Removal of Cu(II) Ions from Aqueous Solution Using Fe/La-CTAB-Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite as Efficient Adsorbent.

We report an approach for synthesis of Fe/La-CTAB-graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite with coprecipitation method prepared from natural graphite. The nanocomposite was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM and TEM, and was applied to remove copper ions in aqueous system. Also, the effect of various factors such as contact time, temperature, initial concentration of Cu(II) ions, and solution pH on Cu(II) ions adsorption over Fe/La-CTAB-GO nanocomposite was investigated. The results reveal that removal percentage of Cu(II) ions is over 91% (pH = 6.0) within 90 min, along with the initial concentration of Cu(II) ions of 10 mg/L and the dose of 15 mg. The adsorption of Cu(II) ions over Fe/La-CTAB-GO nanocomposite fitted well to Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.99855) and followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic (R2 = 0.99974). Thermodynamic parameters declare that the adsorption process is endothermic and spontaneous. Results of this work suggest that Fe/La-CTAB-GO nanocomposite can be a promising adsorbent for the removal of copper ions in aqueous solutions.