Graphene Oxide-Based Adsorbents for Organic-Dyes Removal from Contaminated Water: A Review

Polluted organic dyes in water are considered as some of the most serious problems affecting humans. Adsorption techniques using traditional adsorbents such as clay, zeolite, silica, active carbon, and polymers are low cost, safe, and efficient for the treatment of organic dyes in contaminated water. However, traditional adsorbents usually have low adsorption capacity (q(max)). To improve q(max), graphene oxide (GO) is considered as an excellent adsorption enhancer owing to its two-dimensional single atomic layer material of sp(2)-hybridised carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice structure with high surface area, high solubility, good chemical stability, strong mechanical strength, and excellent thermal stability. In this review, the synthesis and advantage results on improving the adsorption efficiency and q(max) when applying GO-based nanocomposites as nanosorbents for organic-dye removal are systematised and discussed in detail.