Adsorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by graphene and graphene oxide nanosheets

The adsorption of naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene onto graphene (GNS) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets was investigated to probe the potential adsorptive sites and molecular mechanisms. The microstructure and morphology of GNS and GO were characterized by elemental analysis, XPS, FTIR, Raman, SEM, and TEM. Graphene displayed high affinity to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), whereas GO adsorption was significantly reduced after oxygen-containing groups were attached to GNS surfaces. An unexpected peak was found in the curve of adsorption coefficients (Kd) with the PAH equilibrium concentrations. The hydrophobic properties and molecular sizes of the PAHs affected the adsorption of G and GO. The high affinities of the PAHs to GNS are dominated by π-π interactions to the flat surface and the sieving effect of the powerful groove regions formed by wrinkles on GNS surfaces. In contrast, the adsorptive sites of GO changed to the carboxyl groups attaching to the edges of GO because the groove regions disappeared and the polar nanosheet surfaces limited the π-π interactions. The TEM and SEM images initially revealed that after loading with PAH, the conformation and aggregation of GNS and GO nanosheets dramatically changed, which explained the observations that the potential adsorption sites of GNS and GO were unusually altered during the adsorption process.