Ascorbic acid assisted synthesis Of rGO-CNF hydrogel for the removal of methylene blue via adsorption

Adsorption activity has been widely occupy in the treatment of dye effluent due to the concern in environmental issue. This study describe the synthesis of rGO-CNF hydrogel using chemical reduction method, ascorbic acid as reducing agent. Ascorbic acid was chosen as reducing agent due to it is non-toxic, low cost and high stability. Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) has large surface area, excellent electrical and optical properties and have strong tendency for self-association property due to the omnipresence of interacting surface hydroxyl groups. In this study, CNF has been introduced to enhance the properties of rGO in adsorption of Methylene Blue (MB). The hydrogel used to study the adsorption activity of methylene blue. The hydrogel synthesised was characterized by using UV-Visible spectrometer (UV-vis), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The FTIR indicate the functional groups that present in hydrogel and cellulose nanofiber. This result proved the cellulose nanofiber had composited successfully with rGO sheets with the aid of ascorbic acid and thermal reduction method. rGO-CNF hydrogel show higher adsorption activity property than rGO hydrogel due to the adsorption properties of cellulose nanofiber that had enhance the adsorption property of rGO-CNF hydrogel. These results suggest that rGO and cellulose nanofiber have a huge potential in cationic dye removal application.