Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanoflakes by Acidic Charring of Microcrystalline Cellulose and Urea for the Rapid Removal of Imidacloprid from Water

Herein, cellulose as a natural biomass along with urea was acid-charred to synthesize nitrogen-doped carbon nanoflakes (N-CNF). The as-prepared N-CNF was used to rapidly remove the effluent of agricultural waste containing an Imidacloprid (IMD) insecticide. The adsorption data fit well to nonlinearly in the Sips adsorption model, which is a mixed Langmuir-Freundlich model with an adsorption capacity of ∼104.9 mg g–1. The adsorption follows pseudo-second-order kinetics linearly and nonlinearly, and thermodynamic parameters reveal that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The effect of pH and the interference of ions was also checked. Further, spiking of IMD in different soil, lake, and tap wastewater samples was also done to enhance the practical applicability of removing IMD by N-CNF. The antibacterial properties of N-CNF were checked on both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilus, respectively, where they showed nontoxic behavior up to the concentration of 2 mg mL–1.