Fabrication of highly porous biodegradable monoliths strengthened by graphene oxide and their adsorption of metal ions

Ordered porous chitosan-gelatin/graphene oxide (CGGO) monoliths with over 97% porosity were prepared by a unidirectional freeze-drying method and used as adsorbents for metal ions. They were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. In addition, their water absorption, wet-state stability and compressive strength were measured. The adsorption behavior of the CGGO monoliths and influencing factors such as pH, graphene oxide (GO) concentration, metal ion concentration as well as the effect of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) were investigated. The incorporation of GO significantly increased the compressive strength of the CGGO monoliths in both their wet and dry states, and changed their porous structure. They exhibited an extremely high adsorbing ability for metal ions, which decreased at low pH, but increased from 20% to 88% upon the addition of EDTA at low pH. The CGGO monoliths have good stability and can be recycled several times with only a slight loss in adsorption ability. In addition, they are biodegradable, non-toxic, efficient and regenerable. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.