One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of rGO-Fe3O4 hybrid nanocomposite for removal of Pb(II) via magnetic separation

• Published in: Chemical research in Chinese universities Vol. 31; no. 4; pp. 508 - 513
• Main Authors: Cao, Wei, Ma, Yiran, Zhou, Wei, Guo, Lin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Changchun Jilin University and The Editorial Department of Chemical Research in Chinese Universities 01.08.2015; School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, P.R.China
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Inorganic Chemistry; Organic Chemistry; Physical Chemistry; Nanocomposite; Adsorption; Magnetic separation; Graphene
• ISSN: 1005-9040; 2210-3171
• DOI: 10.1007/s40242-015-4487-6

The reduced graphene oxide-Fe 3 O 4 (rGO-Fe 3 O 4 ) hybrid nanocomposite was prepared via a one-pot facile hydrothermal method for adsorption of heavy metal ions. The results of compositional and morphological characterizations show that the Fe 3 O 4 NPs with an average diameter of 20 nm have been uniformly dispersed in rGO sheets. Due to the higher specific surface area of rGO and the magnetic properties of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles, the prepared rGO-Fe 3 O 4 hybrid nanosheets showed good adsorption capacity for the removal of Pb(II) from wastewater by simple magnetic separation. The result of control tests show that the adsorption capacity of rGO-Fe 3 O 4 can be influenced by the ratio of ferric chloride(FeCl 3 ) to graphene oxide(GO) during the process of sample preparation and the initial concentration of Pb(II). A better adsorption capacity was 30.68 mg/g at n (FeCl3)/ m (GO) ratio of 1:5(mmol:mg) at pH=7.0 with the initial concentration of Pb(II) ions of 80 mg/L, and the experimental data were well fitted with the Langmuir adsorption model. The composite with absorbed Pb(II) can be easily collected by magnetic separation from wastewater because of the excellent magnetism of Fe 3 O 4 NPs. The rGO-Fe 3 O 4 hybrid nanocomposite provides an effective and environment-friendly absorbent with great application potential in water purification.