Removal of tetracycline by Fe/Ni bimetallic nanoparticles in aqueous solution

Haoran Dong; Zhao Jiang; Cong Zhang; Junmin Deng; Kunjie Hou; Yujun Cheng; Lihua Zhang; Guangming Zeng

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2017.11.021

Removal of tetracycline by Fe/Ni bimetallic nanoparticles in aqueous solution

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2018 Mar 1:513:117-125. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.11.021. Epub 2017 Nov 8.

Authors

Haoran Dong¹, Zhao Jiang², Cong Zhang², Junmin Deng², Kunjie Hou², Yujun Cheng², Lihua Zhang², Guangming Zeng²

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China; Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China. Electronic address: dongh@hnu.edu.cn.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China; Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China.

PMID: 29136545
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.11.021

Abstract

This study investigated the degradation of tetracycline (TC) by Fe/Ni bimetallic nanoparticles (Fe/Ni BNPs) and nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) in aqueous solution. Results revealed that Fe/Ni BNPs showed much better performance than NZVI. The effects of pH (5, 7 and 9), initial TC concentration and competitive anions (NO₃^-, H₂PO₄^-, SO₄^2- and HCO₃^-) on the removal of TC by Fe/Ni BNPs were investigated. The results indicated that the removal of TC was higher under acidic conditions and the reaction reached equilibrium more quickly at lower initial TC concentrations. The presence of NO₃^- greatly hindered the removal of TC, while the other anions (i.e., H₂PO₄^-, SO₄^2- and HCO₃^-) exhibited less inhibition. The significant impact of NO₃^- was due to the fact that Fe/Ni BNPs could be consumed via redox reaction with NO₃^-. Total organic carbon (TOC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis shed light on the removal mechanisms of TC by Fe/Ni BNPs. The decrease of TOC in solution and the appearance of intermediate products on the surface of Fe/Ni BNPs indicated that both adsorption and degradation were involved in the reaction process. Based on the results of LC-MS, the detailed pathway of TC degradation by Fe/Ni BNPs was proposed.

Keywords: Antibiotic; Bimetallic nanoparticle; Degradation; Nanoscale zero-valent iron; Tetracycline.