[Sorption mechanism of ofloxacin by carbon nanotubes]

Sorption of ofloxacin (OFL) by carbon nanotubes is an effective method to control its fate in aquatic environment. The sorption process of OFL by mixed acid-treated and non-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes was discussed. Sorption kinetics, sorption isotherm, desorption, sorption thermodynamics and effect of pH were investigated. The results indicated that the sorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second order kinetics model. The equilibrium sorption capacity of OFL on MWCNTs-O was higher. The sorption isotherm could be fitted by both the Langmuir and Freundlich models. The equilibrium sorption capacity dropped when the pH of aqueous solution was in the range of 6.0 to 10.0. Obvious desorption hysteresis was observed during the desorption experiments, especially on MWCNTs-O. Sorption thermodynamics analysis showed that the interactions between the OFL and sorbents were mainly between molecules. More oxygen-containing functional groups introduced on MWCNTs provided OFL molecules with more sorptive sites, which facilitated the generation of hydrogen bonds, a relatively strong interaction. The hydrogen bonds dominated the sorption process of OFL by MWCNTs/MWCNTs-O, explaining the experimental phenomena.