ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Natural Soil Clays from a Phaeozem to Synthesize
a Nanocomposite with Exhausted Coffee Grounds
and Ag- and TiO2-Nanoparticles for Water, Air,
or Soil Decontamination
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1
Programa de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Cinvestav, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508,
Ciudad de México, 07000, México
2
Sustainability of Natural Resources and Energy Programs, Cinvestav-Saltillo, Av. Industria Metalúrgica 1062,
Parque Industrial Saltillo-Ramos Arizpe, Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, 25900, Mexico
3
Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CICATA-Altamira, km 14.5 Carr. Tampico-Pto. Ind. Altamira,
Altamira, Tams. México, 89600, Mexico
Submission date: 2020-01-27
Final revision date: 2020-04-09
Acceptance date: 2020-04-14
Online publication date: 2020-09-16
Publication date: 2020-11-10
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2021;30(1):871-880
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
A nanocomposite using natural clays from a Phaeozem soil, engineered Ag-nanoparticles (NP),
TiO2-NP, and exhausted coffee grounds was synthesized through a single-step by thermal method,
to degrade or filtrate pollutants from soils, water or air. The surface characteristics and the porosity
of the composite were studied through nitrogen gas adsorption and application of the
Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation, and the microporous composites ranged a surface area of
17.36 m2 g-1. X-ray diffraction showed the crystalline structure and crystalline phase of the
nanocomposites. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and scanning
transmission electron microscopy (STEM) demonstrated that TiO2-NP surrounded Ag-NP, and both
were impregnated on natural soil NP. Oxidation states of the Ag-NP and TiO2-NP were analyzed by
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The energy gap of nanocomposite 8NC was determined
by Ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance (UV–Visible DRS). The photocatalytic activity of this
nanocomposite was evaluated. The results indicated that nanocomposite with Phaeozem-soil-NP
(8NC) degraded 82.31% of the harmful organic compound methylene blue (MB) by 150 minutes, while
the antimicrobial activity and resistance against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and the
zone of inhibition (ZOI) were 15 mm. The nanocomposite Ag-NP/TiO2-NP/natural-soil-NP/exhausted
coffee-ground showed its potential for the development of an efficient material for environmental
remediation with photocatalytic and antimicrobial activity.