Thermal and bisphenol-A adsorption properties of a zinc ferrite/β-cyclodextrin polymer nanocomposite

The present study investigated the use of a nanocomposite, produced by reinforcing nanosize zinc ferrite (ZnFe(2)O(4)) in a porous β-CD based polymeric matrix (β-CD-E-T/ZnFe(2)O(4)), for the removal of Bisphenol A (BPA) from aqueous solutions via adsorption. The thermal stability of the β-CD-based polymer and β-CD-E-T/ZnFe(2)O(4) nanocomposite were investigated using simultaneous thermal analysis at four heating rates. Non-isothermal isoconversion methods were employed to study the thermal degradation kinetics of the β-CD based polymer before and after ZnFe(2)O(4) nano-filling. The results showed that ZnFe(2)O(4) nano-reinforcement increased the activation energy barrier for the thermal degradation of the β-CD-based polymeric matrix. Adsorption experiments showed that the β-CD-E-T/ZnFe(2)O(4) nanocomposite exhibited very high BPA adsorption within 5 minutes. Isotherm, kinetics, and thermodynamic investigations revealed that the adsorption of BPA was via multilayer adsorption on a heterogeneous β-CD-E-T/ZnFe(2)O(4) surface. The thermodynamic studies indicated that BPA adsorption on β-CD-E-T/ZnFe(2)O(4) was spontaneous and exothermic. Overall, the β-CD-E-T/ZnFe(2)O(4) nanocomposite showed less thermal degradation and high efficiency for removing BPA from contaminated water, indicating its potential as a promising material for wastewater treatment applications.