Silica-coated magnetite nanoparticles core-shell spheres (Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2)) for natural organic matter removal

BACKGROUND: In this work, the magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) nanoparticles (MNPs) and silica-coated magnetite nanoparticles (SMNPs) were synthesized as adsorbents for removing humic acid (HA) from water resources. METHODS: The adsorption processes were performed in batch experiments with which the influence of pH, reaction time, adsorbent dosage, initial concentrations of HA and temperature were investigated. Specific techniques were applied to characterize the features of both adsorbents (i. e. TECHNIQUES) (SEM, XRD, TEM, BET, EDX and VSM). RESULTS: The maximum saturation magnetization for SMNPs was 30.2 emu/g, which made its separation from the solution by a magnetic field to be easier and faster. The HA adsorption process onto the both adsorbents were best described by the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. Highest adsorption efficiency of HA by MNPs an d SMNPs occurred at acidic conditions (pH ≈ 3). The mechanisms of adsorption process involved with a physisorption process such as (i. e. hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction). The predicted maximum monolayer adsorption capacities obtained by Langmuir isotherm model for MNPs and SMNPs were 96.15 and 196.07 mg/g, respectively. CONCLUSION: Higher amount of HA adsorption onto the surfaces of SMNPs than MNPs surfaces was observed, reflecting that silica impregnated on MNPs enhances the efficiency of the adsorbent in removing HA. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40201-016-0262-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.