Graphene oxide/cellulose composite for enhanced adsorption of Ce(III) from aqueous solution

A high-efficiency composite adsorbent was synthesized by mixing cellulose and graphene oxide (GO) in the lithium chloride/N,N-dimethyl-acetamide system. The cellulose/GO composite (D-RCGO) was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The influences of various parameters on the removal of Ce(III), such as the adsorbent dosage, temperature, initial Ce(III) concentration, contact time, and pH, were optimized using a range of batch adsorption experiments. Adsorption kinetics displayed adsorption behavior according to the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order model. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that the two peaks of Ce-3d almost disappeared after the desorption in NaCl solution, which indicated that the adsorption belonged to the ion exchange adsorption mechanism. Furthermore, the theoretical maximum capacity of the adsorption of Ce(III) onto D-RCGO was 225.8 mg·g-1. This work suggested that the D-RCGO composite membranes could serve as an effective and eco-friendly adsorbent for rare earth pollutant removal in wastewater treatment.