Synthesis and environmental application of zirconium-chitosan/graphene oxide membrane

A zirconium-chitosan (CTS)/graphene oxide (GO) membrane (Zr-CTS/GO) was synthesized by the immobilization of Zr(IV) on CTS and GO. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns were applied to investigate the possible synthesis mechanism. ATR-FTIR results showed that the active epoxy and carboxyl groups in graphene reacted with the amino groups in CTS. XRD results demonstrated that stacked GO sheets were retained in the Zr-CTS/GO composite. The thermal stability and dynamic mechanical properties of the membrane were examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The results showed that the thermal stability and mechanical strength of Zr-CfS/GO were enhanced compared with that of CTS and GO. The Zr-CTS/GO membrane was applied for the removal of anions from groundwater collected in Inner Mongolia. The membrane could effectively remove fluoride within a wide temperature scope, from 15 degrees C to 40 degrees C, and reached adsorption equilibrium within 60 min. Zr-CTS/GO presented high affinities toward fluoride, bicarbonate, and sulfate. (C) 2017 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.