Engineered Graphite Oxide Materials for Application in Water Purification

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Wei Gao†, Mainak Majumder*‡, Lawrence B. Alemany†, Tharangattu N. Narayanan§, Miguel A. Ibarra§, Bhabendra K. Pradhan, and Pulickel M. Ajayan*†§

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2011, 3 (6), pp 1821–1826

DOI: 10.1021/am200300u

Publication Date (Web): May 13, 2011

Copyright © 2011 American Chemical Society

E-mail: mainak.majumder@monash.edu (M.M.); ajayan@rice.edu (P.M.A.).

Retaining the inherent hydrophilic character of GO (graphite-oxide) nanosheets, sp² domains on GO are covalently modified with thiol groups by diazonium chemistry. The surface modified GO adsorbs 6-fold higher concentration of aqueous mercuric ions than the unmodified GO. “Core–shell” adsorbent granules, readily useable in filtration columns, are synthesized by assembling aqueous GO over sand granules. The nanostructured GO-coated sand retains at least 5-fold higher concentration of heavy metal and organic dye than pure sand. The research results could open avenues for developing low-cost water purification materials for the developing economies.