Synthesis of Graphene Oxide-Porphyrin Nanocomposite and its Application in Removal of Toxic Metals

In this project a new method by using graphene oxide nanosheets–porphyrin composites was presented as sorbents for the removal of toxic mercury ions from aqueous solutions. The compound has the ability to adsorb the organic and inorganic compounds. Herein, few layered graphene oxide nanosheets were synthesized from graphite using the modified Hummers and Offeman's method. 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis (4-hydroxyphenyl) porphyrin (THPP) was prepared using a modification of Adler–Longo method. Through the immobilization of THPP onto graphene oxide nanosheets, the desired composite was synthesized and identified by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), UV-Vis and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic techniques. The various experimental parameters such as pH and concentration of the aqueous solution of Hg (II), content of the THPP and the grapheme oxide have been optimized.  It was shown that the uptake efficiency of Hg (II) significantly increased after immobilization of porphyrin on the graphene oxide nanosheets.