Facile synthesis of lanthanum hydroxide doped graphene oxide for scavenged of radioactive and heavy elements from water

Abstract Lanthanum hydroxide nanoparticles doped graphene oxide (GO-La(OH)3) was facile synthesized by sol–gel process and analyzed by spectroscopy and microscopy techniques including Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) spectroscopy. The prepared material exhibited high adsorption capacities of 78.82 and 71.42 mg g−1 for U(VI) and Pb(II), respectively. Batch studies confirmed that the adsorption was altered when conditions such as aqueous solution pH, dosage, and system temperature were varied, which indicates that the adsorption process comprises of chemical surface complexation. Further, it was conferred from the 2-pKa diffusion model fitting was well explained the adsorption process. The main and novel observations from the doping of GO surface with La can be termed as La-composites (such as La oxide and La(OH)3) are the alteration of the GO adsorption efficiency, enhancing of adsorbent separation rate from the aqueous solutions, and increases stability of the composite. In addition, the adsorption capacity was increased with the reaction temperature. The overall results have been indicating that the simple preparation of material having easy recovery and reliable adsorption efficiency for radioactive and heavy metals treatment applications.