Synthesis of proanthocyanidins-functionalized Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles with high solubility for removal of heavy-metal ions

Abstract Large-scale hydrophilic proanthocyanidins-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized via a hydrothermal approach. The obtained Fe3O4 nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results revealed that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles had cubic spinel structure and capped by proanthocyanidins outside. Furthermore, the proanthocyanidins-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles can be utilized to adsorb the heavy metal ions in water. The primary results indicated that the proanthocyanidins-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles have high removal rate for Cu2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ in water.