High-efficient adsorption for versatile adsorbates by elastic reduced graphene oxide/Fe3O4 magnetic aerogels mediated by carbon nanotubes

Fabrication of highly elastic three-dimensional aerogel adsorbents with outstanding adsorption capacities is a long pursuit for the treatment of industrial contaminated water. In this work, a magnetic reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/Fe3O4/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) aerogel material was constructed by the electrostatic attraction between the negatively charged GO and positively charged CNTs following a one-pot water bath treatment. The assynthesized aerogel demonstrated high compressive stress (28.4 kPa) and lower density (24.11 mg/cm3) with exceptional adsorption capacities for versatile adsorbates which are attributed to CNTs and magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The effect of pH, initial concentration of adsorbates (dyes, Cd (CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER BYELORUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN ICYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER BYELORUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN I) ions, organic solvents, and pump oil), content of CNTs and cyclic times on the adsorption capacities of the aerogel were investigated in detail. Furthermore, from simulation, the adsorption kinetics, and thermodynamics of the aerogel for adsorbates were more satisfied by endothermic quasi-second-order kinetic model with characteristic physical adsorption. Thus, the optimized rGO/Fe3O4/CNTs-10 aerogel adsorbent can be used as a powerful and versatile tool to deal with contaminated industrial or domestic wastewater.

Automated summary

In this study, a highly elastic three-dimensional aerogel adsorbent with exceptional adsorption capacities was fabricated for the treatment of industrial contaminated water. A magnetic reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/Fe3O4/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) aerogel material was constructed through electrostatic attraction. The aerogel demonstrated high compressive stress, lower density, and exceptional adsorption capacities attributed to CNTs and magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The effects of various factors on the adsorption capacities of the aerogel were investigated, and the optimized rGO/Fe3O4/CNTs-10 aerogel adsorbent showed great potential for dealing with contaminated wastewater.