am7b19102_si_001.pdf (3.84 MB)
Enhancement of Adsorption Performance for Organic Molecules by Combined Effect of Intermolecular Interaction and Morphology in Porous rGO-Incorporated Hydrogels
journal contribution
posted on 2018-05-04, 00:00 authored by Seungmin Lee, Byung Joon Moon, Hyun Jung Lee, Sukang Bae, Tae-Wook Kim, Yong Chae Jung, Jong Hyeok Park, Sang Hyun LeeIn
this study, we developed reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-incorporated
porous agarose (Ar-rGO) composites that were prepared via a “one-pot”
sol–gel method involving a mixing and vacuum freeze-drying
process. These composites represent an easy-to-use adsorbent for organic
contaminant removal. Ar-rGOs can efficiently adsorb organic molecules,
especially aromatic organic compounds from wastewater, because of
the synergistic effect between the agarose bundles, which function
as a water absorption site, and the rGO sheets, which function as
active sites for pollutant binding. The pore structures and morphology
of the Ar-rGO composites varied according to the added rGO, resulting
in effective water infiltration into the composites. The main adsorption
mechanism of the aromatic organic compounds onto Ar-rGOs involved π–π
interactions with the rGO sheets. The surface interaction was more
effective for adsorbing/desorbing the aromatic pollutants than the
electrostatic interaction via the O-containing functional groups.
In addition, we confirmed that Ar-rGO is highly stable over the entire
pH range (1–13) because of the presence of the rGO sheets.