Removal of Reactive Red120 from Aqueous Solutions by Graphene Oxide/Zirconium Oxide Nanocomposites

Abstract

A graphene oxide/zirconium oxide (GO/ZrO2) nanocomposite was developed and evaluated for the efficient removal of Reactive Red120 (RR120) dye. The characterization of the GO/ZrO2 nanocomposite was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller (BET), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Box‐Behnken design (BBD) was used as a statistical optimization to evaluate the effects of adsorption parameters, including adsorbent concentration, RR120 amount, and removal time. The study describes the GO/ZrO2 nanocomposite adsorbent, which has a potential application in the treatment of anionic dye‐contaminated water.