Unveiling the adsorptive/catalytic roles of micro-carbon sphere materials in antibiotic removal: Current status and...

Antibiotics, as typical emerging contaminants with low concentrations, require advanced adsorption/degradation technologies to mitigate their ecological and health risks. With remarkable adsorptive and catalytic properties, micro-carbon sphere (MCS) materials have emerged as potential candidates for promoting the antibiotic adsorption/degradation. Hence, a comprehensive understanding of the roles of MCS in antibiotic adsorption/degradation is crucial for developing applicable antibiotic removal technologies. This critical review systematically evaluates the triple advantage of MCS including hierarchical structure, surface properties, and tailored functionality, reveals their synthesis process, modification methods, as in enhancing different adsorption/degradation technologies, and identifies primary adsorption mechanisms including π-π interactions, electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding, and pore filling, and catalytic mechanism via promoting the generation of highly reactive free radicals. This study also reveals that the synergistic degradation mechanism occurs when MCS are combined with advanced oxidation processes and biological treatment technologies. However, limited material stability during MCS application, interference from organic interferents, inorganic ions, and physical clogging. Future research should prioritize exploring green and scalable preparation techniques, as well as advancing precise functional design tailored to specific antibiotics. By bridging material science with pollutant removal, this review presents actionable antibiotic removal technologies by using MCS as well as advancing the MCS toward practical application.