Cellulose-derived magnetic carbon nano-composites and their remediation role in dye wastewater

Cellulose-derived magnetic carbon nano-composites were successfully prepared by a calcination method using cellulose modified with dopamine and ammonium ferric citrate as raw material. The structure and physicochemical properties of the synthetic materials were characterized by various detection means. The adsorption effects of the prepared samples on the dyes methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) in simulated wastewater were also evaluated. The results reveal that the sample C-1 exhibits a high BET surface area of 218.7 m²/g, with impressively high adsorption efficiencies of 97.0 % for MB and 97.5 % for MO. The adsorption process follows the second-order kinetic model. Due to their strong magnetism, the prepared adsorbents can be easily recovered and reused. After four consecutive cycles of adsorption-desorption, the adsorption efficiency of sample C-1 for MB remains as high as 87.78 %, while that for MO drops to only 38.23 %. These findings indicate that this adsorption material exhibits the excellent removal effect on the cationic dye MB in water. In summary, this study offers a novel approach for the efficient utilization of cellulose-based materials. And the prepared composite material can play an important role in the remediation of water bodies contaminated by dyes.