Carbon Based Polymeric Nanocomposites for Dye Adsorption: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Graphene oxide (GO) suffers from agglomeration and restacking, limiting its application efficacy.
• Developing strategies to maintain GO's high surface area and reactivity is crucial for advanced applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize a graphene oxide-polyaniline (GO-PANI) nanocomposite to mitigate GO agglomeration and restacking.
• To investigate the adsorptive removal of brilliant green (BG) dye from aqueous solutions using the novel GO-PANI nanocomposite.

Main Methods:

• Graphene oxide (GO) synthesized via a modified Hummer's method.
• In situ chemical oxidation polymerization to embed polyaniline (PANI) chains onto GO edges, forming GO-PANI nanocomposite.
• Batch mode adsorption studies to evaluate BG removal efficiency, kinetics, and isotherm modeling.

Main Results:

• The GO-PANI nanocomposite exhibited dominant hydroxyl and carboxylic functionalities.
• Optimal BG adsorption occurred at pH 7, reaching equilibrium within 30 minutes.
• Adsorption followed Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics, with a maximum capacity of 142.8 mg/g.
• The adsorption process was endothermic, driven by π-π stacking and electrostatic interactions.

Conclusions:

• The developed GO-PANI nanocomposite effectively prevents GO restacking and agglomeration.
• GO-PANI demonstrates significant potential as an adsorbent for removing brilliant green dye from wastewater.
• The findings highlight the synergistic effects of GO and PANI in enhancing adsorption properties.