Construction of magnetic MoS2/NiFe2O4/MIL-101(Fe) hybrid nanostructures for separation of dyes and antibiotics from aqueous media

Abstract

In this study, MoS₂/NiFe₂O₄/MIL-101(Fe) nanocomposite was synthesized by hydrothermal method and used as an adsorbent for the elimination of organic dyes and some antibiotic drugs in aqueous solutions. The synthesized nanocomposite underwent characterization through different techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), zeta potential analysis, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS). These results demonstrated the successful insertion of MoS₂within the cavities of MIL-101(Fe). The as-prepared magnetic nanocomposite was used as a new magnetic adsorbent for removing methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) organic dyes and tetracycline (TC) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) antibiotic drugs. For achieving the optimized conditions, the effects of initial pH, initial dye and drug concentration, temperature, and adsorbent dose on MB, TC, and CIP elimination were investigated. The results revealed that at a temperature of 25 °C, the highest adsorption capacities of MoS₂/NiFe₂O₄/MIL-101(Fe) for MB, TC, and CIP were determined to be 999.1, 2991.3, and 1994.2 mg g⁻¹, respectively. The pseudo-second-order model and Freundlich model are considered suitable for explaining the adsorption behavior of the MoS₂/NiFe₂O₄/MIL-101(Fe) nanocomposite. The magnetic nanocomposite was very stable and had good recycling capability without any change in its structure.