Synthesis of porous graphene nanocomposite and its excellent adsorption behavior for Erythromycin antibiotic

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of porous magnetic graphene (PMG) for removal of Erythromycin (ER) from aqueous solutions. PMG was prepared from banana peel residue, which was considered as a discarded material. As-synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by SEM, AFM, FTIR, RAMAN and BET analysis. The optimum conditions were obtained at pH of 3, contact time of 30 min, initial antibiotic concentration of 200 mg/L, and adsorbent dose of 0.35 g/L. In equilibrium, the Langmuir isotherm model was the best fit to the experimental data for the kinetics study, the adsorption process developed the pseudo-second-order model. According to the results, nanosheet had high adsorption capacity (286 mg/g) and can be considered as an acceptable adsorbent for the removal of ER from aqueous solutions.