Obtaining a composite material based on cobalt (II) ferrite for purification of aqueous solutions

In modern society, the detrimental effect of industrial production on the environment is intensifying. Contaminated wastewaters of industrial enterprises deteriorate the environmental situation and violate the ecosystem stability. One of efficient methods of dealing with harmful impurities in wastewater is to remove them using adsorption active materials. Oxide systems of ferrites of transition elements are one example of materials with multifunctional properties. The possibility of synthesizing nanoscale cobalt (II) ferrite and a composite material based on it with the CoFe2O4/C composition was studied. The obtained materials were studied using X-ray phase analysis, electron microscopy (SEM), and the BET method of low-temperature nitrogen adsorption. It was established that cobalt (II) ferrite has a developed surface (the surface area measured by the BET method is 16 m2/g, the average crystallite size obtained by the Debye-Scherrer method is 4.0 nm). The mechanism of CoFe2O4 structure formation is considered. The composite material CoFe2O4/C is characterized by a high surface area (222 m2/g, average crystallite size of 1.1 nm) and exhibits increased adsorption ability with respect to copper (II) cations from aqueous solutions. The obtained results are of interest as materials for purification of aqueous solutions.