Fluorescent carbon nanoparticles from Citrus sinensis as efficient sorbents for pollutant dyes.
Here, we report a simple, green and economic process for the synthesis of highly fluorescent carbon nanoparticles (CPs) through low-temperature carbonization of a fruit waste, Citrus sinensis peel. This approach allows the large-scale production of aqueous CPs dispersions without any additives and post-treatment processes. The as-prepared CPs were of small particle size, exhibited bright blue fluorescence under UV irradiation (λmax= 365 nm) with excellent colloidal stability in water. The chemical composition, structure and morphology of the as-prepared CPs were analyzed using various spectroscopic techniques such as X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and raman spectroscopy. The formed CPs were turbostratic in nature, with a large number of functional groups on the surface. We explored the adsorption characteristics of the formed CPs for wastewater treatment. Because of the negative surface of the CPs, as evident from the zeta value, it is possible to use them for selective adsorption of the cationic dye methylene blue from a mixture of dyes. The equilibrium adsorption isotherm revealed that the Langmuir model better describes the adsorption process than the Freundlich model. As-prepared CPs rapidly adsorbed ~84% of the methylene blue within 1 min and can be regenerated and used repeatedly. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sensor and Actuator Division, CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, 196, Raja SC Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata, 700 032, India.|Department of Pure and Applied Physics, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, P.M.B, 4000, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.
Oluwaseun
O
Adedokun
Sensor and Actuator Division, CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, 196, Raja SC Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata, 700 032, India.
Anurag
A
Roy
Department of Pure and Applied Physics, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, P.M.B, 4000, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.
Ayodeji O
AO
Awodugba
Sensor and Actuator Division, CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, 196, Raja SC Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata, 700 032, India.
P Sujatha
PS
Devi
D000327:Adsorption; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D032084:Citrus sinensis / Q000737:chemistry*; D005453:Fluorescence; D008751:Methylene Blue / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002244:Carbon; D008751:Methylene Blue
Citrus sinensis; adsorption efficiency; cationic dye; selective adsorption; turbostratic carbon