Cadmium and copper heavy metal treatment from water resources by high-performance folic acid-graphene oxide nanocomposite adsorbent and evaluation of adsorptive mechanism using computational intelligence, isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic analyses

In this paper, folic acid–coated graphene oxide nanocomposite (FA-GO) is used as an adsorbent for the treatment of heavy metals including cadmium (Cd²⁺) and copper (Cu²⁺) ions. As such, graphene oxide (GO) is modified by folic acid (FA) to synthesize FA-GO nanocomposite and characterized by the atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and C/H/N elemental analyses. Also, computational intelligence tests are used to study the mechanism of the interaction of FA molecules with GO. Based on the results, FA molecules formed a strong π-π stacking, chemical, and hydrogen bond interactions with functional groups of GO. Main parameters including pH of the sample solution, amounts of adsorbent, and contact time are studied and optimized by the Response Surface Methodology Based on Central Composite Design (RSM-CCD). In this study, the equilibrium of adsorption is appraised by two (Langmuir and Freundlich and Temkin and D-R models) and three parameter (Sips, Toth, and Khan models) isotherms. Based on the two parameter evaluations, Langmuir and Freundlich models have high accuracy according to the R² coefficient (more than 0.9) in experimental curve fittings of each pollutant adsorption. But, multilayer adsorption of each contaminant onto the FA-GO adsorbent (Freundlich equation) is demonstrated by three parameter isotherm analysis. Also, isotherm calculations express maximum computational adsorption capacities of 103.1 and 116.3 mg g⁻¹ for Cd²⁺ and Cu²⁺ ions, correspondingly. Kinetic models are scrutinized and the outcomes depict the adsorption of both Cd²⁺ and Cu²⁺ followed by the pseudo-second-order equation. Meanwhile, the results of the geometric model illustrate that the variation of adsorption and desorption rates do not have any interfering during the adsorption process. Finally, thermodynamic studies show that the adsorption of Cu²⁺ and Cd²⁺ onto the FA-GO nanocomposite is an endothermic and spontaneous process.