Surface interaction of tetrabromobisphenol A, bisphenol A and phenol with graphene-based materials in water: Adsorption mechanism and thermodynamic effects

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials advances Vol. 9; p. 100227
• Main Authors: Catherine, Hepsiba Niruba, Tan, Kok-Hou, Shih, Yang-hsin, Doong, Ruey-an, Manu, Basavaraj, Ding, Jiann-yuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.02.2023
• Subjects: Bisphenol A; Emerging contaminants; Graphene oxide; Phenol; Sorption; Temperature; Tetrabromobisphenol A; Sorption; Bisphenol A; Phenol; Temperature; Tetrabromobisphenol A; Graphene oxide; Emerging contaminants
• ISSN: 2772-4166; 2772-4166
• DOI: 10.1016/j.hazadv.2022.100227

•Graphene oxide (GO) adsorbed emerging compounds less than reduced GO (rGO).•Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order can describe adsorption well.•Endothermic and spontaneous adsorption with small change in entropy was observed.•Adsorption mechanism was governed by π – π interactions and hydrogen bonding.•GO and rGO with organic pollutants can affect their fate in aquatic environment. Carbon-based materials, especially graphene nanocomposites (GNS) have attracted wide attention in recent years. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were prepared using the Improved Hummers method and were investigated for their adsorption behavior of emerging contaminants such as tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), bisphenol A (BPA), and a conventional contaminant, phenol. The adsorption capacity seemed to slightly increase with increasing reduction degree of GO, highlighting its hydrophobic effect. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were well delineated using pseudo-second-order and Langmuir equations respectively. At higher temperatures, the adsorption of these selected organic contaminants on GO and rGO slightly increased, also indicating the slight effect of temperature on the adsorption in the environment. From a thermodynamic analysis, the endothermic and spontaneous reaction was observed. The adsorption mechanisms included hydrophobicity, π- π interactions and π electron acceptor and donor ones. GNS can suspend in water even after adsorbing pollutants at the water interface. This would enhance the transport of these contaminants with nanomaterials in the environment. These findings are valuable to elucidate the interaction mechanism between phenol, BPA, and TBBPA on GNS while further understanding the physicochemical behavior of these organic contaminants in the environment. Summary: Adsorption capacities of emerging contaminants, BPA and TBBPA, as well as phenol on graphene oxide (GO) and reduced GO (rGO), were similar. Higher temperatures slightly increased the adsorption of these phenolic compounds on GO and rGO, which also indicated an endothermic and spontaneous process. [Display omitted]