Optimized Synthesis of FeS Nanoparticles with a High Cr(VI) Removal Capability

• Main Authors: Yuanyuan Liu, Wenyan Xiao, Jiajia Wang, Zakaria A. Mirza, Tao Wang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
• Series: Journal of Nanomaterials
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7817296
• ISSN: 1687-4110; 1687-4129

FeS nanoparticles were synthesized using chemical precipitation method involving sulfide and ferrous solutions. Effects of important synthesis parameters including stabilizer, time taken for titration, horizontal oscillation speed, and initial salt concentration on the size of synthesized FeS nanoparticles were investigated by Orthogonal Array design. Increasing the CMC dosage significantly made the hydrodynamic diameter decrease between 0.05 wt.% and 0.15 wt.% while Na2S titration, oscillation rate, and Na2S concentration did not show significant influence on the hydrodynamic diameter of FeS nanoparticles. The synthesized FeS nanoparticles were characterized by using XRD (X-ray diffraction), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy). The as-synthesized FeS nanoparticles had an average size of 25 ± 10 nm and had a better long-term stability after storage for 150 days compared to bare FeS particles. Because of the optimized process parameters, the synthesized FeS nanoparticles had a higher Cr(VI) removal capacity of 683 mg per gram of FeS in comparison to the previously reported cases, and up to 92.48% Cr(VI) was removed from aqueous solutions. The small size, special surface property, and high reactivity make the synthesized FeS nanoparticles a promising tool for the remediation of Cr(VI) contaminated soil and groundwater.