Highly efficient adsorption and mechanism of alkylphenols on magnetic reduced graphene oxide

Jing Li; Yalin Wu; Huahua Bai; Xiangli Wen; Qingxiang Zhou; Yongyong Yuan; Yongli Liu; Chunmao Chen; Libing Guo

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131232

Highly efficient adsorption and mechanism of alkylphenols on magnetic reduced graphene oxide

Chemosphere. 2021 Nov:283:131232. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131232. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

Authors

Jing Li¹, Yalin Wu², Huahua Bai³, Xiangli Wen⁴, Qingxiang Zhou⁵, Yongyong Yuan⁶, Yongli Liu⁷, Chunmao Chen⁸, Libing Guo⁹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Pollution Control, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, China; School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Pollution Control, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, China; Beijing Municipal Research Institute of Environmental Protection, Beijing, 100037, China.
³ Beijing Municipal Research Institute of Environmental Protection, Beijing, 100037, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Pollution Control, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, China. Electronic address: zhouqx@cup.edu.cn.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Pollution Control, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, China.
⁷ School of Environment, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, 453007, Henan, China.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Pollution Control, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, China. Electronic address: c.chen@cup.edu.cn.
⁹ Institute of Chemistry, Henan Academy of Sciences, 56 Hongzhuan Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450002, China.

PMID: 34147978
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131232

Abstract

The influence of alkylphenols to environment cannot be ignored, as they are common product from chemical industries and potential threat to human health. Some alkylphenols are listed as persistent toxic substances (PTS) by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In this study, the optimized magnetic reduced graphene oxide (MrGO) was synthesized by a facile solvothermal method, and investigated for adsorption of three typical alkylphenols. In neutral condition, MrGO showed extremely high adsorption capacity of three typical alkylphenols, 4-heptylphenol (4-HP), 4-tert-octylphenol (4-OP), and 4-nonylphenol (4-NP), which could reach 938.9 mg g^-1 (40 °C), 987.8 mg g^-1 (40 °C), and 989.7 mg g^-1 (20 °C), respectively. This study revealed that the adsorption process was a heterogeneous multi-layer physical adsorption, and the adsorption rates were related to the number of unoccupied vacancies on the adsorbent surface. From batch experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the main adsorption interactions between MrGO and alkylphenols were deduced to be π-π, hydrogen-bond, and hydrophobic interactions. What's more, the different affinities of MrGO towards different targets were further distinguished and explained in detail. The wonderful stability and recyclability of MrGO made it a promising cost-effective remediation candidate.

Keywords: Adsorption mechanism; Alkylphenols; Magnetic separation; Reduced graphene oxide; Regeneration.

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Graphite*
Humans
Magnetic Phenomena
Magnetics
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Water Pollutants, Chemical
graphene oxide
Graphite