Highly stable binder free CNTs/rGO aerogel electrode for decolouration of methylene blue & palm oil mill effluent via electro-Fenton oxidation process

Muhammad Amirul Nazhif Mohd Nohan; Chin Hua Chia; Aina Shasha Hashimi; Siew Xian Chin; Poi Sim Khiew; Sarani Zakaria; Azima Azmi; Kam Sheng Lau; Nur Fazlinda Razali

doi:10.1039/c9ra02364j

Highly stable binder free CNTs/rGO aerogel electrode for decolouration of methylene blue & palm oil mill effluent via electro-Fenton oxidation process

RSC Adv. 2019 May 28;9(29):16472-16478. doi: 10.1039/c9ra02364j. eCollection 2019 May 24.

Authors

Muhammad Amirul Nazhif Mohd Nohan¹, Chin Hua Chia¹, Aina Shasha Hashimi¹, Siew Xian Chin², Poi Sim Khiew³, Sarani Zakaria¹, Azima Azmi¹, Kam Sheng Lau¹, Nur Fazlinda Razali¹

Affiliations

¹ Materials Science Program, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600 Bangi Selangor Malaysia chia@ukm.edu.my.
² ASASIpintar Program, Pusat PERMATApintar, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600 Bangi Selangor Malaysia.
³ Center of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus Jalan Broga 43500 Semenyih Selangor Malaysia.

Abstract

In this study, single wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/reduced graphene oxides (rGO) aerogels were prepared by a one-pot hydrothermal process without using a binder. The produced CNTs/rGO aerogel was used as cathode in electro-Fenton system for the decolouration of methylene blue (MB) and palm oil mill effluent (POME). The addition of CNTs increased the surface area, pore volume and conductivity of the rGO aerogel, which further enhanced their performance as cathode towards the decolouration of MB and POME via electro-Fenton reaction. Complete decolouration of MB using rGO aerogel without CNTs could not be achieved. The effect of electro-Fenton reaction parameters conducted using the aerogel samples including, current, electrolyte concentrations and pH, were investigated accordingly. The CNTs/rGO aerogel electrode also showed high stability and reusability for up to six consecutive treatment cycles for MB. Besides, the CNTs/rGO aerogel also showed good performance in treating POME with 69.8%, 47.6% and 58.1% of reduction in true colour, total organic carbon (TOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), respectively, via 60 minutes electro-Fenton reaction. This study showed that CNTs/rGO aerogels with high porosity and stability can be prepared using simple procedure without adding binder. This fully carbon-based aerogel can serve as effective cathode for decolouration of organic dye and effluent.