Synthesis of boron nitride nanosheets with N-defects for efficient antibiotics adsorptive removal

Publication date: Available online 16 January 2020Source: Chemical Engineering JournalAuthor(s): Yanhong Chao, Jian Zhang, Hongping Li, Peiwen Wu, Xiaowei Li, Honghong Chang, Jing He, Haofeng Wu, Huaming Li, Wenshuai ZhuAbstractEngineering structure defects in boron nitride for enhancing adsorption performance is imperative for the rational design of a high-efficient adsorbent. Herein, boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) with nitrogen defects were in situ synthesized via a one-step alkali-assisted strategy. N-defects in BNNSs framework tune the morphological and electronic structure of the nanomaterial, strengthening the interaction between sorbents and pollutants, and resulting in the promotion of antibiotics removal. The enhanced adsorptive strength between N vacancy adsorbent and tetracycline (TC) were further confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The sorption of TC was well fitted to the pseudo-second order kinetics model and Freundlich isotherm equation. In addition, a multilayer adsorption mechanism on heterogeneous surfaces of defective BNNSs was proposed, indicating that the adsorption is mainly dominated by π-π stacking interaction.Graphical abstractThe interaction energy (ΔEint) between adsorbent and TC was increased from -37.0 to -60.2 kcal/mol when N-defects was engineered in BNNSs. The adsorption capacity of N-defective BNNSs for TC was increased to ∼1100 mg/g.
Source: Chemical Engineering Journal - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research