Simple fabrication of carboxymethyl cellulose and κ-carrageenan composite aerogel with efficient performance in removal of fluoroquinolone antibiotics from water

Highlights

● A composite aerogel was simply obtained to remove various fluoroquinolones (FQs).

● The structural and textural properties of this composite aerogel are improved.

● Its adsorption capacity was improved at a low content of coexisting Cu²⁺ or Fe³⁺ ion.

● Two substructural analogs of FQs are compared to explore the adsorption mechanisms.

● This aerogel after saturated adsorption can be reused directly for Cu²⁺ adsorption.

Abstract

3D composite aerogels (CMC-CG) composed of carboxymethyl cellulose and κ-carrageenan were designed and fabricated using the one-pot synthesis technique. The optimized CMC-CG showed a good mechanical property and a high swelling ratio due to its superior textural properties with a proper chemically cross-linked interpenetrating network structure. CMC-CG was utilized for the removal of various fluoroquinolones (FQs) from water and exhibited high adsorption performance because of effective electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding interactions. Ciprofloxacin (CIP), a popular FQ, was used as the representative. The optimized CMC-CG had a theoretically maximal CIP uptake of approximately 1.271 mmol/g at the pH of 5.0. The adsorption capacity of CMC-CG was improved in the presence of some cations, Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions, at a low concentration through the bridging effect but was reduced at a high concentration. The investigation of adsorption mechanisms, based on the adsorption kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic study, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses before and after adsorption, and changes in the adsorption performance of CMC-CG toward two molecular probes, further indicated that electrostatic attraction was the dominant interaction rather than hydrogen bonding in this adsorption. CMC-CG after saturated adsorption of CIP could be easily regenerated using a dilute NaCl aqueous solution and reused efficiently. Moreover, the disused aerogel could still be reused as a new adsorbent for effective adsorption of Cu²⁺ ion. Overall, this study suggested the promising applications of this composite aerogel as an eco-friendly, cost-effective, and recyclable adsorbent for the efficient removal of FQs from water.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Composite aerogel of carboxymethyl cellulose and κ-carrageenan / Fluoroquinolone antibiotics / Adsorption performance / Coexisting substances / Adsorption mechanism / Reusability

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 42061144014 and 51978325).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-022-1568-x and is accessible for authorized users.

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