Removal of nerve agent sarin simulant from aqueous solution using the ZSM-5/CoFe2O4 NPs adsorbent

The zeolite ZSM-5 (MFI-5) was synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The cobalt ferrite spinel nanoparticles (29.4 wt% of CoFe2O4 NPs) were immobilized over it via the ultrasound assisted dispersion route to acquire the novel zeolite ZSM-5/CoFe2O4 NPs adsorbent. The synthesized samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, VSM, AFM, FESEM, TEM, EDAX, and X-ray dot-mapping. The ZSM-5/CoFe2O4 has been proposed for the effective removal of DMMP (dimethyl methyl phosphonate) a simulant of nerve agent sarin from aqueous solution. The analysis results from both GC-FID and GC-MS clearly proved the substantial adsorption-degradation phenomenon. Further, the effect of several factors including contact time, initial concentration, adsorbent dose, and adsorbent type on the removal of DMMP were surveyed. The GC-FID analysis data confirmed the maximum removal of 94.3% for DMMP. The parameters namely: contact time (50 min), adsorbent dose (0.1 g), and initial concentration (50 mg/L) were considered as optimized values for the reaction. Moreover, the reaction kinetic was studied applying first order model. The half-life (t (1/2)) and rate constant (k) were calculated as 13.27 min and 0.0522 min(-1), respectively. Ultimately, the less toxic methyl phosphoric acid as the degradation and hydrolysis product of the DMMP by the ZSM-5/CoFe2O4 NPs was emerged and identified.