Toxic Gas Remediation by Graphene Oxide Nanosheets

Deemed the worlds largest environmental health issue, air pollution has been shown to be a more potent danger than previously thought. Increasing concern regarding major gas pollutants nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ammonia (NH3), and ozone (O3) has sparked research in the field of gas adsorption as a method to remove these gases from the atmosphere. Using first principles calculations based on the Density Functional Theory (DFT), we studied the adsorption of these toxic gases on graphene oxide 2D nanosheets with different functional groups and oxidation levels. Graphene oxide successfully removed nitrogen dioxide, ammonia, and ozone, resulting in either a full adsorption or the synthesis of a beneficial molecule. Gases had the greatest affinity not only for graphene oxide functional groups of similar polarities, but also for graphene oxide sheets with levels of oxidation complementary to the reducing capabilities of these gases. Our findings show that graphene oxide is a leading candidate for use in industrial toxic gas remediation, a significant step towards improving air quality overall.