Pharmaceutical residues are emerging pollutants in the aquatic environment and their removal by conventional wastewater treatment methods has proven to be ineffective. This research aimed to develop a three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide aerogel (rGOA) for the removal of diclofenac in aqueous solution. The preparation of rGOA involved facile self-assembly of graphene oxide under a reductive environment of L-ascorbic acid. Characterisation of rGOA was performed by Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The developed rGOA had a measured density of 20.39 ± 5.28 mg/cm³, specific surface area of 132.19 m²/g, cumulative pore volume of 0.5388 cm³/g and point of zero charge of 6.3. A study on the simultaneous interactions of independent factors by response surface methodology suggested dosage and initial concentration as the dominant parameters influencing the adsorption of diclofenac. The highest diclofenac adsorption capacity (596.71 mg/g) was achieved at the optimum conditions of 0.25 g/L dosage, 325 mg/L initial concentration, 200 rpm shaking speed and 30 °C temperature. The adsorption equilibrium data were best fitted to the Freundlich model with correlation coefficient (R²) varying from 0.9500 to 0.9802. The adsorption kinetic data were best correlated to the pseudo-first-order model with R² ranging from 0.8467 to 0.9621. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the process was spontaneous (∆G = − 7.19 to − 0.48 kJ/mol) and exothermic (∆H = − 12.82 to − 2.17 kJ/mol). This research concluded that rGOA is a very promising adsorbent for the remediation of water polluted by diclofenac.

药物残留物是水生环境中正在出现的污染物，通过常规废水处理方法将其清除是无效的。这项研究旨在开发三维还原的氧化石墨烯气凝胶（rGOA），用于去除水溶液中的双氯芬酸。rGOA的制备涉及在L-抗坏血酸还原环境下氧化石墨烯的自组装。rGOA的表征是通过傅立叶变换红外光谱仪，扫描电子显微镜，透射电子显微镜，氮吸附-解吸，拉曼光谱和X射线衍射进行的。研发的rGOA的测量密度为20.39±5.28 mg / cm ³，比表面积为132.19 m ²/ g，累积孔体积为0.5388 cm ³ / g，零电荷点为6.3。通过响应面法对独立因子的同时相互作用进行的研究表明，剂量和初始浓度是影响双氯芬酸吸附的主要参数。在0.25 g / L剂量，325 mg / L初始浓度，200 rpm振摇速度和30°C温度的最佳条件下，获得了最高的双氯芬酸吸附容量（596.71 mg / g）。吸附平衡数据最适合Freundlich模型，相关系数（R ²）在0.9500至0.9802之间变化。吸附动力学数据与R ²的拟一阶模型最相关。范围从0.8467到0.9621。热力学分析表明，该过程是自发的（ΔG =-7.19至-0.48 kJ / mol），并且放热（ΔH =-12.82至-2.17 kJ / mol）。这项研究得出的结论是，rGOA是用于修复双氯芬酸污染的水的非常有前景的吸附剂。