Magnetic mesoporous TiO2/Fe3O4 nanocomposite adsorbent for removal of sulfamethazine from water
Sara Al‐Salihi, Mohamed Bayati, Ahmed M. Jasim, Maria M. Fidalgo, Yangchuan Xing
Abstract
We report a magnetic nanocomposite of mesoporous TiO2 coatings on Fe3O4 nanoparticles (m-TiO2/Fe3O4) that shows highly efficient adsorption of sulfamethazine (SMZ), an antibiotic molecule, from water. The nanocomposite was prepared using a unique surface coating process that produces a mesoporous TiO2 structure with a high specific surface area. It was found that the m-TiO2/Fe3O4 can adsorb SMZ from aqueous solutions, with the highest adsorption capacity of 270.3 ± 0.65 mg g−1. The SMZ removal efficiency is around 88% at pH between 3.17 and 7.01 within a short equilibrium time of 40 min. It was found that the experimental data can be best fit with a pseudo-second-order kinetics model for the SMZ adsorption and the SMZ adsorption is through hydrogen bonding as well as hydrophobic interactions.