Carbon nano-structures and functionalized associates: Adsorptive detoxification of organic and inorganic water pollutants

Deterioration of water quality is a desperate threat worldwide. Industrial development regularly added a vast amount of organic and inorganic contaminants to water. Therefore, eradicating these contaminants is highly essential for the well-being of biotic components. Adsorption-assisted technologies are among the most benign and principally used due to their higher efficiencies at lower costs and independence of complex technological supports. Carbon nanomaterials, such as activated carbons, carbon nanotubes, graphene-based materials, and carbon dots have been broadly adopted as adsorbents because of their outstanding surface characteristics. Researchers worked a lot on activation procedures and chemicals to achieve an ultrahigh surface area (above 3000 m²/g) to increase the adsorption efficiency. Further, cross-linked carbon nanotubes exhibited much-selected adsorption to organics. Carbon dots, a new type of carbon-based nanomaterials emerged as excellent adsorbents when introduced into the polymers matrix and provided promising platforms for the removal of metal ions. Also, graphene oxide and other oxidized forms of carbon being rich in functional groups are reported to exhibit excellent adsorption capacities as high as 2564 mg/g at 25 °C for basic and cationic compounds. Here, we reviewed the various types of pollutants found in aquatic biota with some basics on fundamentals and mechanistic features of adsorption, adsorption efficiency regulating factors. The article emphasized the performances of carbon nanomaterials and associated nanocomposites for the adsorption of various pollutants. The review also addresses the essential issues for the technical development and commercial application of carbon-assisted materials as nano adsorbents for water decontamination.