Adsorption and Desorption of U(VI) on Functionalized Graphene Oxides: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

The adsorption and desorption of U(VI) on graphene oxides (GOs), carboxylated GOs (HOOC-GOs), and reduced GOs (rGOs) were investigated by batch experiments, EXAFS technique, and computational theoretical calculations. Isothermal adsorptions showed that the adsorption capacities of U(VI) were GOs > HOOC-GOs > rGOs, whereas the desorbed amounts of U(VI) were rGOs > GOs > HOOC-GOs by desorption kinetics. According to EXAFS analysis, inner-sphere surface complexation dominated the adsorption of U(VI) on GOs and HOOC-GOs at pH 4.0, whereas outer-sphere surface complexation of U(VI) on rGO was observed at pH 4.0, which was consistent with surface complexation modeling. Based on the theoretical calculations, the binding energy of [G···UO2]2+ (8.1 kcal/mol) was significantly lower than those of [HOOC-GOs···UO2]2+ (12.1 kcal/mol) and [GOs-O···UO2]2+ (10.2 kcal/mol), suggesting the physisorption of UO22+ on rGOs. Such high binding energy of [GOs-COO···UO2]+ (50.5 kcal/mol) revealed that the desorption of U(VI) from the −COOH groups was much more difficult. This paper highlights the effect of the hydroxyl, epoxy, and carboxyl groups on the adsorption and desorption of U(VI), which plays an important role in designing GOs for the preconcentration and removal of radionuclides in environmental pollution cleanup applications.