Novel ZIF-67-derived Co@CNTs nanocomposites as effective adsorbents for removal of tetracycline and sulfadiazine antibiotics

Tetracycline (TCC) and sulfadiazine (SDZ) are two of the most consumed antibiotics for human therapies and bacterial infection treatments in aquafarming fields, but their accumulative residues can result in negative effects on water and aquatic microorganisms. Removal techniques are therefore required to purify water before use. Herein, we concentrate on adsorptive removal of TCC and SDZ using cobalt@carbon nanotubes (Co@CNTs) derived from Co-ZIF-67. The presence of CNTs on the edge of nanocomposites was observed. Taguchi orthogonal array was designed with four variables including initial concentration (5–20 mg L⁻¹), dosage (0.05–0.2 g L⁻¹), time (60–240 min), and pH (2–10). Concentration and pH were found to be main contributors to adsorption of tetracycline and sulfadiazine, respectively. The optimum condition was found at concentration 5 mg L⁻¹, dosage 0.2 g L⁻¹, contact time 240 min, and pH 7 for both TCC and SDZ removals. Confirmation tests showed that Co@CNTs-700 removed 99.6% of TCC and 97.3% of SDZ with small errors (3–5.5%). Moreover, the kinetic and isotherm were studied, which kinetic and isotherm data were best fitted with pseudo second-order model and Langmuir. Maximum adsorption capacity values for TCC and SDZ were determined at 118.4–174.1 mg g⁻¹ for 180 min. We also proposed the main role of interactions such as hydrogen bonding, π–π stacking, and electrostatic attraction in the adsorption of antibiotics. With high adsorption performance, Co@CNTs-700 is expected to remove antibiotics efficiently from wastewater.