Nitrophenols (NPs) and their derivatives are highly toxic, mutagenic and bio-refractory pollutants commonly present in natural water resources and industrial wastewater. To remove NPs from water, N-doped graphitic carbon (NGC) and NGC adsorbent containing titanium dioxide (NGC-TiO2) were synthesized by pyrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose and dopamine mixture, and the mixture along with TiO2 at 500 degrees C, respectively. NCG-TiO2 was thoroughly characterized using various analytical techniques. NP adsorption on the NGC-TiO2 adsorbent surface was studied by varying the pH, initial concentration of NP, and adsorbent dose. The results showed that the most efficient adsorption was achieved at pH 3. After 4 h sonication at pH 3, 80% 4-NP adsorption was achieved using NGC-TiO2 compared to 74% with NGC adsorbent. The percentage removal of 4-NP was higher than 3-NP which was also higher than 2,4-DNP using NGC-TiO2. 4-NP adsorption best fitted to the Langmuir isotherm plot with R-2 value of 0.9981 and adsorption capacity of 52.91 mg g(-1). The adsorption process of NP was found to follow a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The rate constant value for the adsorption of 10(-4) M 4-NP at pH 3 using 10 mg of NGC-TiO2 adsorbent was found to be 3.76 x 10(-5) g.mg(-1).min(-1)