Strong adsorption of tetracycline hydrochloride on magnetic carbon-coated cobalt oxide nanoparticles

The overuse of antibiotics, including tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), seriously threatens human health and ecosystems. In this work, magnetic carbon-coated cobalt oxide nanoparticles (CoO@C) were prepared by one-step annealing method and used as an adsorbent for efficient removal of TC from aqueous solution. The characteristic of the materials was studied by SEM, TEM, and XRD, revealing CoO nanoparticles (≤10 nm) were coated by carbon layer. Several influencial parameters, such as annealing temperature and pH on adsorption of TC, were explored, and found that the maximum adsorption capacity of CoO@C on TC reached as high as 769.43 mg g−1. Furthermore, CoO@C displayed excellent stability and reusability. After four repeated use of the adsorbent, the adsorption capacity still remained at 90% of the initial capacity. The pseudo-second order model and Temkin model proved that it was an exothermic chemical adsorption process. Furthermore, after analysis of FT-IR, Zeta-potential, XPS, the positive charge on the surface of CoO@C forms a strong electrostatic interaction with TC, and in addition, a surface bond is formed between the adsorbent and the TC molecule. This work provides a novel and efficient adsorbent for the purification of TC-containing wastewater. A novel adsorbent of CoO@C was designed and fabricated via a one-step annealing method and applied to efficient removal of tetracycline hydrochloride. [Display omitted] •Carbon-coated cobalt oxide (CoO@C) was prepared by one-step annealing method.•The nano-CoO@C had a strong adsorption capacity for tetracycline hydrochloride.•The magnetic nano-CoO@C exhibited excellent stability and reusability.•The main adsorption mechanism was an exothermic chemical adsorption process.