Development and Characterization of SA-g-p(FA-AA)/GO Composite for Efficient Removal of Organic Dyes: A Step towards Water Treatment

This study aims to expanding sodium alginate poly grafted (fumaric acid-polyacrylic acid)/graphene oxide (SA-g-p(FA-AA)/GO) hydrogel for efficient dye removal. This adsorbent consists of a unique combination of SA-g-p(FA-AA) as a gel-like chemically cross-linked network by incorporating GO as a reinforcing agent and functional additive to enhance the hydrogel’s mechanical properties. An investigation was conducted to examine the impact of pH, adsorbent quantity, temperature, contact time, and salt on the swelling and dye removal capabilities of the synthesized hydrogels. The adsorption experiments revealed that 0.06 g of SA-g-p(FA-AA)/GO demonstrated the maximum adsorption capacity for Crystal Violet (CV) and Rose Bengal (RB) at pH 3 and contact time of 50 min. The dye adsorption kinetics were best modeled using the pseudo-second-order equation. The adsorption isotherms of CV and RB adsorption were analyzed. The CV adsorption follows multilayer Freundlich model, while RB is described by Langmuir’s monolayer isotherm. Additionally, the thermodynamic behavior of the studied dyes removal on SA-g-p(FA-AA) /GO were calculated.