Carbon nanomaterials are a group of materials characterized by sp2/sp3 carbon backbone which, combined with surface atoms and/or chemical groups, ensures peculiar physical chemical fea- tures for a wide range of applications. Among these materials, carbon dots and carbon nanoparticles belong to carbon nanomaterials with a few nanometer dimensions. In this work, carbon nanoparticles were produced from spent coffee grounds as sustainable carbon source through a simple, cheap and eco-friendly procedure according to an oxidation process (at controlled temperature) driven by hydrogen peroxide. Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and fluorescence, UV-Vis absorption, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy were used to assess the formation of carbon nanomaterials of about 10 nm with the typical emission and absorption properties of carbon dots and peculiar surface features. In fact, the presence of heteroatoms, i.e., phosphorus, and the carbonyl/carboxyl surface groups on carbon nanoparticles, was proposed to confer peculiar properties allowing the fast Mn(VII) reduction to Mn(II) at neutral pH and the Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) in weak acid aqueous media.
Coffee Grounds-Derived CNPs for Efficient Cr(VI) Water Remediation
Simona Bettini;Michela Ottolini;Rosanna Pagano;Sudipto Pal;Antonio Licciulli;Ludovico Valli;Gabriele Giancane
2021-01-01
Abstract
Carbon nanomaterials are a group of materials characterized by sp2/sp3 carbon backbone which, combined with surface atoms and/or chemical groups, ensures peculiar physical chemical fea- tures for a wide range of applications. Among these materials, carbon dots and carbon nanoparticles belong to carbon nanomaterials with a few nanometer dimensions. In this work, carbon nanoparticles were produced from spent coffee grounds as sustainable carbon source through a simple, cheap and eco-friendly procedure according to an oxidation process (at controlled temperature) driven by hydrogen peroxide. Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and fluorescence, UV-Vis absorption, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy were used to assess the formation of carbon nanomaterials of about 10 nm with the typical emission and absorption properties of carbon dots and peculiar surface features. In fact, the presence of heteroatoms, i.e., phosphorus, and the carbonyl/carboxyl surface groups on carbon nanoparticles, was proposed to confer peculiar properties allowing the fast Mn(VII) reduction to Mn(II) at neutral pH and the Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) in weak acid aqueous media.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
