FKFarah Kanwal

Farah Kanwal

*This is an algorithmically generated author record based on publicly available information.

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Farah Kanwal has a total of 12 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:


Latest Publications

  • Open Access

    Sb-Doped Cerium Molybdate: An Emerging Material as Dielectric and Photocatalyst for the Removal of Diclofenac Potassium from Aqueous Media

    by Ayesha Javaid, Muhammad Imran, Farah Kanwal, Shoomaila Latif, Syed Farooq Adil, Mohammed Rafi Shaik, Mujeeb Khan

    This work reports the influence of antimony substitution in a cerium molybdate lattice for improved dielectric and photocatalytic properties. For this purpose, a series of Ce2−xSbx(MoO4)3 (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, and 0.09) were synthesized through a co-precipitation route. The as-synthesized materials were characterized for their optical properties, functional groups, chemical oxidation states, structural phases, surface properties, and dielectric characteristics using UV–Vis spectroscopy (UV–Vis), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopies, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and impedance spectroscopy, respectively. UV–Vis study showed a prominent red shift of absorption maxima and a continuous decrease in band gap (3.35 eV to 2.79 eV) by increasing the dopant concentration. The presence of Ce–O and Mo–O–Mo bonds, detected via FTIR and Raman spectroscopies, are confirmed, indicating the successful synthesis of the desired material. The monoclinic phase was dominant in all materials, and the crystallite size was decreased from 40.29 nm to 29.09 nm by increasing the Sb content. A significant increase in the dielectric constant (ε′ = 2.856 × 108, 20 Hz) and a decrease in the loss tan (tanδ = 1.647, 20 Hz) were exhibited as functions of the increasing Sb concentration. Furthermore, the photocatalytic efficiency of pristine cerium molybdate was also increased by 1.24 times against diclofenac potassium by incorporating Sb (x = 0.09) in the cerium molybdate. The photocatalytic efficiency of 85.8% was achieved within 180 min of UV light exposure at optimized conditions. The photocatalytic reaction followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with an apparent rate constant of 0.0105 min−1, and the photocatalyst was recyclable with good photocatalytic activity even after five successive runs. Overall, the as-synthesized Sb-doped cerium molybdate material has proven to be a promising candidate for charge storage devices and a sustainable photocatalyst for wastewater treatment.


  • Open Access

    Design and Preparation of Magnetically-Oriented Poly(styr-co-MMA)-3MPS Capped Fe(ZnO) Hybrid Microspheres for Ion Exchange Removal of Toxic Pollutants from Wastewater

    by Sahar Fatima, Muhammad Imran, Farah Kanwal, Ayesha Javaid, Shoomaila Latif, Grzegorz Boczkaj

    In this work, polymeric microspheres derived from polystyrene-co-methyl methacrylate embedded with magnetic ZnO nanoparticles (poly(styrene-co-MMA)-3MPS-Fe (ZnO)) were synthesized using the suspension polymerization method. The surfaces of polymeric Fe(ZnO) microspheres were improved by functionalization with amino and sulphonate groups. The physicochemical analysis indicated a large number of positively charged (anion exchange) groups (91 mmol/g) on the amine-modified polymeric microsphere (MFZPI) and a large number of negatively charged (cation exchange) groups (90 mmol/g) on the sulphonate-modified polymeric microsphere (SMFZPI)—revealing ambivalent character of obtained sorbent. The characterization of the synthesized compounds using various analytical techniques such as TGA, FTIR, XRD, SEM/EDX, UV-VIS and VSM indicated that synthesized microspheres were thermally stable, semi-crystalline in structure with hollow irregular morphology, optically active in UV region and slightly magnetic in nature. Due to the introduction of groups having ion exchange properties, these modified poly(styrene-co-MMA)-3MPS-Fe(ZnO) microspheres were used for the ion exchange sorptive removal of Cr(III) and fluorescein from aqueous matrix. The equilibrium sorption capacity of Cr(III) was 16.79 mg/g whereas of fluorescein was 12.03 mg/g under optimized conditions. Therefore, SMFZPI was found to be a promising sorbent for both cationic heavy metals and anionic dyes due to the presence of both acidic and basic groups. The mathematical modelling revealed that the sorption phenomenon followed pseudo-second-order kinetics with Freundlich equilibrium isotherm, indicating multilayer chemisorption of the pollutants on the synthesized ion exchange sorbents. This work establishes the utilization of polymeric magnetic ZnO-based ion exchange sorbents to effectively remove harmful toxins from wastewater.


  • Open Access

    Photocatalytic Degradation of Cefixime Trihydrate by Bismuth Ferrite Nanoparticles

    by Ammara Nazir, Shoomaila Latif, Syed Farooq Adil, Mufsir Kuniyil, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Rafe Hatshan, Farah Kanwal, Baji Shaik

    The present work was carried out to synthesize bismuth ferrite (BFO) nanoparticles by combustion synthesis, and to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of synthesized bismuth ferrite nanoparticles against cefixime trihydrate. BFO nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using bismuth (III) nitrate and iron (III) nitrate by a combustion synthesis method employing different types of fuels such as maltose, succinic acid, cinnamic acid, and lactose. The effects of the different types of fuels on the morphology and size of the bismuth ferrite nanoparticles were investigated. Characterization of the as-obtained bismuth ferrite nanoparticles was carried out by different techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), N2-sorption analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy. Photoluminescence studies were also carried out for the various bismuth ferrite nanoparticles obtained. Degradation of cefixime trihydrate was investigated under sunlight to evaluate the photocatalytic properties of the bismuth ferrite nanoparticles, and it was found that the bismuth ferrite nanoparticles followed first-order degradation kinetics in solar irradiation in the degradation of antibiotic, cefixime trihydrate.