The pollution induced by the excessive use of heavy metal ions and organic matter in industrial operations results in direct and indirect discharge of pollutants into waterways, affecting human life and environment. For example, cobalt ions and radionuclide ⁶⁰Co, ⁵⁸Co, which are used in medicine, can be discharged into the environment during its manufacturing processes. Also, organic materials, such as phenolic components, carbohydrates, and so on, have a high toxicity to human. For example, methylene Blue (MB), ingestion of MB by humans can result in excessive perspiration, nausea, vomiting, neuronal apoptosis, burning sensations, and a variety of other harmful impacts on the body and surroundings. In our research group, nanomaterials have been extensively used in many research projects and applications such as catalysts, energy, photovoltaic, sensors, biomedical and environmental remediation [1-26].

In recent years, it has been discovered that a blend of nanoporous silicates such as Zeolite X (Ze) and activated carbon (AC) can minimize contaminants in waste water. Because activated carbons are often microporous and have large surface areas, they are particularly efficient at adsorbing low molecular weight compounds and larger molecules.

The MB and Co(II) ions sorption capabilities of Ze-AC mixture and linked zeolite and activated carbon (Ze-L-AC) via disodium terephthalate linker. The resultant materials (Ze-L-AC composite and Ze-AC mixture) were characterized using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and Surface area measurements. Also, this study was focused on the adsorption of MB and Co(II) ions in aqueous media. The effects of pH, temperature, time, masses and ionic strength were monitored using absorption spectroscopy. Generally, the Ze-L-AC composite removed MB and Co ions greater than the Ze-AC mixture. For example, the adsorbent capacitance for MB removal was 37 mg/g for Ze-AC mixture and 40 mg/g for Ze-L-AC. Also, the adsorbent capacitance for Co(II) ions removal was 40 mg/g for Ze-AC mixture and 44 mg/g for Ze-L-AC.

References

1. C Huff, T Dushatinski, TM Abdel-Fattah, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 42 (30), 18985-18990 (2017)
2. M Stacey, C Osgood, BS Kalluri, W Cao, H Elsayed-Ali, T Abdel-Fattah, Biomedical Materials 6 (1), 011002 (2011)
3. SE Mohmed Labeb, Abdel-Hamed Sakr, Moataz Soliman, Tarek M.Abdel-Fattah, Optical Materials 79, 331-335 (2018)
4. ME Mahmoud, MM Osman, SB Ahmed, TM Abdel-Fattah, Chemical engineering journal 175, 84-94 (2011)
5. TM Abdel-Fattah, ME Mahmoud, Chemical engineering journal 172 (1), 177-183 (2011)
6. R Bhure, TM Abdel-Fattah, C Bonner, JC Hall, A Mahapatro, Journal of biomedical nanotechnology 6 (2), 117-128 (2010)
7. TM Abdel-Fattah, D Loftis, A Mahapatro, Journal of biomedical nanotechnology 7 (6), 794-800 (2011)
8. OH Elsayed-Ali, T Abdel-Fattah, HE Elsayed-Ali, Journal of hazardous materials 185 (2-3), 1550-1557 (2011)
9. R Bhure, A Mahapatro, C Bonner, TM Abdel-Fattah, Materials Science and Engineering: C 33 (4), 2050-2058 (2013)
10. BE Bishop, BA Savitzky, T Abdel-Fattah, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 73 (4), 565-571 (2010)
11. C Huff, JM Long, A Heyman, TM Abdel-Fattah, ACS Applied Energy Materials 1 (9), 4635-4640 (2018)
12. TM Abdel-Fattah, EM Younes, G Namkoong, EM El-Maghraby, Synthetic Metals 209, 348-354 (2015)
13. SH Lapidus, A Naik, A Wixtrom, NE Massa, V Ta Phuoc, L del Campo, Crystal growth & design 14 (1), 91-100 (2014)
14. A Mahapatro, TD Matos Negrón, C Bonner, TM Abdel-Fattah, Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering 3 (2), 196-204 (2013)
15. T Dushatinski, C Huff, TM Abdel-Fattah, Applied Surface Science 385, 282-288 (2016)
16. ME Mahmoud, SS Haggag, MA Rafea, TM Abdel-Fattah, Polyhedron 28 (16), 3407-3414 (2009)
17. C Huff, JM Long, A Aboulatta, A Heyman, TM Abdel-Fattah, ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology 6 (10), M115 (2017)
18. ME Mahmoud, SS Haggag, TM Abdel-Fattah, Polyhedron 26 (14), 3956-3962 (2007)
19. TM Abdel-Fattah, ME Mahmoud, MM Osmam, SB Ahmed, Journal of Environmental Science and health, part A 49 (9), 1064-1076 (2014)
20. ME Mahmoud, TM Abdel-Fattah, MM Osman, SB Ahmed, Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A 47 (1), 130-141 (2012)
21. K Foe, G Namkoong, TM Abdel-Fattah, H Baumgart, MS Jeong, DS Lee, Thin solid films 534, 76-82 (2013)
22. M Abdel-Fattah, A Wixtrom, K Zhang, W Cao, H Baumgart, ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology 3 (10), M61 (2014)
23. C Huff, T Dushatinski, A Barzanji, N Abdel-Fattah, K Barzanji, ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology 6 (5), M69 (2017)
24. TM Abdel-Fattah, B Bishop, Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A 39 (11-12), 2855-2866 (2014)
25. Quach, E. Biehler, A. Elzamzami, C. Huff, J.M. Long, T.M. Abdel Fattah, Catalysts, 11, 118 (2021).
26. E. Biehler, Q. Quach, C. Huff, T. M. Abdel-Fattah, Materials, 15, 2692 (2022).