Magnetic graphene oxide prepared via ammonia coprecipitation method: The effects of preserved functional groups on adsorption property

Abstract

Chromium (Cr) has become one of the main pollutants in tannery wastewater, which causes great harm to human health and environment, especially after being oxidized. Herein, the magnetic graphene oxide composite (GO/Fe3O4) is synthesized via coprecipitation method with NH3·H2O. In this way, the self-functional group of graphene oxide (GO) are greatly reserved when Fe3O4 nanoparticles grown on GO sheets, confirming by characterizations, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman. Up to 90% Cr3+ could be adsorbed by resulted GO/Fe3O4 within 140 min, and the maximum adsorption capacity is 279.62 mg g−1. Furthermore, Cr3+ is mainly absorbed by chemical adsorption, according with quasi-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm. Most importantly, the external magnetic field can effectively recycle the adsorbents from the aqueous solution, facilitating its application in large-scale treatment of tannery wastewater.