Facile Fabrication of Magnetic Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)/Activated Carbon Composite Gel for Adsorptive Removal of Dyes

Abstract

Activated carbon (AC) has been widely utilized for the adsorption of pollutants from water. However, it is difficult to recycle the AC after adsorption. In this paper, we report a facile one-pot approach to fabricate magnetic poly(vinyl alcohol)/AC composite gel (mPVA/AC CG) by dropwise addition of an aqueous mixture of PVA, AC and iron ions into the ammonia solution. The obtained mPVA/AC CG after freeze-drying shows porous microstructure and favorable magnetic properties. The utilization of mPVA/AC CG for adsorptive removal of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) dyes from water was investigated. The mPVA/AC CG not only exhibited good adsorption performance for both MB and MO dyes but also could be readily recycled using a magnet after adsorption. The adsorption process was well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model. Considering the simple fabrication process, good adsorption performance and favorable magnetic separation capability, this work provides a viable strategy for combining the features of AC and magnetic gel for fabrication of applicable magnetic adsorbent.