Dispersion of Graphene Using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB): Dye Removal and Characterization Studies

Abstract

The aim of this study to determine the usability of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composites in the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions and to investigate the stability of composites in the aqueous dispersions. And also, we compared the effects of three different CTAB concentrations on the decolorization of MB. The CTAB-RGO composites performed increasing decolorization activity, decreasing average particle size and resulting individual graphene layers with the increasing CTAB concentration. CTAB-RGO with 40 and 80 mg/L composites were unstable, RGO and CTAB-RGO with 120 mg/L had good stability in the aqueous solutions. Effective repulsive forces of CTAB-RGO-120 composite prevented to forming graphene aggregates. The highest decolorization rate of CTAB-RGO-120 composite at neutral pH can result from both the electrostatic interaction and π-π interaction. © 2021, Sakarya University. All rights reserved.