Chitosan/Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Membranes as Adsorbents with Applications in Water Purification

Abstract

The scope of this article is to develop composite membranes using chitosan (CS) and graphene oxide (GO) as adsorbents for the removal of inorganic pollutants such as heavy metal ions, particularly Pb2+, from aqueous solutions. GO was obtained by modified Hummers method and blended with CS solution. The introduction of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) compound to CS/GO suspension lead to an increased adsorption capacity of CS/GO for the elimination of heavy metals by forming stable chelates with them. The synthesized membranes were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the adsorption behaviour of Pb2+ from aqueous solutions using CS/EDTA/GO membranes was evaluated using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The adsorption performance of Pb2+ ions was studied by monitoring the concentration of Pb2+ against the adsorption period at an initial content of the adsorbent. The maximum adsorption efficiency of Pb2+ metal ions reached 767 mg·g−1 for CS/EDTA/GO 0.1%, 889 mg·g−1 for CS/EDTA/GO 0.3%, 970 mg·g−1 for CS/EDTA, 853 mg·g−1 for CS and 1526 mg·g−1 for GO. These findings show promising potential for CS/EDTA/GO membranes as effective adsorbent materials for the removal of heavy metal ions in water.

Electrically Triggered Drug Delivery from Novel Electrospun Poly(Lactic Acid)/Graphene Oxide/Quercetin Fibrous Scaffolds for Wound Dressing Applications

“…GO was synthesized using the modified Hummer’s method presented in our previous literature reports (Scheme 1 presented in [ 26 , 27 ]). Different solutions were prepared at discrete concentrations, as shown in Table 1 .…”

Graphene oxide and its nanocomposites with EDTA or chitosan induce apoptosis in MCF-7 human breast cancer

“…They also mentioned that the GO-CS composite's system might be due to the presence of a covalent attachment made by the cross-linking of CS and GO, which limits the destruction of the amine parts in the CS. 56 As is well-known from the literature 57,58 and as conrmed from the present FTIR results, there is an interaction between the amino groups in the chitosan chains with the epoxy groups on the GO surface, resulting in the transformation of the primary amino (-NH 2 ) group to secondary (-NH-) groups, as previously reported by Cao et al 57 In addition, CS contains amine and hydroxyl groups, while GO surfaces are fully with various functionalities. Thus, there is an interaction between these groups to form hydrogen bonds.…”

Chitosan-Based Nanocomposite Polymeric Membranes for Water Purification—A Review

“…They have shown that graphene oxide enhances the thermo-mechanical effects of polymeric membranes [ 210 ]. The GO presents functional groups on the surface that can transform into hydrophilic functional groups (-NH 2 , -OH, and -SO 3 H), which are useful in producing functionalized graphene oxide and graphene-based materials [ 211 , 212 ]. GO gained important consideration in applications regarding nanocomposite polymeric membranes for water treatment, inclusive in water purification, also examined as potential candidate for the removal of pharmaceuticals and organic molecules from water and wastewaters [ 212 , 213 ].…”

“…The GO presents functional groups on the surface that can transform into hydrophilic functional groups (-NH 2 , -OH, and -SO 3 H), which are useful in producing functionalized graphene oxide and graphene-based materials [ 211 , 212 ]. GO gained important consideration in applications regarding nanocomposite polymeric membranes for water treatment, inclusive in water purification, also examined as potential candidate for the removal of pharmaceuticals and organic molecules from water and wastewaters [ 212 , 213 ]. Like other nanofillers already presented in this paper, GO incorporation in polymeric membranes can bring significant change to the hydrophilic profile and improving also permeability performance [ 123 ].…”