Mechanical and dye adsorption properties of graphene oxide/chitosan composite fibers prepared by wet spinning

Graphene oxide/chitosan composite fibers were prepared by a wet spinning method, and their mechanical properties were investigated. Experimental results showed that the introduction of graphene oxide at 4 wt% loading can improve the tensile strengths of chitosan fibers. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to study the effect of various parameters, such as the initial pH value, adsorbent dosage, contact time and temperature on adsorption of fuchsin acid dye. The Langmuir model was used to fit the experimental data of adsorption isotherm, and kinetic studies showed that the adsorption data followed the pseudo-second order model. Thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption of fuchsin acid dye on graphene oxide/chitosan fibers was a spontaneous and exothermic process. Our results indicate that the graphene oxide/chitosan fibers have excellent mechanical properties and can serve as a promising adsorbent for the removal of dyes from aqueous solutions. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.