Preparation of polyglycerol mediated superparamagnetic graphene oxide nanocomposite and evaluation of its adsorption properties on tetracycline

In this paper, we synthesized a polyglycerol(PG)-mediated superparamagnetic graphene oxide nanocomposite called MGON, consisting of PG-modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) covalently bonded to PG-functionalized graphene oxide (GO). MGON exhibits better dispersibility and colloidal stability in aqueous solution than the magnetic graphene oxide reported in the literature. The physicochemical properties of MGON were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and UV-vis spectroscopy. Applied to the adsorption of tetracycline (TC) in aqueous solution as an adsorbent, the MGON showed excellent adsorption performance with the maximum adsorption capacity of 684.93 mg/g at 298 K. Adsorption kinetics and isotherm results indicate that the adsorption process conforms to the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models. Adsorption thermodynamics has confirmed that the adsorption process of TC on MGON is spontaneous and endothermic. With the increase of temperature, the adsorption capacity of MGON increases continuously, and the adsorption capacity of MGON is the largest when the pH value is 7. Furthermore, the π-π and cation-π interaction, amidation reaction, and hydrogen bonding can be used to explain the adsorption mechanism of TC on MGON. Desorption and regeneration experiments showed that MGON still had 67.65% regenerative performance after five cycles. Hence, MGON is a promising adsorbent in the removal of tetracycline from wastewater.