Sustainable triethylenetetramine modified sulfonated graphene oxide/chitosan composite for enhanced adsorption of...

A novel sulfonated group and triethylenetetramine modified GO/chitosan (GO-CS) adsorbent (T-SGO-CS) was successfully prepared and utilized for the adsorption of heavy metal ions from single-metal, binary-metal, and ternary-metal solutions. In a single system, the adsorption capacity was 312.28 mg/g for Pb²⁺, 260.52 mg/g for Cd²⁺, and 84.61 mg/g for Ni²⁺, whereas, Adsorption of Pb(II), Cd(II), and Ni(II) in binary and ternary systems was systematically studied. In tertiary systems, the effect of competitive adsorption was more pronounced. In addition, T-SGO-CS exhibited a high adsorption capacity and was recyclable for Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Ni²⁺. T-SGO-CS is a novel and highly efficient adsorbent for omnidirectionally enhancing the adsorption of Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Ni²⁺, as demonstrated by these results. Therefore, T-SGO-CS could be investigated as a potential new material for future applications in heavy metal removal.