Preparation of polyvinylpyrrolidone modified nanomagnetite for degradation of nicotine by heterogeneous Fenton process

Nanomagnetite (Ng), polyvinylpyrrolidone modified nanomagnetite (NgM), and polyvinylpyrrolidone/nanomagnetite composite (NgC) were prepared in presence of nitrogen gas. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that NgC contains higher polyvinylpyrrolidone/nanomagnetite (PVP/Ng) ratio. Assessments of nitrogen adsorption, SEM, TEM, and EDX data indicate that specific surface area of investigated materials is in order Ng approximate to approximate to NgM > NgC, materials form nano spheres with particle size around 9.0 nm according to TEM and Debye-Scherrer diffraction formula and content of magnetite in the prepared catalysts were 98.04, 76.88, and 56.95% in case of Ng, NgM and NgC, respectively. XRD confirms the cubic structure of nanocatalysts. FTIR spectra confirm the presence of stretching vibration of Fe-O bonds and magnetite fingerprint of skeletal vibrations. Degradation of nicotine by Fenton process catalyzed by nanomagnetite-based heterogeneous catalysts was studied under different conditions. Optimal reaction conditions for nicotine decomposition were found to be: equilibrium degradation time = 100 min, nanocatalyst dosage = 2.5 g L-1, pH = 2.5, hydrogen peroxide concentration = 14 mmol L-1, initial nicotine concentration = 100 mg L-1 and degradation temperature = 35 degrees C. Kinetic studies showed that the Fenton degradation of nicotine in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone modified nanomagnetite catalysts follows the pseudo-first order kinetic model. Catalyst reusability proved that NgM is efficient, reusable nanocatalyst materials for degradation of nicotine by Fenton process compared with the other two catalysts.