The photocatalytic performance of graphene oxide/zinc oxide (GO/ZnO) nanocomposite was investigated for degradation of methylene blue (MB) from wastewater and was compared with that of zinc oxide (ZnO), graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotube/zinc oxide (CNT/ZnO). The properties of the GO/ZnO nanocomposite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The SEM and TEM results revealed the nanostructure of the composite. The photocatalytic process was modeled by response surface methodology (RSM), considering four independent factors. The significance of the model was approved by analysis of variance (ANOVA) (determination coefficient R2 = 0.95, R2adj = 0.91). The optimum conditions of the process were found to be at photocatalyst dosage, initial pH, H2O2 concentration and irradiation time of 2.1 g L-1, 4.5, 3.5 × 10-4 mol L-1 and 140 min, respectively. The removal of MB over GO/ZnO was 99% under the optimum conditions and was superior than that over GO and CNT/ZnO. According to Pareto analysis of the modeling, the irradiation time and photocatalyst dosage were the most effective factors on the decolorization efficiency of methylene blue, respectively.

Graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized from natural graphite using the Hummers method. Graphene oxide/zinc oxide nano composite were synthesized by mixing of GO and ZnO solutions and then freeze drying. The adsorptive performance of the nano composite was investigated in the removal of methylene blue. The statistical study of the adsorption process was carried out by response surface methodology (RSM). Experimental variables such as sample pH, adsorption time, dye concentration and adsorbent dosage were considered for the optimization process. The process was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) through Box-Benhken method. The optimum conditions, predicted by the RSM were obtained at pH, contact time, initial dye concentration and adsorbent dosage of 6,8.5 min, 5 ppm, 0.02 g, respectively. The removal of methylene blue under optimum conditions was predicted to be 98.17 % and resulted in 97 % in practice. The Pareto analysis suggested that order of relative importance of the factors were as follows: adsorbent dosage > dye concentration > adsorption time > pH. Under optimized conditions, GO/ZnO nano composite showed a higher capacity than GO, carbon nanotube (CNT), ZnO and ZnO/CNT for adsorption of methylene blue. The study revealed that GO/ZnO could be a promising adsorbent for removal of industrial dyes from wastewaters.

A determinação de chumbo e cádmio por espectrometria de absorção atômica de chama após a extração de fase sólida do óxido de grafeno (GO) utilizando o 4-acetamidotiofenol (ATP) como reagente quelante foi descrita. PM6 semi-empírico e a teoria de densidade funcional PBE foram os métodos usados na investigação do mecanismo de adsorção dos complexos em folhas de GO. Os principais fatores que influenciam a pré-concentração e determinação de analitos (pH, quantidade de ATP, tipo e concentração de eluente, fluxo e volume de amostra) foram examinados em detalhe. O efeito de íons interferentes no fator separação-pré-concentração também foi investigado. Para soluções de Pb(II) e Cd(II) 1,0 µg L-1, o fator de pré-concentração chegou a 250 (em condições otimizadas). Os limites de detecção para Pb(II) e Cd(II) foram 170 e 80 ng L-1, respectivamente. A validade do método proposto foi checada com materiais de referência padrão e foi aplicado com sucesso na determinacao de traços de Pb(II) e Cd(II) em amostras de água, ervas e peixe com recuperação de 99,4-103,5%.

The determination of lead and cadmium by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after solid phase extraction on graphene oxide column with use of 4-acetamidothiophenol (ATP) as chelating reagent was described. PM6 semi-empirical and PBE density functional theory methods were used to investigation of adsorption mechanism of the complexes on GO sheet. The main factors influencing the preconcentration and determination of the analytes (pH, ATP amount, eluent type and concentration, flow rate and sample volume) were examined in detail. The effect of interfering ions on the separation-preconcentration of analytes was also investigated. For Pb(II) and Cd(II) solutions of 1.0 µg L-1, the preconcentration factor was as high as 250 (under the optimized conditions). The detection limits for Pb(II) and Cd(II) were 170 and 80 ng L-1, respectively. The validity of the proposed method was checked with standard reference materials and it has been successfully applied for the determination of trace Pb(II) and Cd(II) in water, herbal and fish samples with the recoveries of 99.4-103.5%.