Separation of Ni(II) ions from aqueous solutions by magnetic nanoparticles

Abstract

The separation of Ni(II) from aqueous solutions by magnetic nanoparticles was investigated. Magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by coprecipitation of a Fe2+ and Fe3+ salt from aqueous solution by ammonia solution. Various instrumentation methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnometry (VSM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the properties of the magnetic nanoparticles. The sizes of nanoparticles were measured to be between (10 and 15) nm. The saturation magnetization of the prepared nanoiron particles was found to be 55.26 emu · g-1. The effect of various parameters such as pH, temperature, and concentration were studied. It was found that the adsorption of Ni(II) is highly dependent on pH. The removal of Ni(II) increases as the pH changes from acidic to basic. Adsorption decreases from (90.47 to 88.25) % by increasing the concentration of Ni(II) in solution from (5 to 15) mg·L-1. It was found that the adsorption of Ni(II) increases by increasing temperature from (298 to 318) K. The nature of the reaction is endothermic. The finding of the present studies indicates that nanoiron can be successfully used for separation of nickel from its aqueous solutions. © 2010 American Chemical Society.