Synthesis and Characterization of Carbon Conditioned with Iron Nanoparticles Using Pineapple-Peel

This paper presents the preparation of carbon conditioned with iron nanoparticles (CI) using a pineapple peel treated with iron salts, carboxymethylcellulose sodium and hexamine. First, the pineapple peel was analyzed by thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) to determine the optimal temperature for pyrolysis. The formation of carbon conditioned by iron nanoparticles was studied as a function of time at 30 min, 60 min, 90 min, 120 min, 150 min and 180 min. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to identify changes in the morphology of the materials. The specific area of each material was obtained by the BET method. The elemental composition of pineapple-peel (PP), washed pineapple-peel (WPP) and carbon iron (CI), was determined by neutron activation analysis (NAA). The results show that the optimal time for obtaining spherical iron nanoparticles with a diameter between 10 nm and 30 nm is 180 min on the carbonaceous material with a specific surface area of 167 m2/g.