Industrial wastewater containing toxic metal ions and organic pollutants has become a serious threat to the environment and public health. So the synthesis of three-dimensional micro and nanomaterials with the capability of absorbing undesired water contaminants in a straightforward and effective manner is a priority for environmental scientists.
Now Hongjie Zhang and colleagues at Changhun Institute of Applied Chemistry, have designed an easy method to synthesise flower-shaped Fe3O4 microspheres with magnetic properties, which can be used as absorbents to treat wastewater. Unlike previous synthetic routes, Zhang’s hydrothermal method avoids the use of surfactants and copolymers that would need to be removed from solution.
Find out more about this article in Lorena Tomas Laudo’s story here Hierarchically structured Fe3O4 microspheres: morphology control and their application in wastewater treatment
Xiyan Li, Zhenjun Si, Yongqian Lei, Xiaona Li, Jinkui Tang, Shuyan Song and Hongjie Zhang,
CrystEngComm, 2010 DOI: 10.1039/c0ce00217h
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