A nanocubicle-like 3D adsorbent fabricated by in situ growth of 2D heterostructures for removal of aromatic contaminants in water

Focusing on the emergence of organic pollutants in aqueous environments, attempts to assemble two-dimensional (2D) materials into three-dimensional (3D) structures are expected to improve their pollution control performance. However, most 3D heterostructural nanomaterials are constructed by mechanical mixing methods, which result in structures that are randomly arranged and prone to collapse. Two typical 2D carbon materials, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs), have exhibited excellent effects in the fields of contaminant adsorption and photocatalysis, respectively. However, their regular packing structure could not provide an interconnected pore network suitable for the diffusion or adsorption of pollutants. In this study, a series of heterostructures named rGCs were fabricated by direct growth of 2D CTFs with different ratios on the surface of rGO layers. The rGCs were designed to remove trace concentrations of naphthalene (NAP) and benzophenone (BP) from water, which can be regenerated under sunlight. rGC-20, in which nanocubicle-like 3D heterostructures were successfully constructed, not only adsorbed NAP and BP with superb normalized adsorption capacities (5000–5300 μmol/g) but also could be regenerated with an exceptional percentage recovery of 90–95% in the 4th cycle. The microenvironment created in nanocubicle-like 3D heterostructures enhances the adsorption of pollutants, the excitation of electrons and utilization of radicals, which further promotes the adsorption and photocatalysis of rGCs. This work provides a promising adsorbent with outstanding adsorption-regeneration ability for aromatic contaminant removal from water.