Capture of water contaminants by a new generation of sorbents based on graphene and related materials

Abstract

Growing concern about water contamination along with the necessity of ensuring water quality and sustainable management of limited water resources have led to the search of more efficient and selective materials for use in sorption-based technologies. They are widely applied for the capture of a variety of different pollutant species in wastewater treatment, due to robustness, easy operation, and relatively low cost. Inspired by the unique nanostructure of graphene and its exceptional properties, efforts have been directed toward the development of a new generation of sorbents based on this latest carbon allotrope, related nanostructures, and/or derived nanostructured composites for the removal of water contaminants. Main advances attained in this field in the last few years are reviewed in the present chapter. The first part is devoted to recent efforts targeted at the development of highly efficient graphene-based nanosorbents for the capture of polluting inorganic and water-soluble organic species, mainly including heavy metals, nonmetal anions, dyes, and pharmaceuticals, whereas the second one provides latest progresses toward using graphene and related materials as advanced sorbents for cleanup of oil spills and removal of some other water-insoluble organic contaminants.