Strategically engineered multifunctional graphene oxide hybrid nanomaterials for efficient catalytic degradation and emerging contaminants treatment

Abstract

The use of functional textiles is growing in all fields of science and technology. Surface functionalization is mainly used to impart conventional textiles with new functionalities and improved performances. In the present study, a cobalt ferrite nanoparticle/graphene oxide (CoFe 2 O 4 /GO) coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric with excellent catalytic and antibacterial properties, has been successfully developed. The PET-coated CoFe 2 O 4 /GO samples, ranging from 1 % to 5 % wt. were obtained using a simple dip-coating method in CoFeO/GO solution (1 mg/mL), and were investigated through several physiochemical characterization techniques. CoFe 2 O 4 /GO and PET fabric have been shown to establish an interfacial connection by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that CoFe 2 O 4 /GO coating did not affect the PET crystallinity and that CoFe 2 O 4 /GO hybrid was incorporated in the PET samples, which was proved as well by the morphological study through Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, thermogravimetric characterisation (TGA) verified that the coating does not change or impair the quality of the fibre and that the PET@CoFe 2 O 4 /GO as made is thermally stable. Tensile strength tests demonstrated that coated fabrics exhibited outstanding mechanical properties in comparison with pristine PET. Moreover, the coated PET@CoFe 2 O 4 /GO fabric was used as a model catalytic system for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation in the rhodamine B (RhB) degradation reaction. Total Organic Carbon (TOC) measurements showed that TOC removal reached 89.82 % in only 12 min reaction. The results confirmed that the coated fabrics exhibited high catalytic performances, good stability and reusability in consecutive degradation experiments with a degradation rate over 60 % even after 7 degradation cycles; Moreover, it is easily and simply separated from the mixture, by removing the textile sample from the aqueous solution. It is worth mentioning that the PET@CoFe 2 O 4 /GO fabrics showed outstanding antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) bacteria with an inhibition diameter zone of up to 13 mm for PET@CoFe 2 O 4 /GO (5 %). Overall, these findings are of great importance as they permit the development of a novel multifunctional textile fabric, combining anti-bacterial activity, catalytic performance and mechanical properties. The study provides a textile-based catalyst with improved catalytic performance, re-usability in consecutive degradation reactions and easy catalyst separation compared to traditional supports. Thus, a huge potential application in several fields such as medicine, heterogeneous catalysis, and wastewater treatment. • A Novel multifunctional CoFe 2 O 4 /GO hybrid nanomaterial-coated PET fabric was successfully obtained. • The prepared fabric exhibited improved thermal stability and mechanical properties with high catalytic performance. • CoFe 2 O 4 /GO synergistically endows the fabric with antibacterial activity against S.aureus and E.coli bacteria . • The PET/ CoFe 2 O 4 /GO fabric showed excellent catalytic performance for peroxymonosulfate activation in Rhodamine B degradation reaction.