ABSTRACT
This chapter presents detailed information on a variety of materials employed as adsorbents for the remediation of water containing hazardous organic and inorganic contaminants. The adsorption of contaminants occurs through a variety of mechanisms such as physical adsorption, ion exchange, electrostatic interaction, surface complexation, and precipitation that are explained precisely. Further, the effect of functionalization of adsorbents and their remediation performance was evaluated for various metals and anions. Being one of the most readily available elements, carbon finds extensive applications in various fields, including targeted drug delivery, environmental remediation, and energy storage, due to certain fascinating properties such as hardness, low density, remarkable mechanical durability, outstanding chemical and thermal stability, and corrosion resistance. Over the years, activated carbon has been the most extensively used material for elimination of inorganic and organic pollutants from water streams. Graphene oxide is the oxidized form of graphene functionalized by the functional groups containing reactive oxygen, through hydroxyl, carboxylic, and epoxy groups.
