Preparation of magnetic clinoptilolite nanocomposite by co-precipitation and ultrasonic irradiation

The aim of this work is to construct a porous material featuring magnetic properties and molecular sieve capacity. The surface of clinoptilolite matrix was magnetized by magnetite nano-powder synthesized by ultrasonic-assisted chemical co-precipitation route. The clinoptilolite magnetite nanocomposite were prepared with different weight ratios of 7:1, 5:1, 3:1 and 1:1 using FeCl3•6H2O and FeCl2•4H2O in aqueous phase under the ambient condition. Nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform-infrared, scanning electron microscopy, variant strength magnetization and N2 gas adsorption–desorption techniques. The results suggest that the main magnetic phase present is magnetite with an average size of 18-23 nm. Nitrogen adsorption measurements showed that the presence of magnetite increased the surface area of clinoptilolite. VSM results showed that saturation magnetization increases with an increase in magnetite ratio. FTIR spectroscopy showed the presence of magnetite in clinoptilolite after ultrasonic co-precipitation treatments of zeolite.

Keywords:

Nanocomposite , Magnetite , Clinoptilolite , Synthesis , Co-precipitation