Effect of Graphene Oxide Synthesis Method on The Adsorption Performance of Pharmaceutical Contaminants

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) has drawn broad recognition as a novel adsorbent for various contaminants due to the unique physicochemical characteristics shown. This research investigated the effect of several graphene oxide synthesis methods on Ciprofloxacin (CIP), Diclofenac (DCF), and Tetracycline (TC) removal in water and optimized the methods experimentally. Material characterizations such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to investigate the surface morphology of GO. A batch test has been done to study the adsorption kinetics. GO synthesis techniques are crucial and have varying impacts on pharmaceutical contaminants removal. The optimized GO synthesis method showed the most reliable CIP removal performance, where 64% of CIP was effectively adsorbed within 10 minutes. The production of high-quality GO for CIP and DCF removal does not rely on sodium nitrate (NaNO3) or phosphoric acid (H3PO4) catalysts. The GO produced without catalysts eliminated 94.3% of DCF within 10 minutes.