Synthesis, characterization, and application of Fe3O4/Ag magnetic composites for mercury removal from water

Abstract

Engineered nanocomposites (NCs) have recently emerged as materials of great scientific and technological interest. In these materials, different components are combined to yield a nanoentity with desired properties not afforded by the constituent materials. Designing novel NCs and synthetic routes that enable controlling the size and functionalities remains an active area of research. Here, we present a two-step method of synthesizing Ag–Fe3O4 NCs with tunable sizes. Unlike previously reported structures, the prepared NCs do not have a familiar core–shell architecture. Instead, small Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) are embedded in a larger silver matrix. The superparamagnetic Fe3O4 NPs endow the NC with magnetic properties, enabling easy separation from solution. The degree of the NC response to an external magnetic field can be controlled by varying the concentration of Fe3O4 NPs during the synthesis. The Ag matrix serves to protect the embedded Fe3O4 NPs from degradation and can be used for further functionalization of the NCs with different sulfhydryl containing linkers. To demonstrate utility, we show how decorating the outer layer of the Ag NC with diphenyl-4,4′-dithiol transforms the NCs into a water purifying system capable of sequestering highly toxic Hg2+ ions from solution magnetically.