Nanocomposites of Fe2O3@rGO for adsorptive removal of arsanilic acid from aqueous solution

Arsanilic acid (ASA), an organic-arsenic veterinary drug used widely, has greatly attracted attention due to its potential threats. We report the nanocomposites of the alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles growth on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by a one-pot method. The alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles are densely covered on the surface of rGO according to the observations of transmission and scanning electron microscope. The adsorptive capacity (357.4 +/- 11.2 mg g(-1)) of the Fe2O3@rGO nanocomposites for ASA, which was more than the sum of adsorptive capacities of the pure alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles and rGO, revealed a remarkable enhancement due to the synergetic effect of multiple interactions and the good dispersion of alpha-Fe2O(3) nanoparticles with more active binding sites in the Fe2O(3)@rGO nanocomposites. The adsorption equilibrium of ASA onto the Fe2O3@rGO nanocomposites was achieved for 60 min, and the adsorption of ASA was dependent of pH and temperature, and independent of the concentration of humic acid ranging from 0 to 20 mg L-1. After five cycles of adsorption-desorption, the adsorptive amounts of ASA by the regenerative sorbent still retained 85% of adsorptive amount by the fresh sorbents. The adsorption process of ASA can be described by the Langmuir and the pseudo-second-order equations and is exothermic and spontaneous according to thermodynamic analysis.

Automated summary

The study reported on the nanocomposites of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles grown on reduced graphene oxide, which showed higher adsorption capacity and better regenerative performance for arsanilic acid, indicating potential applications in the field.