis of SBA-15 mesoporous silica from recycled rice husk ash waste. Next, graphene oxide/ordered mesoporous carbon (GO/CMK-3) nanocomposite was synthesized using the SBA-15 template. The composite was investigated by X-ray diffractometer, field-emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, Raman spectrometer and surface area analyzer. Experimental results confirmed that GO/CMK-3 composite possessed high surface area (936 m²/g), large pore volume (1.077 cm³/g), and uniform pore size (4.35 nm). The mesopore structure was not destroyed by the introduction of GO. Methylene blue was employed as an adsorbate to evaluate the adsorption capacity of GO/CMK-3 composite. The GO/CMK-3 revealed much higher adsorption capacity levels than did pure CMK-3 and SBA-15. The adsorption capacity decreased with increasing solution temperature, and increasing initial concentration of dye. The thermodynamic observation indicated that the total adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic. The conversion of rice husk ash waste into GO/CMK-3 composites can be regarded as an economically beneficial by-product for reducing environmental pollution.

Synthesis of TiO2 Nanoparticles and Good Dispersion on SBA-15 Mesoporous Materials for High Photocatalytic Activity.

This paper reports the preparation of TiO2 based photocatalysts from two different types of silica materials, silica gel and SBA-15. This study examines the factors that affect the photocatalytic activity of catalyst composite, such as types of silica support, TiO2 loading, and pH value of dye solution. The samples were characterized by XRD, UV-vis, FTIR, FE-SEM, TEM, TGA, and surface area analyzer. Experimental results show that TiO2 supported on silica gel or SBA-15 materials can effectively enhance photocatalytic reaction than unsupported catalysts. The TiO2/SBA-15 materials have larger pore volume and pore size compared to TiO2/silica-gel materials, which exhibited a much higher adsorption and photodegradation activity. The resulting mesoporous TiO2/SBA-15 had a high surface area of 574 m2/g, pore volume of 1.30 cm3/g, pore size of about 8.0 nm, and mesopore content as high as 100%. The results of this study will be useful in enhancing photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 nanocatalyst materials.

Chitosan, the marine functional food, is a potent adsorbent of humic acid.

Chitosan is prepared by the deacetylation of chitin, the second-most abundant biopolymer in nature, and has applicability in the removal of dyes, heavy metals and radioactive waste for pollution control. In weight-reduction remedies, chitosan is used to form hydrogels with lipids and to depress the intestinal absorption of lipids. In this study, an experimental method was implemented to simulate the effect of chitosan on the adsorption of humic acid in the gastrointestinal tract. The adsorption capacity of chitosan was measured by its adsorption isotherm and analyzed using the Langmuir equation. The results showed that 3.3 grams of humic acid was absorbed by 1 gram of chitosan. The adsorption capacity of chitosan was much greater than that of chitin, diethylaminoethyl-cellulose or activated charcoal. Cellulose and carboxymethyl-cellulose, a cellulose derivative with a negative charge, could not adsorb humic acid in the gastrointestinal tract. This result suggests that chitosan entraps humic acid because of its positive charge.

Characteristics of microporous/mesoporous carbons prepared from rice husk under base- and acid-treated conditions.

The study reports the preparation of activated carbon with a high surface area from rice husk using chemical activation with H(3)PO(4) and ZnCl(2). Activated carbon prepared from rice husk usually exhibits low specific surface areas due to its high ash content. However, experimental results show that base-leaching and acid-washing processes can effectively enhance the adsorption capacity of rice-husk carbon. The study also investigates the effects of preparation parameters on the surface characteristics of the carbon. These parameters include the kind of activating agent, before and after treatment procedures, impregnation ratio and activation temperature. The chemical and physical properties of samples were examined by EA, ICP-MS, XRD, FTIR, SEM and a N(2)-adsorption meter. The surface areas obtained from ZnCl(2) and H(3)PO(4) activation are as high as 2434 and 1741 m(2)/g, respectively. These values are higher than that of activated carbon treated with neither base nor acid (1262 and 508 m(2)/g for ZnCl(2) and H(3)PO(4) activation). Thermogravimetric analysis shows that the activation process can be divided into three parts based on temperature zones. The results of this study will be useful in developing resource recovery systems for agricultural biomass.

Synthesis of zero-valent copper-chitosan nanocomposites and their application for treatment of hexavalent chromium.

This study used ionotropic crosslinking to synthesize chitosan-tripolyphosphate chelating resin beads, which are used to fabricate zero-valent copper-chitosan nanocomposites. The copper nanoparticles were dispersed on chitosan-tripolyphosphate beads, and were thus able to maintain appropriate dispersion and stability, which greatly improves their applicability. The fabrication process contains two steps: using chitosan-tripolyphosphate beads to adsorb Cu(II) ions, followed by chemical reduction to reduce Cu(II) ions to zero-valent copper. This study explored the adsorption of synthesized chitosan-tripolyphosphate beads to Cu(II) ions, and used SEM/EDS, XPS, and TEM to examine the properties of zero-valent copper-chitosan nanocomposites. The results showed that, the adsorption behavior of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution onto fabricated nanocomposites has better adsorption capacity than that of the chitosan-tripolyphosphate beads.

Pyrolysis kinetics of electronic packaging material in a nitrogen atmosphere.

The kinetics of pyrolysis of electronic packaging material are investigated under various heating rates (5, 10, 15, 20 K/min) in an inert atmosphere using a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) technique. The pyrolysis characteristics of samples are examined by SEM, XRD, FTIR, ICP-MS and EA. The effect of heating condition on the surface area and pore structure of samples is discussed. Two reaction stages are involved for the pyrolysis of electronic packaging material when nitrogen is present in the carrier gas. The corresponding kinetic parameters, including activation energy, pre-exponential factor and reaction order are presented. The apparent activation energies can be divided into three groups. The results will be useful in developing pyrolysis or incineration systems for plastic waste from electronic components.