Magneto-sensitive carbon-inorganic composites based on particleboard and plywood wastes

Abstract

A study of conversion of metal-modified (Fe, Co) sawdust into magneto-sensitive porous composites using thermal carbonization process in an inert atmosphere is reported herein. Furniture wastes derived from particleboard and plywood were used as raw precursors. The as-prepared materials were characterized using nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and thermal analysis methods. The effects of metal precursors on the structure and morphology of metal-carbon nanocomposites as well on their magnetic properties were investigated. The results show that the structural and morphological characteristics of the obtained materials depend strongly on the metal precursor’s types. The specific surface area of micro-mesoporous composites was ≈ 58, 328, and 391 m2/g for Fe/C, Co/C, and FeCo/C, respectively, at the total pore volume of ca. 0.2 cm3/g. The efficiency of the composites in dyes sorption was studied. The unmodified sawdust carbon exhibited nonporous structure at SBET= 4 m2/g and very low adsorption capacity. The maximum adsorption capacity of the composites was in the range of 2.8-31 mg/g and depended strongly on the textural characteristics of adsorbents. All samples exhibited soft magnetic properties with the saturation magnetization of 6.6, 53, 13.5 Am2/kg for Fe/C, Co/C, and FeCo/C samples, respectively. The magneto-sensitive materials have proven to be effective sorbents, which can be used for contaminant concentrations from aqueous solutions.