Mussel-inspired polydopamine biopolymer decorated with magnetic nanoparticles for multiple pollutants removal

The polydopamine polymer decorated with magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4/PDA) was synthesized and applied for removal of multiple pollutants. The resulted Fe3O4/PDA was characterized with elemental analysis, thermo-gravimetric analyses, vibrating sample magnetometer, high resolution transmission electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectra, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The self-polymerization of dopamine could be completed within 8 h, and Fe3O4 nanoparticles were embedded into PDA polymer. Superparamagnetism and large saturation magnetization facilitated collection of sorbents with a magnet. Based on the catechol and amine groups, the PDA polymer provided multiple interactions to combine with pollutants. To investigate the adsorption ability of Fe3O4/PDA, heavy metal ions and dyes were selected as target pollutants. The adsorption of pollutants was pH dependent due to the variation of surface charges at different solution pH. The removal efficiencies of cation pollutants enhanced with solution pH increasing, and that of anion pollutant was just the opposite. Under the optimal solution pH, the maximum adsorption capacity calculated from Langmuir adsorption isotherm for methylene blue, tartrazine, Cu2+, Ag+, and Hg2+ were 204.1, 100.0, 112.9, 259.1, and 467.3 mg g−1, respectively. The Fe3O4/PDA shows great potential for multiple pollutants removal, and this study is the first application of PDA polymer in environmental remediation.