Nitrogen-doped graphene aerogels for highly efficient toluene removal from water

Water pollutants pose an imminent threat to human well-being and to wildlife. Aerogels and mostly graphene-based aerogels are very promising materials that could provide a breakthrough in environmental sciences in terms of pollutants adsorption. In this study, we were able to synthetize nitrogen-doped graphene-based aerogels for the adsorption of liquid toluene from water. The samples were characterized through Raman spectroscopy, thermal imaging and adsorption capacity. These super insulators were able to achieve a very high adsorption of toluene up to 42 g/g at room temperature which is very promising, especially when this capacity is conserved even after 14 cycles of adsorption. These aerogels could also be used in the separation of components from water such as oil spills and organic pollutants.