Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) has been demonstrated to be an excellent adsorbent for many aqueous contaminants, including dissolved organics¹. A challenge for practical application remains the disposal of the loaded adsorbent, with regeneration the most desirable outcome. Anodic electrochemical regeneration has successfully been applied for graphite flake adsorbent for organic contaminants², however oxidation of the graphite has been observed³. In this study, anodic electrochemical regeneration of RGO and RGO metal oxide composites has been evaluated. Rapid corrosion of RGO was found occur during electrochemical regeneration, so that the reuse of the RGO was not possible after only a few cycles. The addition of metal oxide nanoparticles of metal oxides to the RGO surface was found to lead to more efficient oxidation adsorbed contaminants and almost no corrosion of the RGO was detected.

References

1. Hongmei Sun, Linyuan Cao, Lehui Lu (2011) Nano Research 4, pp 550-562.
2. SN Hussain, EPL Roberts, HMA Asghar, AK Campen, NW Brown (2013) Electrochimica Acta 92, pp 20-30.
3. K Nkrumah-Amoako, EPL Roberts, NW Brown, SM Holmes (2014) Electrochimica Acta 135, pp 568-577.