Effect of Fe3O4 nanoparticles on magnetic xerogel composites for enhanced removal of fluoride and arsenic from aqueous solution

Fe₃O₄ magnetic xerogel composites were prepared by polycondensation of resorcinol (R)–formaldehyde reaction via a sol–gel process in an aqueous solution through varying the molar ratio of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (MNPs), catalyst (C), and water (W) content. MNPs were obtained by co-precipitation (MC), oxidation of iron salts (MO), or solvothermal synthesis (MS). Both MNPs and magnetic xerogels were examined regarding the performance of arsenic and fluoride removal in a batch system. The MC-based MNPs had higher adsorption capacities for both fluoride (202.9 mg/g) and arsenic (3.2 mg/g) than other MNPs in optimum conditions. The X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed that Fe was composed into the polymeric matrix of magnetic xerogels that contained 0.59%–4.42% of Fe with a molar ratio of MNPs (M) to R between 0.01 and 0.10. With low R/C and optimum M/R ratios, an increase in the surface area of magnetic xerogels affected the fluoride and arsenic adsorption capacities. The magnetic xerogel composites with the MC-based MNPs prepared at a fixed R/C ratio (100) and at different R/W (0.05–0.06) and M/R (0.07–0.10) ratios had a high arsenic removal efficiency of 100% at an As(V) concentration of 0.1 mg/L and pH of 3.0. The maximum adsorption capacities of magnetic xerogels were approximately five times higher than those of the xerogels without MNP composites. Therefore, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles enhanced the adsorption of arsenate and fluoride. The variations of alkaline catalyst and water content significantly affected the resulting properties of textural and surface chemistry of magnetic xerogel composites.