Highly efficient simultaneous ultrasonic-assisted adsorption of Pb(II), Cd(II), Ni(II) and Cu (II) ions from aqueous solutions by graphene oxide modified with 2,2′-dipyridylamine: Central composite design optimization

• Simultaneous ultrasonic-assisted adsorption of heavy metal ions was studied on GO.
• Various isotherm models and kinetic models were studied.
• CCD was applied to evaluate the interactive effects of adsorption variables.
• This new adsorbent exhibits high adsorption efficiency and, very good selectivity.

In present work, a graphene oxide chemically modified with 2,2′-dipyridylamine (GO-DPA), was synthesized by simple, fast and low-cost process for the simultaneous adsorption of four toxic heavy metals, Pb(II), Cd(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II), from aqueous solutions. The synthesized adsorbent was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, XPS, SEM and AFM measurements. The effects of variables such as pH solution, initial ion concentrations, adsorbent dosage and sonicating time were investigated on adsorption efficiency by rotatable central composite design. The optimum conditions, specified as 8 mg of adsorbent, 20 mg L−1 of each ion at pH 5 and short time of 4 min led to the achievement of a high adsorption capacities. Ultrasonic power had important role in shortening the adsorption time of ions by enhancing the dispersion of adsorbent in solution. The adsorption kinetic studies and equilibrium isotherms for evaluating the mechanism of adsorption process showed a good fit to the pseudo-second order and Langmuir model, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacities (Qm) of this adsorbent were 369.749, 257.201, 180.893 and 358.824 mg g−1 for lead, cadmium, nickel and copper ions, respectively. The removal performance of adsorbent on the real wastewater samples also showed the feasibility of adsorbent for applying in industrial purposes.