Synthesis of Graphene-Based Nanocomposites for Environmental Remediation Applications: A Review

The term graphene was coined using the prefix “graph” taken from graphite and the suffix “-ene” for the C=C bond, by Boehm et al. in 1986. The synthesis of graphene can be done using various methods. The synthesized graphene was further oxidized to graphene oxide (GO) using different methods, to enhance its multitude of applications. Graphene oxide (GO) is the oxidized analogy of graphene, familiar as the only intermediate or precursor for obtaining the latter at a large scale. Graphene oxide has recently obtained enormous popularity in the energy, environment, sensor, and biomedical fields and has been handsomely exploited for water purification membranes. GO is a unique class of mechanically robust, ultrathin, high flux, high-selectivity, and fouling-resistant separation membranes that provide opportunities to advance water desalination technologies. The facile synthesis of GO membranes opens the doors for ideal next-generation membranes as cost-effective and sustainable alternative to long existing thin-film composite membranes for water purification applications. Many types of GO–metal oxide nanocomposites have been used to eradicate the problem of metal ions, halomethanes, other organic pollutants, and different colors from water bodies, making water fit for further use. Furthermore, to enhance the applications of GO/metal oxide nanocomposites, they were deposited on polymeric membranes for water purification due to their relatively low-cost, clear pore-forming mechanism and higher flexibility compared to inorganic membranes. Along with other applications, using these nanocomposites in the preparation of membranes not only resulted in excellent fouling resistance but also could be a possible solution to overcome the trade-off between water permeability and solute selectivity. Hence, a GO/metal oxide nanocomposite could improve overall performance, including antibacterial properties, strength, roughness, pore size, and the surface hydrophilicity of the membrane. In this review, we highlight the structure and synthesis of graphene, as well as graphene oxide, and its decoration with a polymeric membrane for further applications.