Adsorption of aniline from aqueous solution using graphene oxide-modified attapulgite composites

Adsorption is an efficient treatment method for aniline removal in water treatment. In this work, the composites of graphene oxide-modified attapulgite were prepared and used firstly to remove aniline from wastewater. The composites were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The effects of initial concentration, time, temperature and pH value on adsorption of aniline on graphene oxide-modified attapulgite are investigated. pH and temperature are found to have a significant influence on the adsorption amount. The experimental results showed that graphene oxide-modified attapulgite possesses strong adsorption ability for aniline with hydrogen bond interaction. The saturated adsorption amount could reach up to 90 mg g(−1) at pH = 2–4. The Langmuir isotherm is found to describe well the equilibrium adsorption data. Finally, graphene oxide-modified attapulgite is also observed to possess excellent reusability.