Synthesis of Amine functionalized graphene oxide modified resorcinol formaldehyde aerogel as adsorbent for removal of Minocycline antibiotics from aqueous solution

In recent years, concerns about the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in the wastewater have been increasing. Various types of residues of the widely used tetracycline family of antibiotic compounds are found in environmental waters in relatively low and persistent concentrations that have adverse effects on human health and the environment. The aim of this study was to synthesize high specific level organic aerogels to remove Minocycline antibiotics.

In this study, resorcinol formaldehyde aerogel was synthesized using sol-gel process and dried by ambient drying. The aerogel was then modified using graphene and finally the performance of the synthesized samples as adsorbent under various parameters such as solution pH (2 -12), the amount of adsorbent (4-10 mg) and the time of contact of the adsorbent with the antibiotic (3-24 h) were evaluated. Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and BET tests were used to characterize the samples and then the removal efficiency of Minocycline antibiotic was measured by the samples using UV-Vis analysis.

The results of BET test showed that the specific surface area of the resorcinol formaldehyde aerogel sample containing 1wt.% graphene was increased compared to the neat aerogel. Also, according to the results, it was found that the removal percentage of minocycline antibiotic for pure and modified samples is 71.6% and 92.1% at optimal pH of 4 and 6, respectively.

Graphene-modified resorcinol formaldehyde aerogel is a suitable adsorbent for removal of Minocycline antibiotic from aqueous solution.