Mg(OH)2/Graphene Nanocomposites Prepared by Cathodic Electrodeposition for the Adsorption of Congo Red

Abstract

A facile cathodic electrodeposition process was developed to prepare Mg(OH)2/Graphene nanocomposites (MGN), which was used to remove Congo Red (CR), an anionic dye from aqueous solution. The morphology and phase structure were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The effects of experimental parameters, such as graphene content, adsorption time, initial concentrations of CR and pH values, on the adsorption capacity of CR were studied. The obtained MGN shows the good performance in CR, with an adsorption capacity of 1986.43[Formula: see text]mg[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text]. The equilibrium adsorption and kinetics data fit with Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order model, respectively. Thermodynamic data suggest that CR adsorption onto MGN is spontaneous ([Formula: see text]: –9.62[Formula: see text]kJ[Formula: see text]mol[Formula: see text] at 313[Formula: see text]K, endothermic ([Formula: see text]: 36.261[Formula: see text]kJ[Formula: see text]mol[Formula: see text] and the degree of disorder increased ([Formula: see text]: 146.848[Formula: see text]J[Formula: see text]moL[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K[Formula: see text] at the solid-solution interface. Moreover, the adsorption activation energy ([Formula: see text]: 38.929[Formula: see text]kJ[Formula: see text]mol[Formula: see text] of CR evaluated from the Arrhenius equation illustrates that it is a physical process. This adsorbent exhibits efficient adsorption properties and high recycling efficiency, making it a promising adsorbent for removing anionic dyes.