Dual shelled Fe3O4/polydopamine hollow microspheres as an effective Eu(iii) adsorbent

Abstract

A facile method was developed to synthesize Fe₃O₄/polydopamine (PDA) dual shelled microspheres with a hollow interior. Since the final product was obtained by in situ polymerization of dopamine (DA) on the surface of a hollow Fe₃O₄ spherical template, the average size of the hybrid microspheres was tunable by manipulating both the Fe₃O₄ size and the PDA shell thickness. Due to the hollow interior and the compatible surface, the Fe₃O₄/PDA demonstrated excellent adsorption performance for Eu(III) ion removal (151.05 mg g⁻¹) in aqueous solution. In comparison to pristine Fe₃O₄ hollow spheres, the dual shelled particles exhibited a faster adsorption dynamic process and a higher adsorption capacity for Eu(III) entrapment. Simultaneously, the Fe₃O₄/polydopamine (PDA) also exhibits a higher adsorption capacity for Eu(III) entrapment compared with that of other magnetic materials. This method was also effective for synthesizing other kinds of PDA shell encapsulated core/shell nanoparticles.