Abstract
M.Sc. (Nanoscience)
The presence of emerging contaminants in water has become a serious concern recently, not only because of the risks they pose to human health and aquatic life, but also due to their continuous accumulation in aquatic environment. Pharmaceuticals, such as paracetamol, ibuprofen, caffeine, aspirin and nalidixic acid are commonly found within the environment and are considered to be emerging contaminants. Methods such as solid phase extraction are usually used to extract and eventually quantify pharmaceuticals from water. Dispersive micro solid phase extraction (DMSPE) is a recent development that uses nanomaterials for the extraction and eventual quantification of emerging contaminants from water. Typically nanomaterials with high surface areas and good chemical stability are used. Therefore the following study investigated the use of mesoporous silica, specifically SBA-15, acid-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and nanocomposite of SBA-15 coated onto the sidewalls acid-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as adsorbents for extraction of paracetamol from water. The nanomaterials were prepared and the physical and chemical properties were investigated using characterization techniques such as N2 adsorption at 77 K, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Fourier Transform-Infrared, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The aim of this project was to extract paracetamol from water using nanomaterials as adsorbents. The quantification was accomplished using high-performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array detector (HPLC-PDA). The highest recovery of paracetamol was 98.3%...