Design fabrication and modification of metal oxide nanostructured materials for remediation of water contaminants

Abstract

Metal oxide nanoparticles hold supreme and idealistic position in the field of nanotechnology because of their unique properties such as optical, electrical, physico-chemical and mechanical properties. Owing to their small size and high surface area, these nanomaterials have possessed high surface area to volume ratio which in turn affects their individual properties as well as their interparticle interactions. However using them as potential candidate for many applications, the primary goal is the synthetic methodology of the metal oxide nanomaterials. In newlinethis concern, modified fabrication methods and capping with suitable template holds the advantage of producing uniform and monodispersed particles without utilizing harsh conditions. The idea of this work is to develop cheap and easily approachable method for the fabrication of metal oxide nanomaterials. In the present work, we have developed a simple, effectual and greener method to synthesize ZnO and NiO nanoparticles. The surface properties of ZnO nanoparticles were further modulated by using surfactant Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [BMIM][BF4] as templates. The synthesis of NiO nanoparticles was carried out by two different approaches i.e. microwave (MW) and Hydrothermal methodology (HM). The precursors used for fabrication of these nanomaterials were non-toxic in nature. The fabricated particles have been well characterized by using TEM, UV-visible, fluorescence, FTIR, XPS, BET, Zeta potential, XRD and FESEM analysis. The synthesized particles were used for the removal of various pollutants (Dyes, pesticides and organic pollutant) by using different approaches i.e. Adsorption, photodegradation and electrochemical sensing.