▎ 摘　　要

Mercury emission from combustion flue gas causes considerable environmental challenges and serious adverse health threats, and elemental mercury (Hg-0) is the most challenging chemical form for removal. In this work, four types of graphene oxide (GO) based composite adsorbents were successfully synthesized by depositing Ag nanoparticles (NPs) and/or magnetic ferrite NPs on GO sheets (denoted as GO, GO-Ag, MGO and MGO-Ag), characterized and applied for the removal of Hg-0 for the first time. The presence of Ag NPs on GO greatly enhances the Hg-0 removal capability of GO-Ag and MGO-Ag as compared to that of pure GO, which is mainly attributed to the amalgamation of Hg-0 on Ag NPs. MGO-Ag shows the best Hg-0 removal performance and thermal tolerance among the four types of adsorbents developed, which can effectively capture Hg-0 up to 150-200 degrees C in a simulated flue gas environment and can be also effectively recycled and reused. Our results indicate that the graphene oxide based composites (i.e. MGO-Ag) have significant potential applications for mercury emission control in coal-fired power plants.