Reduced graphene oxide/iron nanoparticles used for the removal of Pb (II) by one step green synthesis

Xiaofeng Xiao; Qinging Wang; Gary Owens; Federica Chiellini; Zuliang Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2019.09.058

Reduced graphene oxide/iron nanoparticles used for the removal of Pb (II) by one step green synthesis

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2019 Dec 1:557:598-607. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.09.058. Epub 2019 Sep 19.

Authors

Xiaofeng Xiao¹, Qinging Wang¹, Gary Owens², Federica Chiellini³, Zuliang Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Fujian Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, Fujian Province, China.
² Environmental Contaminants Group, Future Industries Institute, Univerzity of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia.
³ Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, UdR INSTM PISA, Pisa, Italy.
⁴ Fujian Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, Fujian Province, China. Electronic address: zlchen@fjnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 31557580
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.09.058

Abstract

While nanomaterials are increasingly being proposed for contaminant remediation, a major challenge is how to develop high removal functionality while maintaining low cost and environmental friendliness. In this study, a hybrid reduced graphene oxide/iron nanoparticle (rGO/Fe NPs) was prepared via the in situ reduction of GO and FeCl₃ by eucalyptus leaf extract in one-pot. The obtained rGO/Fe NPs could rapidly remove 72.7% of Pb(II) from aqueous solution in 10 mins and remove up to the maximum removal efficiency of 82.4%. Electron microscopy, XPS and BET showed that the irregular Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, sized between 20 and 40 nm, were disorderly dispersed on rGO sheets, which constituted a mesoporous material. FTIR and XRD indicated that the surface of rGO/Fe NPs was capped by many active organic constituents from the eucalyptus leaf extract. rGO/Fe NPs also showed a high selectivity for Pb(II) with minimal interference from either calcium or magnesium ions in the solution. Finally, GC-MS separated 13 significant active organic constituents from the eucalyptus leaf extract that possibly contributed to the reduction of rGO/Fe NPs. Overall, eucalyptus leaf extracts, acted efficiently as green reducing agents and impacted reactivity of the final material by determining the components and surface properties of rGO/Fe NPs.

Keywords: Eucalyptus leaf extracts; Iron nanoparticles; Lead; Reduced graphene oxide; rGO/Fe NPs.