An Investigation of the Effects of Dopamine on the Superhydrophobicity of Carbonyl Iron Particles with Stearic Acid

Abstract

Many industries produce large volumes of effluent which are made of oil and its derivatives; very common pollutants in the environment. The use of hydrophobic magnetic particles due to their low cost, low toxicity, and availability is one of the preferred methods for separating oil from water in oil spillage issues. This research aims at evaluating the effects of dopamine as a link in the hydrophobicity of carbonyl iron (CI) particles with stearic acid. In this connection, CI @ stearic acid and CI @ dopamine @ stearic acid have been synthesized. The FESEM analysis was used to observe the surface modification and structure of the particles. The magnetic properties of hydrophobic particles were also measured and the magnetic saturation of CI, CI @ stearic acid, and CI @ dopamine @ stearic acid were 200, 169, 131 emu/g respectively. Finally, the contact angle and adsorption capacity of two modified particles were measured. Based on the result, the static contact angles of water drops placed on the beds of the CI, CI @ stearic acid, and CI @ dopamine @ stearic acid were found to be 0°, 162.9°, and 168.24° respectively. The adsorption capacity range for CI@ stearic acid particles was 1.5 to 2.2 and for CI@ dopamine@ stearic acid particles was 1.8 to 3.2. Therefore, the result showed that dopamine had a good effect as a link to the hydrophobicity of carbonyl iron particles.