Synthesis and adsorptive properties of sulfonated nanocomposites based on carbon-encapsulated iron nanoparticles and styrene-p-divinylbenzene copolymer

A method of the synthesis of novel magnetic nanocomposite adsorbent of Fe(III) from aqueous solutions is presented. The nanocomposites consisted of carbon-encapsulated iron nanoparticles and styrene-p-divinylbenzene copolymer. The adsorptive active sites were introduced via the post-synthesis sulfonation. The presented sulfonated magnetic nanocomposite adsorbents can be easily separated using permanent magnets and their adsorption performance was comparable to the commercially available ion-exchange resins. The determined maximum adsorption capacities were between 10.9 and 49.5 mg∙g⁻¹, whilst the equilibrium was reached for the contact time lower than 60 minutes.