Behnoosh Asgari and James Bowen
Fluoride is a critical micronutrient for human health and is usually ingested through food and drinking water. This technique has done in monitoring the concentration of fluoride in water complications at mining operation that it effects on the environment. Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by coprecipitation of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in an alkaline solution, their surface was then modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and a Ga(III) porphyrin complex, Ga(TCPP)Cl2[TCPP: tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin]. The morphology and physical properties of these modified magnetic nanoparticles were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The batch experiments showed that the nanoparticles could be used to remove fluoride ions from aqueous solution, achieving an extraction efficiency in excess of 96% for an initial fluoride concentration of 10 mg/L. This was obtained at pH 5.5 using 50 mg of modified nanoparticles and a contact time of 30 min.