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Synthesis of molybdenum disulfide/graphene oxide composites for effective removal of U (VI) from aqueous solutions

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Abstract

In this study, a novel adsorbents, molybdenum disulfide-graphene oxide (MoS2–GO) composites, is prepared by one-step hydrothermal method and used for U (VI) adsorption. SEM, XRD, FT-IR, BET and XPS results show that the MoS2 layers grow on the surface of graphene oxide layers, forming MoS2–GO composite structure. The specific surfaces area of MoS2–GO composite (5.5 m2/g) is higher than that of MoS2 (2.3 m2/g). Batch adsorption experiments indicate that the adsorption process of uranium (VI) on MoS2–GO conforms to the quasi-second-order kinetic model and the adsorption isotherm accords with Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity calculated by Langmuir model is 136 mg·g−1 at pH 5.0 and 298 K. Meanwhile, MoS2–rGO displays excellent selectivity for U (VI) in multicomponent metal ion solution. The increasement in specific surface area and the introduction of GO that rich in O-containing groups, provide more accessible binding sites for U (VI), which greatly enhance its uranium uptake capability. This work shows the potential of MoS2–GO as novel and promising materials in the efficient elimination of U (VI) from contaminated water and industrial effluents.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Excellent Youth Project of Scientific Research Fund of Hunan Provincial Education Department (grant number 18B271, 19B504 and 21B0440) and Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (Grant number 2021JJ40457).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Renjuan Liu, Hai Wang, Chengtao Yue, Xu Zhang, Meng Wang & Longcheng Liu

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  1. Renjuan Liu
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  3. Chengtao Yue
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Contributions

RL: Investigation, Conceptualization, Data curation, Writing—Original draft, Writing—Review & Editing. HW: Formal analysis, Methodology, Visualization, Conceptualization, Writing—Review & Editing. CY: Editing. XZ: Validation and Editing. MW: Supervision, Writing—Review & Editing. LL: Funding acquisition, Resources, Supervision, Writing—Review & Editing.

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Correspondence to Hai Wang.

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Liu, R., Wang, H., Yue, C. et al. Synthesis of molybdenum disulfide/graphene oxide composites for effective removal of U (VI) from aqueous solutions. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 331, 3713–3722 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-022-08425-8

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