Synthesis and Characterization of Marine Clay-Supported Nano Zero Valent Iron

This study reports the preparation and characterization of marine clay nano zero valent iron (MC+nZVI) where marine clay acts as the composite material. Marine clay was air dried and pulverized before used. Basically, MC+nZVI was synthesized by chemical reduction method. The materials synthesized were left oven dried overnight at 50°C. The obtained materials were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). FESEM images show that the nZVI particles dispersed well on the surface of marine clay thus reducing aggregation of nZVI. TEM images show that the particles have the shell-core structure and the particles sizes were around 29.92-57.11 nm for MC+nZVI. XPS spectrums indicate the existence of Fe⁰ on the synthesized MC+nZVI. Other than that, XRD and FTIR results also show that there exists the formation of iron oxides on the surface of MC+nZVI. The adsorption capability of MC+nZVI is increased by 15% compared to marine clay. Therefore, increment of MC+nZVI adsorption capacity might be due to the well-dispersed nZVI thus enhancing the performance of MC+nZVI.