Preparation of graphene oxide/cellulose composites in ionic liquid for Ce (III) removal

An environmental friendly adsorbent was prepared by mixing graphene oxide (GO) and cellulose in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquid. The characterization of GO/cellulose composite films (CGC) was carried out by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Ce (III) adsorption on CGC was evaluated systematically, revealing that the adsorption equilibrium could be achieved within 40 min. The adsorption behavior was well fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir adsorption model. The XPS analysis indicated that two peaks attributing to Ce-3d nearly disappeared after desorption in NaCl, which confirmed the ion exchange mechanism. Furthermore, the CGC adsorbent had a high adsorption capacity of Ce (III) in a wide pH range of 3-8 with a theoretical maximum adsorption capacity of Ce (III) 109.1 mg g(-1). This work indicated that as-prepared CGC is a promising adsorbent for removing rare earth ions pollutants from wastewater.