Issue 10, 2024

Removal of Pb-based compounds mediated by graphene oxide-like materials obtained from Sargassum: unravelling key features of their interaction using density functional theory and spectroscopic methods

Abstract

Graphene oxide obtained from biomass possesses a rich variety of properties and applications. Sargassum, a macroalgae abundant in the Caribbean Sea, has been proposed as a viable and cost-effective biomass. Graphene oxide derived from Sargassum has an unprecedented selectivity for Pb capture in the hydrocerussite phase. This study presents exhaustive theoretical and experimental efforts to understand the interaction between Pb-based molecules (Pb, Pb(CO3)3, and Pb(OH)2) with representative models of the functional groups present in graphene oxide (COOH, OOH, OH, and O). Our results demonstrate that CO3 enhances the Pb adsorption on the graphene oxide surface. Hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions between CO3 of the Pb(CO3)3 with the GO surface are the driving forces to improve the Pb capturing process and further hydrocerussite formation on GOs. Although Pb and Pb(OH)2 can also be trapped by graphene oxide, it is less probable from an energetic point of view. Here, we demonstrate that low-cost graphene oxide obtained from Sargassum can be useful in environmental remediation.

Graphical abstract: Removal of Pb-based compounds mediated by graphene oxide-like materials obtained from Sargassum: unravelling key features of their interaction using density functional theory and spectroscopic methods

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 apr 2024
Accepted
16 aug 2024
First published
23 aug 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2024,11, 4372-4380

Removal of Pb-based compounds mediated by graphene oxide-like materials obtained from Sargassum: unravelling key features of their interaction using density functional theory and spectroscopic methods

S. J. Gutierrez-Ojeda, R. Martínez-Flores, R. Pareja-Rodríguez, G. Rodriguez-Gattorno, R. Ponce-Pérez, M. G. Moreno-Armenta and J. Guerrero-Sánchez, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2024, 11, 4372 DOI: 10.1039/D4EN00301B

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