Developing a two-component nanocomposite of graphene oxide and ferrisilicate zeolite for photocatalytic removal of organic pollutants

Nowadays, different industries introduce a lot of organic pollutants into the water sources that their removal is of fundamental important in modern society. In this regard, we aimed the synthesis of ferrosilicate zeolite with ZSM-۵ structure and its composite with graphene oxide (GO) and investigation of photocatalytic activity. Zeolites are crystalline, hydrated aluminosilicates of alkali and alkaline earth metals (group I and II elements) that form three-dimensional networks. ZSM-۵ zeolite is one of the most important synthetic zeolites. The pores of the ZSM-۵ structure are formed of ۱۰-membered rings whose planes are connected by oxygen bridges. Graphene oxide has the unique property of being able to disperse as individual sheets in solution. Another unique property of GO is its swelling in polar solvents. When GO is exposed to water vapor or immersed in water, the interlayer spacing of GO expands proportionally to the amount of solvent introduced. Graphene oxide and ferrisilicate were first synthesized in pure form using hummers and hydrothermal methods, respectively. In the next step, A solid state dispersion (SSD) method was used to prepare GO ۲۰%/ferrisilicate composite containing ۲۰ wt% GO. To study the structure and properties of synthesized materials, techniques such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Dispersive Reflectance Spectrophotometer (DRS) analysis were used. Then, the photocatalytic performance of composites was investigated by removing organic pollutant, methylene blue from water. Among the prepared materials, the highest removal efficiency was obtained for GO ۲۰%/Ferrisilicate composite. The presence of graphene oxide in this composite led to the improvement of its adsorption properties and increment of removal efficiency compared to pure Ferrisilicate.

کلیدواژه ها:

Graphene Oxide ، Ferrisilicate ، Photocatalyst ، Methylene blue