ReviewAdsorptive remediation of environmental pollutants using novel graphene-based nanomaterials
Graphical abstract
Introduction
Since the industrial revolution, rapid developments in industrialization, population expansion, and urbanization have largely contributed to the severe pollution to air, water and soil. A vast of pollutants discharged from industrial processes and households annually have caused significant effects on the eco-environment and human life. These pollutants include toxic gases (NOx, SOx, CO, NH3), heavy metals, organics and bio-toxics. A number of physical, chemical and biological technologies have been developed to control the pollution successfully [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]. Among the various available technologies, adsorption process is widely used and considered as a simple and easy operation and it can effectively remove different types of pollutant from the environment [7], [8]. In addition, adsorption does not result in secondary pollution by producing harmful substances during the process.
For any adsorption process, an adsorbent having large surface area, pore volume, and proper functionalities is the key to success. Currently, many different porous materials have been developed, such as activated carbon, pillared clays, zeolites, mesoporous oxides, polymers and metal–organic frameworks, showing varying extent of effectiveness in removing the toxic pollutants from air, water and soil [8], [9], [10], [11], [12]. Among them, carbonaceous-based adsorbents including activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, and fullerene usually show high adsorption capacity and thermal stability [13], [14], [15], [16].
In the past a few years, graphene oxide (GO) and graphene nanosheets (GNs) have attracted tremendous interest in the world. Graphene is a two-dimensional carbon nanomaterial with single layer of sp2-hybridized carbon atoms arranged in six-membered rings. Graphene has strong mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties, with a theoretical value of specific surface area at 2630 m2/g [17]. GO is functionalized graphene with varying oxygen-containing groups. Several reviews have been reported on applications of GO and GNs in different areas such as physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], however, few reviews on graphene-based materials as adsorbents for pollutant removal is available [22]. In this paper, we will review the research in graphene-based nanomaterials as adsorbents for removal of various types of contaminant in air and water systems.
Section snippets
Synthesis and structure of GO and GNs
Currently, most GO is synthesized by chemical oxidation and exfoliation of pristine graphite using either the Brodie, Staudenmaier, or Hummers method, or some variations of these methods. Brodie first found that the oxidizing mixture (KClO4 + fuming HNO3) could form GO only with graphitizable carbons that contain regions of graphitic structure [23]. Staudenmaier then reported the formation of GO when graphite was heated with H2SO4, HNO3, and KClO4 [24]. Later, Hummers and Offeman introduced a
Adsorptive removal of gas pollutants
Air pollutants include toxic gases and particulates. NOx, SOx, H2S, NH3, CO, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the most important gaseous pollutants, which can cause significant damages to the eco-environment and human health. A traditional method for polluted air remediation is adsorption using solid adsorbents such as highly porous zeolites [37], [38], [39] and activated carbon [40], [41], [42], [43]. In the past years, it was found that GO, GNs and their modified forms can also be
Water treatment by GO or GNs adsorption
There are many pollutants in groundwater, surface water and wastewater systems. The important pollutants in water include anions and heavy metal cations as well as organic compounds. For removal of those pollutants, various carbon materials including activated carbon [59], [60], [61] and carbon nanotubes [13], [62] have been widely investigated in previous years and they show high adsorption capacity. Compared with activated carbon and carbon nanotubes, GO and GNs also present strong adsorption
Conclusion and perspectives
GO and GNs are new carbonaceous materials with high surface area and functional groups. These materials can be used as adsorbents to effectively remove various gaseous and aqueous pollutants. The adsorption depends on adsorbate forms, ionic or hydrophobic. As GO shows strong acidity and negative charges, it exhibits high adsorption of basic chemicals such as ammonia and cationic ions via reactive adsorption and ionic binding. On the contrary, due to loss of oxygen species, the π–π interaction
Acknowledgement
This project is partially supported by the Australian Research Council under Project no. DP130101319.
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