Controlling Dye Adsorption Kinetics of Graphene Oxide Nano-Sheets via Optimized Oxidation Treatment

Abstract

Graphene derivatives have demonstrated high potential for various applications, including environmental ones. In this work, graphene oxide nano-sheets were obtained by utilizing a simple chemical method and were tested for water treatment applications. The pollutant adsorption ability of the produced GO was adjusted through a proper oxidation treatment of the graphene nano-sheets. The GO treatment time was systematically varied to control the oxidation level of the graphene nano-sheets and was found to considerably affect the GO’s properties and performance in removing methylene blue. The microscopic studies showed well-exfoliated, few-layer GO nano-sheets. EDS and FTIR techniques were used to probe the presence of oxygen functional groups on the GO surface. The XRD investigations revealed various crystallinity levels of the prepared GO nano-sheets depending on the treatment time. The MB degradation efficiency was maximized by optimizing the GO treatment time. The results showed that the oxidation treatment parameters of GO play a major role in adjusting its properties and can be effectively utilized to boost its performance for water purification applications.