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Clicking graphene oxide and Fe3O4 nanoparticles together: an efficient adsorbent to remove dyes from aqueous solutions

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Abstract

Nanohybrid of graphene oxide (GO) and azide-modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated using click reaction. First, Fe3O4 NPs were modified by 3-azidopropionic acid. Then, click-coupling of azide-modified Fe3O4 NPs with alkyne-functionalized GO was carried out in the presence of CuSO4·5H2O and sodium l-ascorbate at room temperature. The attachment of Fe3O4 NPs onto the graphene nanosheets was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and X-ray diffraction spectrometry. As the FTIR spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis showed, the final magnetic graphene nanosheets were also reduced by sodium ascorbate which is a merit for click-coupling reactions. The specific saturation magnetization of the Fe3O4-clicked GO was 44.3 emu g−1. The synthesized hybrid was used in the adsorption of methylene blue and congo red (CR). The adsorption capacities in the studied concentration range were 109.5 and 98.8 mg g−1 for methylene blue and CR, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

Authors are pleased to acknowledge the University of Tabriz and Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology (RCPN), Tabriz University of Medical Science for financial support of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Dendrimers and Nano-Biopolymers, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, P.O. Box 51666, Tabriz, Iran

    M. Namvari & H. Namazi

  2. Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology (RCPN), Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran

    H. Namazi

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  1. M. Namvari
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Correspondence to H. Namazi.

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Namvari, M., Namazi, H. Clicking graphene oxide and Fe3O4 nanoparticles together: an efficient adsorbent to remove dyes from aqueous solutions. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 11, 1527–1536 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-014-0595-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-014-0595-y

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