Testing the stability of magnetic iron oxides/kaolinite nanocomposite under various pH conditions

Abstract

Magnetically modified clays containing iron oxides nanoparticles (FexOy NPs) are low-cost and environmentally harmless materials suitable for sorption of pollutants from wastewaters. Stability of this smart material was evaluated both experimentally and theoretically using molecular modelling. Original kaolinite and prepared FexOy/kaolinite nanocomposite were characterized using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, and the stability was studied using leaching tests performed according to the European technical standard EN 12457-2 in deionized water and extraction agents with varying pH (2, 4, 9, and 11). The influence of pH on amount of Fe(x)O(y)NPs released from the composite and amount of the basic elements released from the kaolinite structure was studied using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. All experiments proved that the magnetic properties of the nanocomposite will not change even after leaching in extraction agents with various pH.