Journal of Chemical Engineering & Process Technology
Open Access

Abstract

Synthesis of Hybrid Magnetite Catalyst Immobilized Metal Nanoparticles for the Treatment and Removal of Heavy Metals from Waste Water

Fire Tucho*

Increasing wastewater production is posing a threat to the safety and cleanliness of the water and also increase in population and industrial activities has resulted in harmful pollutants in our water sources that cause a concern for our future health and environmental well-being. These pollutants include pharmaceuticals, nitroarenes, synthetic dyes, oil and heavy metals that can be toxic, carcinogenic and lead to multiple organ failure. Conventional methods used to remove these toxins are of high cost, poor recyclability and low efficiency. Adsorbents have been used in various industries to remove contaminants from wastewater. Naturally occurring and laboratory synthesized adsorbents, their past and recent advancements and future wastewater treatment strategies are comprehensively described. Nanoparticles possess useful characteristics such as high surface-to-volume ratio, high optical absorption coefficient and tunable band edges for optimized catalytic capability. Magnetite NPs in specific have proven great efficiency in the removal and degradation of such pollutants as it is affordable, recyclable and easy to remove in the presence of an external magnetic field. Surface functionalization of these magnetic NPs is seen as an excellent bridge between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. A metal catalyst immobilized on the surface of these Magnetic Nanoparticles (MNPs) affords customization and optimization of their properties for targeted applications. In this review the synthesis of the magnetic core and different immobilization methods used to secure a metal catalyst onto its surface was discussed and the future research should focus on enhancing the binding strength between hydride metal nanoparticles and magnetite and scaling up the production and application of MMNPs for industrial-scale and as well as developing robust regeneration methods that do not compromise the performance of MMNPs.

Published Date: 2025-06-20; Received Date: 2024-07-15