Efficient Adsorption Removal of Tetrabromobisphenol A from Water by Using a Magnetic Composite Fe₃O₄/GO/ZIF-67

Abstract

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is a kind of widely used brominated flame retardant (BFR), which is proven to be harmful to ecological systems and public health. It is very important to remove TBBPA from the environment. In our study, a magnetic composite named Fe3O4/GO/ZIF-67 was synthesized by a coprecipitation method and applied in the highly efficient adsorption of TBBPA from water. Static adsorption experiments demonstrated that the adsorption capacity could reach 232 mg·g−1 within 120 min, which is much higher than those reported in the other literature. The experimental results show that the adsorption of TBBPA on Fe3O4/GO/ZIF-67 followed Langmuir and pseudo-second-order kinetic adsorption models. The main mechanisms for these adsorptions were identified as hydrogen bonds between OH groups in TBBPA and COOHs of Fe3O4/GO/ZIF-67, and π-π stacking between Fe3O4/GO/ZIF-67 and TBBPA. This study provides a method with great promise for the design and synthesis of better adsorbents for the removal of TBBPA from the water environment.

Keywords

• TBBPA
• metal–organic frameworks
• adsorption
• magnetic separation
• Fe₃O₄/GO/ZIF-67