Hydrothermal synthesis of silver-reduced graphene oxide (Ag-rGO) for determination of mercury ion (Hg2+)

This study describes the hydrothermal treatment synthesis of a silver-reduced graphene oxide (Ag-rGO) for the determination of mercury (II) ion (Hg2+). The nanocomposite was analysed by using UV-visible absorption spectra, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analyses. The results indicate that the silver nanoparticles were successfully composited on the graphene sheets after the given hydrothermal treatment which distributed randomly on the surface of the graphene oxide (GO). The crystalline nature of nano silver within the composites was evidence through X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis which also showed that the GO for the AgNP-graphene oxide (Ag-GO) sample was completely reduced during the hydrothermal treatment of silver nanoparticles. While the surface morphology of prepared silver-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites was characterized through transmission electron microscope (TEM). Mercury detection method was performed for the optical determination of Hg2+. The color changes of the cloudy nanocomposite solution were observed during the determination of Hg (II). The Ag-rGO nanocomposite exhibited good selectivity towards the determination of Hg (II) in the presence of color changes compared to other environmentally relevant heavy metal ions.