Efficient oil-water separation with amphipathic magnetic nanoparticles of Fe3O4@TiO2

Recently, oil-water separation materials with special wettability surfaces have attracted intense attention. In this work, amphiphilic magnetic nanoparticles of Fe3O4@TiO2 are prepared by the homogeneous precipitation method. The prepared nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Dynamic light scattering, Zeta potential and contact angle. The prepared magnetic nanoparticles can effectively separate the simulated oily wastewater prepared with 0# diesel. The oil removal performance with magnetic nanoparticles Fe3O4@TiO2 is evaluated by a handheld oil meter after rotating at 250 rpm for a certain time. Results show that the prepared material has the best oil-water separation performance and maintains high magnetism when the weight ratio of TiO2 is 80%. When the dosage is 0.125% (w/v), the oil removal rate is up to 97% after 30 minutes of addition. These prepared materials are suitable for oil-water separation under neutral and acidic conditions and have good recycling performance. This indicates that the prepared amphiphilic magnetic nanoparticles have practical applications in the treatment of oily wastewater.