Preparation and characterization of 3D graphene oxide nanostructures embedded with nanocomplexes of chitosan- gum Arabic biopolymers

Although graphene oxide (GO) is a good adsorber, it has a low stability in pure form which can be improved by the development of GO-based composites. In this study, 3D nanostructures with GO, surface-decorated by nanocomplexes of chitosan (CS) and gum Arabic (GA), so called 3D GO-CS/GA nanocomposites were designed. The instrumental analysis confirmed the interaction of complexes with oxygenated functional groups of GO which improved both of d-spacing in 3D sheets by 16%, and GO thickness from 1.0 to 8.1 nm. Also, an unprecedented similar to 3-fold increase was observed in the surface area of 3D GO-CS/GA compared with single GO. The 3D nano composites showed a mesoporous structure with a pore volume of 0.72 cm(3)/g and a prevailing pore size distribution of about 10 nm. The adjustability of nanocomposite surface charge over pH was another important result. The synthesized nanostructures would be of profound interest for numerous areas including adsorption processes. (c) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.