Simultaneous high-performance detection and removal of tetracycline with a polyoxomolybdate-based coordination polymer

Abstract

The excessive residues of tetracycline (TC) have been found to cause persistent adverse effects on both human beings and the environment. In this study, a polyoxomolybdate-based coordination polymer (BUC-14) with negative surface and functional group (-NH2) was selected as a multifunctional platform for the detection and removal of TC. The fluorescence emission of BUC-14 at 468 ​nm was observed to be quenched by TC in a wide concentration range of 7–107 ​μM attributed to the inner filter effect (IFE) and photo-induced electron transfer (PET) with a detection limit (LOD) of 38.7 ​nM. The adsorption properties for TC were thoroughly studied through kinetic and equilibrium experiments. And the excellent adsorption performance significantly can promote the preconcentration of TC, thereby enhancing the sensing performance. Possible mechanisms of adsorption including electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions were studied. Furthermore, the practicality of BUC-14 was confirmed by successfully sensing TC in real water samples with satisfactory recovery from 90.61% to 103.53%, and a relative standard deviation (RSD) ​≤ ​5.12%.