Bifunctional graphene oxide-cellulose nanofibril aerogel loaded with Fe() for the removal of cationic dye simultaneous adsorption and Fenton oxidation

• Published in: RSC advances 2016-02, Vol.6 (24), p.19819-19825
• Main Authors: Sajab, Mohd Shaiful, Chia, Chin Hua, Chan, Chi Hoong, Zakaria, Sarani, Kaco, Hatika, Chook, Soon Wei, Chin, Siew Xian, Noor, An'Amt Mohamed
• Format: Article
• ISSN: 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/c5ra26193g

A highly porous cellulose nanofibril (CNF) aerogel loaded with graphene oxide-iron( iii ) (GO-Fe) nanocomposites was produced and used for the treatment of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution. The CNF aerogel serves as an adsorbent for the dye, while the GO-Fe nanocomposites play a role in the decomposition of the dye via the Fenton oxidation reaction. The aerogel exhibits rapid adsorption performance (less than 10 min) for removing MB, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 142.3 mg g −1 . On the side of enhancing the MB removal, the GO in the GO-CNF nanocomposite aerogel was loaded with 1 wt% of Fe( iii ) to perform as a catalyst for the Fenton oxidation reaction. The MB continues to decolorize by 30.4% more after 24 h of the reaction process. Moreover, by performing Fenton oxidation for adsorbent regeneration, the adsorption capacity for nanocomposite adsorption was reduced by 52.2% after five cycles of adsorption-oxidation. A highly porous cellulose nanofibril aerogel loaded with graphene oxide-iron( iii ) nanocomposites was produced and used for the treatment of methylene blue in aqueous solution.