Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

About: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia is a education organization based out in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Membrane & Control theory. The organization has 21644 authors who have published 39500 publications receiving 520635 citations.

Development of magnetic graphene oxide adsorbent for the removal and preconcentration of As(III) and As(V) species from environmental water samples

Abstract: New-generation adsorbent, Fe3O4@SiO2/GO, was developed by modification of graphene oxide (GO) with silica-coated (SiO2) magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4). The synthesized adsorbent was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The developed adsorbent was used for the removal and simultaneous preconcentration of As(III) and As(V) from environmental waters prior to ICP-MS analysis. Fe3O4@SiO2/GO provided high adsorption capacities, i.e., 7.51 and 11.46 mg g−1 for As(III) and As(V), respectively, at pH 4.0. Adsorption isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic were investigated for As(III) and As(V) adsorption. Preconcentration of As(III) and As(V) were studied using magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method at pH 9.0 as the adsorbent showed selective adsorption for As(III) only in pH range 7–10. MSPE using Fe3O4@SiO2/GO was developed with good linearities (0.05–2.0 ng mL−1) and high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.9992 and 0.9985) for As(III) and As(V), respectively. The limits of detection (LODs) (3× SD/m, n = 3) obtained were 7.9 pg mL−1 for As(III) and 28.0 pg mL−1 for As(V). The LOD obtained is 357–1265× lower than the WHO maximum permissible limit of 10.0 ng mL−1. The developed MSPE method showed good relative recoveries (72.55–109.71 %) and good RSDs (0.1–4.3 %, n = 3) for spring water, lake, river, and tap water samples. The new-generation adsorbent can be used for the removal and simultaneous preconcentration of As(III) and As(V) from water samples successfully. The adsorbent removal for As(III) is better than As(V).

Synthesis of Uniform Polyaniline Nanofibers through Interfacial Polymerization

Abstract: The present paper aims to study the preparation of polyaniline nanofibers through simple interfacial polymerization. Ammonium persulfate, hydrochloric acid and chloroform were used as oxidant, dopant and organic solvent respectively. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques were used to analyze the product. FESEM results show that polyaniline has nano-fiber morphology. XRD results show the crystalline properties of polyaniline nanofiber, and FTIR results confirmed the formation of polyaniline in different monomer/oxidant molar ratios. This study provides a better understanding on the synthesis of uniform polyaniline nanofibers through interfacial polymerization.