Highly efficient removal of Cr(VI) from water based on graphene oxide incorporated flower-like MoS₂ nanocomposite prepared in situ hydrothermal synthesis

An efficient adsorbent for the treatment of Cr(VI) was simply fabricated by combining graphene oxide with MoS₂ nanosheets via in situ hydrothermal process with CTAB as the surfactant. The experimental results indicated that the agglomeration of the MoS₂ nanosheets are reduced and uniformly grown on the graphene sheet during the in situ hydrothermal process, and the introduction of graphene oxide provided higher specific surface area and abundant oxygenic groups. Based on this, the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) onto MoS₂/rGO was 75.9% at pH 2.0, which was higher than that of bulk MoS₂ (61.0%). On account of Sips adsorption isotherm model, the highest uptake capacity of MoS₂/rGO toward Cr(VI) reached 80.8 mg g^-1. The adsorption kinetic consequences showed that the chemisorption process was the control step, and the removal mechanism for Cr(VI) is redox and adsorption; in this way, the adsorbed Cr(VI) was partially reduced to Cr(III). Furthermore, this as-prepared adsorbent also presented satisfying reusability for removal of Cr(VI) and can be used for the selective removal of Cr(VI) in the presence of NO₃^-. In short, it may provide a potential route to enhance the adsorption property of MoS₂ toward heavy metals through incorporating with GO, which would expand the applications of MoS₂ in the field of treatment of the heavy metal wastewater.