Effectiveness and mechanisms of the adsorption of phenol from wastewater onto N-doped graphene oxide aerogel

Phenol, as a representative toxic substance in coking wastewater, will cause harm to the ecology and human beings. Therefore, advanced treatment of phenol is urgently needed. However, most adsorbents have the problems of low adsorption capacity and difficult recovery in water dephenolization. It is imminent to develop a recyclable and effective adsorbent. Herein three-dimensional (3D) N-doped graphene oxide aerogel (NGOA) was synthesized by using ammonium citrate as reductant and nitrogen source. NGOA exhibits large specific surface area, developed pores, excellent hydrophilicity and mechanical properties. The static and dynamic adsorption properties of NGOA were investigated. NGOA has good adsorption performance and reusability. The static saturated adsorption capacity of NGOA for phenol reached 108.19 mg g−1, which was obviously higher than most adsorbents. Furthermore, the dynamic adsorption capacity of NGOA was 43.69 mg g−1, which illustrates that NGOA has immense potential in the uptake of phenol for industrial application. Importantly, monolithic NGOA could be easily separated and recovered after adsorption saturation. The adsorption behavior conforms to the endothermic physical adsorption process, which is matched with the Pseudo-first-order kinetic model and Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm model. This work has good scientific research value and practical application prospect.