Synthesis of Alginate-Nanoporous Silica Gel Beads Functionalized with Carbon Quantum Dots for Environmental Remediation Applications

Abstract

The heavy metals are found naturally on the Earth's crust. Due to the astounding increase of the use of heavy metals, it has resulted in an imminent surge of metallic substances in both the terrestrial environment and the aquatic environment.The urbanization and industrialization have caused the heavy metals to leak into the environment through the runoffs. The dye from textile industry leaked into the system blocked the photosynthesis process of aquatic plants and toxified organisms. Various methods including mechanical filtering, ozonolysis, reverse osmosis, and adsorption have been invented to filter heavy metals and organic matters. Adsorption is the most economical and effective method. Nanotechnology have been widely used in improving adsorption and many other research areas related to suitable and environmental issues such energy, catalysis, sensors and remediations [1-33].In this research project, the alginate–zeolite gel beads functionalized with carbon quantum dots is synthesized and applied for filtering heavy metals from water. The gel beads was characterized by using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The concentrations of heavy metals and methylene blue solution adsorbed by the gel beads were monitored by UV-Vis Spectrophotometer.