A novel zwitterionic graphene oxide-based adsorbent was first synthesized in a multistep procedure including the successive grafting of bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amino groups (BPED) and 1,3-propanesultone (PS) onto graphene oxide (GO) sheets. Then, the as-prepared materials were used as adsorbent for the removal of metal ions from aqueous solutions. The influence of solution pH, contact time, metal ion concentration, and temperature onto the adsorption capacity of the zwitterionic GO-BPED-PS adsorbent was investigated and compared with the GO-BPED adsorbent. In particular, it was shown that the maximum adsorption capacities of the GO-BPED-PS adsorbent were as high as 4.174 ± 0.098 mmol.g−1 for the Ni(II) ions and 3.902 ± 0.092 mmol.g−1 for the Co(II) ions under optimal experimental conditions (metal ion concentration = 250 mg.L−1, pH = 7 and T = 293 K). In addition, the adsorption behaviors of Ni(II) and Co(II) ions onto both the GO-BPED and GO-BPED-PS adsorbents fitted well with a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and a Jossens isotherm model. Moreover, adsorption thermodynamics of Ni(II) and Co(II) ions have been studied at various temperatures and confirmed the exothermic adsorption nature of the adsorption process onto the GO-BPED-PS adsorbent. Furthermore, the zwitterionic GO-BPED-PS adsorbent retained good adsorption properties after recycling 18 times which is much better than the conventional adsorbents.
