Development and Evaluation of Cellulose/Graphene-Oxide Based Composite for Removing Phenol from Aqueous Solutions

In this study, a graphene oxide/cellulose composite (GO–cellulose) was prepared usingcellulose and graphene oxide (GO) through ultrasonication, followed by the freeze-dried method. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area of GO–cellulose (~6.042 m(2)/g) was higher compared to cellulose (1.023 m(2)/g).The UV-Visible spectraindicated that the prepared GO–cellulose composite removedphenol efficiently from aqueous solutions with high adsorption power. The effectiveness of the composite for phenol adsorption was examinedunder diverse conditions.The results reveal that the composite optimally improved the adsorption at pH 7 with a dose of 0.125 g/30 L in about 40 min. The adsorption process showed that in optimum conditions, 86 ± 2% of phenol was removed in 40 min with an adsorption capacity of 6.192 mg g(−1). The adsorption behavior was well fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherms at all temperatures.The present study suggests that synthesized GO–cellulose is useful inthe removal of phenol pollutants from aqueous solutions.