Síntese e caracterização de nanocompósitos entre hexacianoferrato de zinco e estruturas de carbono visando a aplicação como catalisadores no processo de fotocatálise heterogênea do paracetamol

Abstract

This work covers the study of the synthesis process, and the application of nanocomposites between zinc hexacyanoferrate and carbon nanomaterials (graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes). The synthesis method of choice was coprecipitation which allowed the size and morphology of the particles to be controlled. The characterization techniques used were X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman scattering spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, surface area by the BET method, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results obtained showed that the crystal structure for all nanocomposites were rhombohedral with the formula ZnII3[FeIII(CN)6]2 for the hexacyanoferrate. The spectroscopic data attested the presence of carbonaceous materials in the nanocomposites and band gap values higher than those obtained for other hexacyanoferrates described in the literature. Scanning electron microscopy images showed the presence of particles with sizes between 1.5 and 2.0 μm. After characterization the study of the application of the obtained materials as catalysts in the photodegradation process of the drug paracetamol was performed. For this purpose, a 22 factorial design was set up with the aim of finding the mass and pH values in which there is greater degradation efficiency. For the HCFZn, HCFZn/GO and HCFZn/NTC photocatalysts, degradation values of 78%, 98% and 99% of the drug were obtained, respectively, using a mass of 5.0 mg and pH= 6.0.