Zinc Oxide-Functionalized Hydrophobic Cellulose Nanofiber Aerogel Tailored for Eliminating Conventional Ibuprofen Tablets from Water.

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A hydrophobic cellulose aerogel having water contact angle of 149⁰ was fabricated by harnessing the effect of both zinc oxide nanoflakes and stearic acid, and then employed for the elimination of emerging pharma residue Ibuprofen from water. The kinetic experimental data obtained for adsorption process was well suited with pseudo-second order kinetics. The adsorption process was well governed by Langmuir monolayer adsorption and the modified aerogel exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 33.52 mg/g. The hydrophobic aerogel exhibited a removal efficiency of 70 % within 60 min of contact time. Moreover, the efficiency of the adsorption process was also analyzed by altering various parameters such as pH, adsorbate dosage and adsorbent concentration. The adsorption efficiency was maximum at pH 2 and at 60 minutes of contact time. The elimination of IBP from water by the hydrophobic cellulose aerogel was assisted by hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic-hydrophobic interaction occurred between the adsorbent and adsorbate, which was confirmed by the IR spectroscopy and SEM-EDX of the aerogels before and after the IBP adsorption process. The demonstrated work mainly emphasises assessing the practical applicability of the modified aerogel in adsorbing conventional ibuprofen (IBP) tablets directly obtained from the market rather than solely targeting the pharmaceutical ingredient and thereby, this approach could be effectively implemented at the industrial level.