Removal of sulfur mustard agent simulant by the newly SnO۲/CoFe۲O۴/ZSM-۵ zeolite nanocomposite catalyst

The main goal of this work is to assess the effective removal of sulfur mustard agent simulant, namely chloro ethyl phenyl sulfide (CEPS) in aqueous solution applying the SnO۲/CoFe۲O۴/ZSM-۵ zeolite nanocomposite catalyst. In this investigation, the CoFe۲O۴ and SnO۲ nanoparticles were successfully immobilized on the ZSM-۵ zeolite using the ultrasound-assisted hydrothermal method and analyzed via FESEM, XRD, FTIR, VSM, EDAX, and BET. The SnO۲/CoFe۲O۴/ZSM-۵ nanocomposite performance was then evaluated for the CEPS removal and monitored via UV-Vis and GC-MS. Besides, the effects of multiple factors, such as contact time, catalyst type and catalyst dosage on the removal of CEPS were implemented. The attained information from UV-Vis analysis illustrated the decontamination yield of ۹۹.۷% for CEPS target molecule. The two factors involving: contact time of ۱۲ min and catalyst dosage of ۱۰۰ mg were gained as the optimal values for the removal process. Additionally, the hydroxyl ethyl phenyl sulfide (HEPS) and phenyl vinyl sulfide (PVS) as non-toxic degradation products of CEPS over the SnO۲/CoFe۲O۴/ZSM-۵ nanocomposite were identified.