KOH activated ZIF-L derived N-doped porous carbon with enhanced adsorption performance towards antibiotics removal from aqueous solution

Abstract

Metal-organic framework (MOF) exhibited potential in water purification, while the poor water stability limited its applications. In this study, the integration of KOH activation and high-temperature pyrolysis was applied to fabricate ZIF-L derived N-doped porous carbon (NPC) adsorbent. KOH concentration had effect on the physical structure and chemical property of NPC and the NPC-0.5 demonstrated the highest adsorption capacity. The morphology, crystalline phase, composition and pore structure were characterized. KOH activated treatment brought larger surface area and abundant porosity, which were beneficial for the adsorptive reaction. It turned out that the NPC-0.5 with the highest adsorption capacity of 330.98 ​mg ​g−1 towards tetracycline (TC). Effects of the adsorbent dosage, pH values, initial concentrations and co-existing ions on adsorption performance were investigated. The adsorption process was a combination of chemical and physical interactions. Moreover, the NPC-0.5 exhibited high efficiency in removal of various antibiotics (oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline) and can efficiently remove TC from different water bodies (deionized water, tap water and river water). More importantly, after reused for four times, the adsorption property of NPC-0.5 showed a negligible decline. This study proposed a design of fabricating ZIF-derived N-doped porous carbon adsorbent with high performance towards antibiotics-containing wastewater remediation.