Elsevier

Applied Surface Science

Volume 258, Issue 20, 1 August 2012, Pages 8283-8288
Applied Surface Science

Preparation of magnetic Ni/wollastonite and zeolite P/Ni/wollastonite composite fibers

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.05.040Get rights and content

Abstract

Magnetic composite fibers with wollastonite (WO) core and Ni shell were prepared by electroless plating using natural mineral WO fibers as supporters. Zeolite P layers were then loaded on the surface of Ni/WO fibers by in situ hydrothermal method. The sample structure and properties were characterized via SEM, XRD, SQUID, EDX, and N2 adsorption. The compact Ni–P coatings on the surface of WO fibers resulted in good magnetic properties of the Ni/WO fibers and zeolite P/Ni/WO fibers. After two crystallization cycles, a continuous zeolite P layer could be formed on the surface of Ni–P coating. The zeolite loading improved the stability of Ni–P coating in the acid solution, resulting in that the zeolite P/Ni/WO fibers can be used at a wide pH range of 3–7. Zeolite P/Ni/WO fiber exhibited a good sorption property for Cu2+ in the aqueous solution (12.48 mg/g) and could be reused after regeneration, indicating that it could be an effective and reusable adsorbent for metal ions from a liquid system.

Highlights

► Core–shell Ni/wollastonite fibers were fabricated by electroless plating. ► Zeolite P/Ni/wollastonite fibers were prepared by in situ hydrothermal method. ► Zeolite P/Ni/wollastonite fibers exhibited good magnetic properties. ► Zeolite P/Ni/wollastonite fibers showed good sorption properties for Cu2+ ions.

Introduction

Electroless nickel-coated core–shell composite materials have broad applications in many fields, such as electromagnetic field, microwave adsorption, and anti-static field [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. Ni film has been coated on surfaces of various pre-activated supporters via electroless plating to form core–shell structure. The supporters are usually biomass materials [1], [2], SiC [3], glass [4], polymers [5], carbon [6], minerals [7], [8], [9], and etc. Compared to other supporters, mineral materials are generally cheap and easier to obtain. Some mineral materials, such as fly ash spheres [7], palygorskite [8] and basalt fibers [9] have been used to prepare nickel-coated composite materials by electroless plating. A function material, ZSM-5 zeolite, was loaded on the nickel film of Ni/fly ash microspheres [7]. Due to the unique properties of zeolite and magnetic property of nickel, ZSM-5/Ni/fly ash composite microspheres are easy to separate from the liquid system and have potential applications as catalysts, adsorbents, and ion-exchangers.

Wollastonite (WO) is also a natural metasilicate mineral containing calcium with abundant reserves in China. It is composed of micro-sized fibrous or needle-like crystals and has a high level of whiteness. Many functional materials, such as titania [10], apatite [11], polymer [12] and silk fibroin [13], have been loaded on the surfaces of WO fibers to prepare composite materials.

In this study, Ni–P coating was deposited on the surface of WO fibers by electroless plating to form core–shell structure. A compact zeolite P layer was then loaded on the surface of the as-prepared Ni/WO fiber via hydrothermal treatment. The synthetic parameters, stability, magnetic and sorption properties of products were also investigated.

Section snippets

Preparation of Ni/WO fibers

Ni/WO fibers were prepared by an ultrasonic electroless plating method reported in our previous article [5]. WO fibers (1.0 g) were dispersed into 20 mL of acidic SnCl2 solution under ultrasonic waves for 10 min. The resulted sensitized WO fibers were then collected via centrifuge, washed with distilled water and dispersed ultrasonically into a PdCl2 solution for 5 min. The activated WO fibers were obtained after centrifuging and washing with distilled water. The chemical compositions of SnCl2 and

Preparation of Ni/WO fibers

The morphologies of WO fibers before and after electroless plating are showed in Fig. 1. WO fibers were composed of micro-sized dispersed fibrous crystals with smooth surface. After electroless plating, the size of WO fibers increased and compact nickel coatings appeared on the surface of WO fibers, resulting in the formation of the WO core/nickel shell structure. In addition, many nano-sized nickel grains also appeared on the surface of nickel coating. It was known that Ni–P particles formed

Conclusions

In this study, a cheap natural mineral WO was used as supporter to prepare nickel-coated core–shell composite materials and magnetic zeolite composite materials. Ni/WO fibers were obtained from activated WO fibers via electroless plating. A continuous zeolite P layer was then loaded on the surface of Ni/WO fiber via in situ hydrothermal treatment. Due to the presence of the compact nickel coating, Ni/WO fibers and zeolite P/Ni/WO fibers exhibited good magnetic properties. Zeolite layer could

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial assistance from Technological Research Project of Jiangsu Provincial Sci. & Tech. Department (No. BC2011163, BE2011126), State key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection (No. SKLGP2011Z010) and “Green-blue” Project of Jiangsu Province.

References (20)

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