Synthesis of acetone reduced graphene oxide/Fe3O4 composite through simple and efficient chemical reduction of exfoliated graphene oxide for removal of dye from aqueous solution

A simple and effective technique for reduction of graphene oxide at low temperature (70 A degrees C) using acetone was reported for the first time. Magnetically recoverable acetone reduced graphene oxide (ARGO)/Fe3O4 composite was synthesized by uniformly decorating Fe3O4 on ARGO. The synthesized ARGO/Fe3O4 composite was characterized by the powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. An organic dye rhodamine 6G was used as an adsorbate for investigating the adsorption characteristics of the composite. The adsorption kinetic data were best described by the pseudo-second-order model, and equilibrium was achieved within 2 h. Dye adsorption was favored in basic conditions (pH 9-11) and governed by intraparticle diffusion process. The maximum dye adsorption on the composite was 93.37 mg/g at 293 K, and it followed the Langmuir-Freundlich model. The calculated thermodynamic parameters (Delta GA degrees, Delta HA degrees and Delta SA degrees) showed that the dye adsorption onto composite was feasible, spontaneous and exothermic. The ARGO/Fe3O4 composite was easily controlled in magnetic field for desired separation, leading to an easy removal of the dye from wastewater, which holds great potential for dye decontamination.