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Updated: Jul 4, 2026
Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification
Published on: April 7, 2017
Hydrogel composites of agro-waste-derived graphene oxide and silica for removing methylene blue dye from aqueous
Nishat Tahsin1, Md Shahidur Rahman1, Md Aftab Ali Shaikh1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh anamul@du.ac.bd shahidur@du.ac.bd.
Abstract:
Novel hydrogel composites have been prepared by incorporating agricultural-waste-derived graphene oxide (GO-A) and silica (SiO2) into a three-dimensional polymer network of polyacrylamide (PAAm) for efficient removal of dye from aqueous solution. GO-A was synthesized from sugarcane bagasse through a single-step reforming process, while amorphous SiO2 was prepared from rice husk via heat treatment. Both the GO and SiO2 based PAAm hydrogel composites have been fabricated through one pot polymerization in the presence of crosslinker and initiator. The prepared GO-A, SiO2, GO-A/PAAm and GO-A/SiO2/PAAm materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and BET surface area analysis. The adsorption behavior of GO-A/PAAm and GO-A/SiO2/PAAm hydrogel composites for removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solutions has been systematically investigated under various experimental conditions to optimize adsorption performance. Both GO-A/PAAm and GO-A/SiO2/PAAm hydrogel composites have exhibited remarkable MB dye removal efficiency of ∼99% under optimized conditions, with a notable dye adsorption capacity of ∼437 mg·g-1 for the GO-A/PAAm hydrogel. Incorporation of mesoporous SiO2 into the GO-A/PAAm hydrogel and mechanical stirring significantly enhanced the adsorption kinetics due to improved pore accessibility and mass-transfer. Adsorption isotherm analysis revealed that the adsorption behavior of the GO-A/PAAm hydrogel better suited the Freundlich isotherm model, while kinetic studies revealed pseudo-second-order nature. The hydrogel also demonstrated worthy reusability, maintaining performance over five adsorption-desorption cycles with only minor adsorption capacity loss. Overall, the outcomes of this study highlight the significant potential applications of agricultural-waste-derived materials for the development of sustainable hydrogel-based adsorbents, offering a promising low cost, low-energy, and environmentally friendly approach for wastewater purification.
