Preparation and characterization of chitosan/graphene oxide composites for the adsorption of Au(III) and Pd(II)

In this work, graphene oxide (GO) was firstly prepared, following by element analysis. Glutaraldehyde cross-linked chitosan (GCCS) and chitosan/graphene oxide (CSGO) composite with three different amounts of GO (5 wt%, 10 wt% and 15 wt%) were also prepared for the adsorption of Au(III) and Pd(II) in aqueous solution. The properties of the adsorbents were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and surface area analysis. Batch adsorption studies were carried out. The adsorption of Au(III) and Pd(II) onto CSGO composites was optimum at pH 3.0–5.0 for Au(III) and pH 3.0–4.0 for Pd(II), which was much wider than that of GCCS. The adsorption isotherms obeyed the Langmuir isotherm models for the adsorption of Au(III) and Pd(II). Chitosan with 5 wt% graphene oxide (CSGO5) composite had the largest adsorption capacity for Au(III) and Pd(II) compared with the other prepared adsorbents, where the maximum adsorption capacity were 1076.649 mg/g for Au(III) and 216.920 mg/g for Pd(II), respectively. The adsorption kinetics of Au(III) and Pd(II) onto CSGO5 followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating that the chemical adsorption was the rate-limiting step. Thermodynamic parameters, such as Gibbs energy (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°), and entropy (ΔS°), were calculated, showing that the adsorption of Au(III) and Pd(II) onto CSGO5 were spontaneous, endothermic and feasible. The desorption studies of Au(III) and Pd(II) onto CSGO5 showed that CSGO5 can be used repeatedly without significantly changing its adsorption capacity and desorption percentage after 3 cycles. Besides CSGO5 was successfully applied for the determination and separation of Au(III) and Pd(II) in ore samples.