Enhanced Removal of Tetracycline from Aqueous Solution by Graphene Oxide Hydrogel Doped with TiO_2 Nanotubes

The detection on tetracycline( TC) in drinking water poses an environmental issue since TC has been widely used to prevent animal disease and promote their growth. In addition,TC was difficult to remove or biodegrade,which posed a challenge to the conventional techniques. In this work,the batch experiments on TC adsorption in aqueous solution of hydrogel( HG) consisting of graphene oxide( GO) and TiO_2 nanotubes( TN) were successfully conducted. HG composite( HG-TN-GO) was prepared with TN and GO with self-assembly method during the oxidation-reduction reaction,and criogel( CG) with TN and GO was characterized by pH at point of zero charge( pH_(pzc)), transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy( XPS). The adsorption capacity of HG-TN-GO on TC was evaluated by analyzing its isotherms. The maximum adsorption capacity reached 751. 3 mg/g. Besides,the adsorption isotherms were well fitted by the Langmuir model, with the theoretical maximum( q_m) of 797. 0 mg/g. The adsorption process was systematically studied by varying pH during the whole adsorption process. The adsorption occurred probably via π-π interaction and cation-π bonding between TC and the HG-TN-GO surface. The composite could be regenerated in 50% ethanol aqueous solution,without significant capacity loss. After 6 recycles,the decrease of adsorption capacity was less than 10%.