GO@Fe3O4@ZnO@CS nanocomposite as a novel adsorbent for removal of doxorubicin hydrochloride from aqueous solutions

Abstract

In this study, GO@Fe3O4 functionalized with ZnO and modified via chitosan (CS) was used with a simple procedure to eliminate doxorubicin hydrochloride (DXH) from aqueous solutions. To that end, crystalline, chemical, and magnetic properties of GO@Fe3O4@ZnO@CS nanocomposite were confirmed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and X-ray diffraction spectrometry (XRD). The adsorption rate of DXH on the GO@Fe3O4@ZnO@CS nanocomposite was examined under various conditions including equilibrium time = 45 min, adsorbent dose = 0.01 g, solution pH = 7.0, temperature = 25 °C, and primary DXH concentration = 10 mg L−1. Adsorption of DXH was investigated from kinetic (i.e. pseudo first-order (PFO), pseudo second-order (PSO), and Elovich (E)) and equilibrium (i.e. Langmuir (L), Freundlich (F), Temkin (T) and Redlich-Peterson (R-P)) viewpoints. Results of the data analyses indicated the superb performance of GO@Fe3O4@ZnO@CS nanocomposite removing DXH from aqueous solutions. The short time of the adsorption process was another advantage of using this nanocomposite. The maximum adsorption capacity for DXH was obtained as 390 mg g−1.