Synthesis and characterization of Fe3O4@TiO2@Zeolite nanocomposite adsorbent for the removal of Levoflaxin antibiotic from environmental water matrices

Abstract

The presence of pharmaceuticals in water matrices has been a major problem because of its expected adverse consequences on oceanic biological systems and human well-being. Levofloxacin (Levo), a persistent and widely used antibiotic, has emerged as a significant pollutant in water samples. Its resistance to conventional water treatment processes poses challenges for its removal. This work focuses on preparing and characterizing a magnetic nanocomposite adsorbent (Fe₃O₄@TiO₂@Zeolite) designed to efficiently remove levofloxacin from the water samples, leveraging the Fe₃O₄ properties for easy separation and recovery of the adsorbent, TiO₂ for its adsorption capacity, while zeolite’s porous structure and high ion-exchange capacity improve adsorption efficiency. Together, these materials create a robust, multifunctional composite with promising applications for pollutant removal from aqueous environments. The adsorption of Levo antibiotic exhibited excellent fitting to both the pseudo-second-order model (R² = 1) and the Langmuir isotherm (R² = 0.9240) together with the Freundlich isotherm (R² = 0.999). Furthermore, the thermodynamic analysis indicated that the adsorption process of Levo was spontaneous and endothermic. This implies that the interaction between Levo and the Fe₃O₄@TiO₂@Zeolite nanocomposite, developed in this study, is favourable and requires energy input. The Fe₃O₄@TiO₂@Zeolite nanocomposite demonstrated a promising efficacy in the removal of Levo from wastewater samples, with removal percentage ranging between 92.43 and 96.95%. The prepared Fe₃O₄@TiO₂@Zeolite composite material could be regenerated up to the 5th cycle. This highlights the potential of the nanocomposite as an effective remedy for the purification of wastewater contaminated with Levo.