Removal of Pb(II) from Aqueous Solutions Using Magnetic Mesoporous Silica Nanocomposites: Modeling and Optimization Based on Response Surface Methodology

In the adsorption process of heavy metals, a major challenge is to design and develop adsorbent materials in an abundance of accessible adsorption sites with high affinity to achieve both fast adsorption kinetics and increased adsorption capacity for toxic contaminants. The removal of pollutants by mesoporous silica adsorbents is now in the limelight due to the nontoxicity and biocompatibility of these materials with the environment. In this study, a fibrous core-shell magnetic mesoporous composite (Fe3O4/SiO2/KCC-1) was successfully synthesized and used as a nano-adsorbent to remove Pb(II) from an aqueous solution. The adsorbent was characterized by employing TEM, SEM, FTIR, VSM, XRD, and N2 adsorption–desorption techniques. According to the results, Fe3O4/SiO2/KCC-1 was successfully synthesized with an average pore diameter of 7.94 nm, a surface area of 813.07 m2 g-1, and a pore volume of 1.41 cm3 g-1. The response surface methodology (RSM) was then adopted in the central composite design (CCD) to optimize parameters of the adsorption process. The optimal conditions for Pb(II) adsorption were then determined at a temperature of 80 °C, an adsorption dosage of 0.04 g L-1, a pH 5.6, and the contact time of 38 min. The removal rate of Pb(II) was 90%. Studies of equilibrium and kinetics indicated that the adsorption process followed Langmuir’s isotherm and the pseudo-first-order model with correlation coefficients of 0.98 and 0.99, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of Fe3O4/SiO2/KCC-1 was reported 574.4 mg g-1. Moreover, the thermodynamic parameters known as enthalpy (ΔH° = +5.84 kJ mol-1), negative Gibbs free energy (∆G°) values, and entropy (ΔS° = +23.42 kJ mol-1 K-1) indicated that the adsorption was endothermic and spontaneous with the increased disorder at the solid–liquid interphase

Green synthesis and antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles using Eucalyptus camaldulensis

Introduction and Aims: Due to the developing bacterial drug resistance to classical antimicrobial agents, it seems necessary to produce an innovative therapeutic approach to eliminate resistant pathogens. This study aimed to biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using flowers extract of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and determined of antibacterial activity of produced AgNPs.  Materials and Methods: We used an environmentally friendly extracellular biosynthetic technique for the production of the AgNPs. The reducing agents used to produce the nanoparticles were from the aqueous flowers extract of Eucalyptus camaldulensis. The AgNPs were characterized by color changes, the UV-visible spectroscopy, FTIR analysis, XRD patterns and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) technique. The antibacterial activity of AgNPs was investigated against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria ,through broth micro dilution (MIC values) and MBC (Minimum bactericidal concentration) assays. Results: An absorption peak at 413 nm and the color change to dark brown were corresponding to the plasmon absorbance of AgNPs and then were performed by FTIR and XRD methods. The average size of nanoparticles was observed between 67 and 80 nm. Furthermore, the MIC value of extract against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were 3.12, 6.25, and 50 mg/mL, respectively. The corresponding MBC values were 6.25, 6.25 and 100 mg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: Our findings confirmed that extracellular synthesis of AgNPs mediated by E. camaldulensis flowers extract indicated a good bactericidal activity against the tested bacteria and can be used in various fields as an antibacterial agent. Further studies are needed to characterize the toxicity effect of these particles