γ-AlOOH decorated 3D-reduce graphene oxide: An effective adsorbent for removal of methylene blue and ciprofloxacin

Abstract

Engineering and synthesis of high-efficiency adsorbent is imperative for water purification. Herein, γ-AlOOH nanoflakes were in-situ decorated onto 3D-reduced graphene oxide (3D-rGO) with the intention of augmenting the specific surface area and ameliorating the adsorption capacity of 3D-rGO in virtue of a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The detailed morphological and structural information of γ-AlOOH/3D-rGO nanocomposite were captured via various instruments. γ-AlOOH/3D-rGO exhibited outstanding removal efficiency towards methylene blue (MB) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) due to its abundant mesopores, increased specific surface area and 3D macro structure. The MB model could well describe the MB adsorption behavior and CIP adsorption process can be fitted by the Elovich model. Isotherm fitting results proclaim that MB adsorption and CIP adsorption followed the Langmuir model; and γ-AlOOH/3D-rGO possessed outstanding adsorption for MB and CIP with the maximum adsorption capacity of 930.0889 mg/g at 288 K and 353.9148 mg/g at 318 K, respectively. The MB and CIP adsorption onto γ-AlOOH/3D-rGO should be the results of the joint action of hydrogen bonds, π-π interaction and complexation. γ-AlOOH/3D-rGO also exhibited excellent reusability after five cycles owing to its 3D macro structure.