ABSTRACT
The rapid industrialization, the widespread utilization of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals, the expanded use of chemical products in agriculture, and other human activities have caused the introduction of many new synthetic organic and inorganic contaminants (i.e., dyes, pesticides, heavy metals, etc.) to drinking water treatment systems. Many of these emerging contaminants and the products they form, when in contact with organic matter, pose serious threats to human health. Adsorbent materials present a possible solution to each of these problems. Adsorption-based removal of contaminants has been used successfully for many years in water treatment. Traditional adsorbents, such as activated carbon and polymers, are simple to implement and maintain, but are not always efficient enough to remove all biological and chemical contaminants. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a new generation of adsorbent materials that can extend the limits of traditional chemical treatment systems and adsorbents. With increasing interest in nanotechnology, many types of metallic and carbon/graphene-based nanomaterials are emerging in water treatment application. In recent years, there have been many discoveries related to antimicrobial and adsorption properties of carbon/graphene-based nanomaterials for the removal of various biological and organic/ inorganic contaminants in aqueous solution. Furthermore, progress in the synthesis of multifunctional nanocomposites paves the way for their application in advanced water treatment system design. Hence, carbon/graphene-based nanomaterials and their respective nanocomposites offer many possibilities for novel applications in water treatment.
