Synthesis and characterization of super high surface area silica-based nanoparticles for adsorption and removal of toxic pharmaceuticals from aqueous solution

Abstract

Tetracycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is commonly applied to cure common illnesses in both people and animals. Tetracycline is still one of the most enduring micro-pollutants in the environment due to its indiscriminate misuse. In this study, a high surface area nanoadsorbent aminopropyltriethoxysilane@silica nanoparticles (3-APTS@SNPs) were synthesized and characterized through XRD, BET, XPS, HR-TEM, and FE-SEM. Then it was tested to see if it could adsorb tetracycline from an aqueous solution. The maximal tetracycline adsorption capability of the nanoadsorbent 3-APTS@SNPs was 875.47 mg/g. Additionally, the batch adsorption experiments revealed that 3-APTS@SNPs' adsorption followed and fit the Langmuir isotherm (R2 = 0.999) and pseudo-second-order kinetics (R2 = 0.999), respectively. At pH 7.0, additional tuning using response surface methods and a genetic algorithm increased the 3-APTS@SNPs' overall removal efficiency. The thermodynamic parameter was determined through a study of the effect of temperature, and the reactions were endothermic and chemisorption processes. The mechanism analysis showed that the majority of the adsorption was chemical adsorption (π-π interaction, electrostatic interaction, ion exchange, and chemical bonds) and physical adsorption. An important factor that ensured the adsorbent's significant potential for useful wastewater treatment was that it had exceptional cycle stability and could be quickly recovered from aqueous media using a simple centrifuge.