Synthesis of Cobalt Ferrite Nanocomposite Coated with Aluminum Oxide, Application in Protein Removal Process in Natural Rubber ☆

Proteins in latex are the main cause of unwanted effects for users, such as skin allergies and unpleasant odors. Therefore, it is necessary to remove protein from rubber latex before putting it into production. The study presents a method and process for synthesizing CoFe2O4 (CFO) magnetic nanoparticles coated on the surface with an Al2O3 coating. Then, based on the surface adsorption mechanism of the Al2O3 coating, the protein in the latex is adsorbed and recovered from the solution by the magnetism of the CFO magnetic core. The CFO material synthesized by the co-precipitation method has an evenly distributed spherical shape, size 27.3 nm, from a saturation of 53.9 emu/g. The synthesized CFO@Al2O3 has an evenly distributed spherical shape, size 56.2 nm, from a saturation of 39.07 emu/g, and a surface area of 216.75 m2/g. The CFO@Al2O3 nanoparticles have the ability to separate proteins up to 96.71% and have been researched and proven by the Kjeldahl method.