Nanotechnology and nanoscience are interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields in which experts and researchers from various fields of science and engineering such as physics, chemistry, biology, materials engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering are conducting theoretical research and practical explorations for their corresponding field challenges. Nanomaterials are materials that are nanoscale (usually 1-100nm) in at least one dimension, or if they have a large-scale appearance (nanocomposites), nanometer additives are embedded or integrated in their structure and body. The properties of materials in nanometeric size have significant quantitative and qualitative differences with the corresponding properties in large scale and bulk dimension. This distinction in several properties such as chemical reactivity, melting point, catalytic activity, elastic modulus, mechanical strength, fracture stress, colloidal stability, solubility, color, optical transparency, absorption, transmittance and scattering of electromagnetic spectra, luminosity, photoluminescence, electrical and thermal conductivity, magnetic and superconducting properties, electron or charge carrier mobility, energy band structure, energy band gap, valence band and conduction band position, dangling bands, deep or surface traps, surface chemistry, optical excitability, electron-hole pair formation and recombination, excitonic properties, spintronic properties and spin-orbit interaction, crystal structure and lattice order, biological and antimicrobial activity, toxicity and pathogenicity, etc. have been clearly observed and proven by researchers. Recognizing and studying the properties of nanomaterials is also an attractive and challenging platform for researchers and scientists. The very high surface-to-volume ratio, atomization and the emergence of atomic behavior, the quantum size effect and the possibility of non-realization of some critical values in nanomaterials can be considered as the roots of this change in properties. Nanotechnology has clear and promising answers to the global water crisis: access to clean water resources that are sufficiently supplying the growing global population and demand. In this regard, we can point to four technical branches that the use of nanomaterials brings significant improvements: a) purification, treatment and modification of contaminated water and their return to the consumption cycle, b) detection, sensing and monitoring of contaminants in water c) prevention from the entry of pollutants into water and d) desalination and deionization of seawater and oceans to be converted into drinking water or used in agriculture and industry. The integration of nano-adsorbents in the conventional technology of the contaminated water treatment plants can greatly increase the efficiency of the process. Therefore, in this study, we seek to prepare a carbon-based nanosorbent based on inorganic nanoparticles and carbon nanostructures, particularly graphene and its derivatives such as graphene oxide(GO), for the adsorption and separation of heavy metals from aqueous solutions. We hope this research is a small step in the direction of global efforts to address the water crisis.
