Room-temperature synthesis of nanoceria for degradation of organophosphate pesticides and its regeneration and reuse

• Published in: RSC advances Vol. 1; no. 24; pp. 14441 - 1445
• Main Authors: Tolasz, Jakub, Henych, Ji í, Š astný, Martin, N me ková, Zuzana, Slušná, Michaela Šrámová, Opletal, Tomáš, Janoš, Pavel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 08.04.2020; The Royal Society of Chemistry
• Subjects: Catalytic activity; Cerium oxides; Chemistry; Crystal structure; Crystallinity; Crystallites; Degradation; Grain size; Low temperature; Material properties; Nitrophenol; Organophosphates; Pesticides; Regeneration; Room temperature; Sorbents; Surface area; Synthesis; Thermal stability
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/d0ra00937g

A simple low-temperature water-based and one-pot synthesis was developed for the preparation of nanocrystalline CeO 2 that was used for degradation of the toxic organophosphate pesticide parathion methyl. By changing the reaction temperature in the range from 5 °C to 95 °C, several properties ( i.e. , crystallinity, grain size and surface area) of nanoceria can be easily controlled. The catalytic decomposition of parathion methyl to its degradation product 4-nitrophenol was highly dependent on the CeO 2 preparation temperature. It was demonstrated that at low temperature ( i.e. 5 °C), CeO 2 with very small crystallites (<2 nm) and high surface area can be obtained. For practical use, it was demonstrated that highly crystalline CeO 2 can be prepared at room-temperature (30 °C) in at least 100 g batches. It was shown that precipitated nanoceria had high thermal stability and its post-synthesis annealing up to 400 °C did not significantly alter the material properties and hence the catalytic activity. Furthermore, as shown by the reusability tests, the sorbent can be reactivated by simply washing with water which demonstrated its durability. Nanoceria prepared under ambient conditions has excellent ability to decompose methyl parathion and can be regenerated by simply washing with water.