Abstract Intensive livestock husbandry and the expanding medical industry produce large-scale heavy metal-antibiotic complex wastewater, and gaining insight into the adsorption process is important for understanding environmental behavior of pollutants… Click to show full abstract
Abstract Intensive livestock husbandry and the expanding medical industry produce large-scale heavy metal-antibiotic complex wastewater, and gaining insight into the adsorption process is important for understanding environmental behavior of pollutants and developing adsorbents. Graphene hydrogels (GHs) feature a wetted surface that well simulates practical adsorption interfaces, and they have great potential for eliminating antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, ca. 330 mg/L) along with heavy metals (copper(II), ca. 30 mg/L). The presence of Cu(II) improves ciprofloxacin adsorption insignificantly via bridging effect, while high concentrations of Cu(II) compete with ciprofloxacin for adsorption sites. Additionally, ciprofloxacin likely binds Cu(II) and forms a GH-CIP-Cu(II) ternary complex to enhance Cu(II) adsorption. Water confined on the adsorption surface of GH, which can either boost adsorption by forming a hydrogen bonding network or weaken adsorption by shielding, is distinctive from bulk water. This paper provides a new perspective on the coadsorption process and indicates the good performance of GH in complex pollutant adsorption.
               
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