Modification of the Surface of Magnetic Iron Oxides with Phosphonic Complexones

The conditions of chemical modification of the surface of synthetic magnetic iron oxides (magnetite Fe3O4, maghemite γ-Fe2O3) by phosphonic complexones (PBTC, HEDP, HEIDPH, NTMP, EDTMP) are studied. It is shown that the maximum concentration of grafted groups is observed upon treating iron oxides with aqueous solutions of complexones containing two or three phosphonic groups at pH 2–3 and temperature of 50–60°C for 2–6 h. To characterize the grafted layer, various physicochemical research methods (XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, the BET method, thermal analysis, acid–base titration, sorption from solutions) were used. It is found that the modifying coating significantly increases the sorption ability of magnetic iron oxides towards metal cations (Cu(II), Cd(II)). A mechanism for binding of metal ions by modified sorbents is proposed.