Ferrofluid/activated carbon composites for water purification and EMI shielding applications

S. K. Barala^{1, 2} - M. Arora¹ - Chandni Puri¹ - K. K. Saini¹ - R. K. Kotnala¹ - P. K. Saini¹

¹ CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi-110012, India
² Centre for Converging Technologies, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur-302004, India

Abstract
Activated carbon (AC) supported Fe ₃O ₄ nanoparticle-based composites (CFFs) have been prepared by mixing AC with a Fe ₃O ₄ ferrofluid followed by drying. These composites display a unique combination of electrical and magnetic properties along with nanoporosity. The structural, morphological and magnetic properties of the synthesized CFF composites have been characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, VSM and TGA. The water purification capability has been demonstrated using methyl orange (MO) dye as an impurity. The porosity and magnetic properties enable fast adsorption of MO and magnetic separation of MO adsorbed CFF particles, respectively. In addition to water purification, these multifunctional CFFs may also find promising applications in catalyst separation, bioreactors, and for shielding electromagnetic interference in the microwave frequency range. Figs 4, Refs 13.