Efficient uranium(VI) adsorption platform based on graphene oxide-supported TixAl1-xOy bimetallic oxide

A novel graphene oxide-supported Ti x Al 1-x O y bimetallic oxide for uranium removal was successfully fabricated by using sol–gel method. The introduction of graphene oxide could not only improve the dispersion of Ti x Al 1-x O y nanoparticles, but also increase the active sites of the complexes. In static adsorption experiments, the adsorption efficiency and capacity of GO@Ti x Al 1-x O y reached 97.8 % and 614.6 mg g −1 at T = 298 K and pH = 4, which were much higher than those of other bimetallic oxides. After five adsorption–desorption cycles, the adsorption efficiency of GO@Ti x Al 1-x O y for uranium remained above 90 %, indicating the excellent applicability and regeneration in practical application. The adsorption process was consistent with the pseudo-second-order and the Langmuir models, manifesting the uniform single-layer chemisorption process of GO@Ti x Al 1-x O y for uranium. The structure and morphology of GO@Ti x Al 1-x O y before and after adsorption were analyzed by FTIR, SEM and XPS. The results showed that the excellent adsorption performance of GO@Ti x Al 1-x O y for uranium was attributed to the strong complexation, oxygen vacancy filling and reduction. In a word, the graphene oxide-supported Ti x Al 1-x O y bimetallic oxide processed a great potential in the removal of uranium from wastewater, providing a new idea for the synthesis of highly efficient adsorbents.