Abstract:
A one-step solvothermal method was used to prepare barium (Ⅱ)-doped zinc ferrite/reduced graphene oxide (Ba
2+-ZF/rGO) magnetic nanohybrid adsorbents. During the solvothermal treatment, Ba
2+-ZF nanoparticles were formed from Ba
2+, Fe
3+ and Zn
2+ chlorides, which were anchored on the surface of rGO obtained from the reduction of GO with ethylene glycol. TEM and SEM results show that the Ba
2+-ZF nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the rGO sheets without any agglomeration. When used as adsorbents, the Ba
2+-ZF/rGO nanohybrid with an rGO content of 35% possesses excellent adsorption capacities for methylene blue at different initial concentrations and the adsorption kinetics can be well-described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The formation of Fe
2+ from FeCl
3·6H
2O and the doping of Ba
2+ into the spinel structure dramatically improve the magnetism of the zinc ferrite, which makes the magnetic separability of the nanohybrid outstanding. The Ba
2+-ZF/rGO nanohybrid could be used as an efficient, magnetically separable adsorbent for removing organic dyes.