A Mini Review on the Synthesis of Mesoporous Silica and its Application in Antibiotic Removal

Abstract In recent years, antibiotics have been widely used in multiple fields such as agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry as well as human health due to their high efficiency and low price in treating bacterial infections. However, the misuse of antibiotics has posed a serious threat to both ecological environment and human health, resulting in the antibiotic contamination as a global issue. Therefore, the development of novel materials and technologies to remove antibiotics from water has become a research frontier and hotspot. Meanwhile, mesoporous silica materials have been gradually used in the removal of antibiotics via adsorption and degradation due to their controllable structure, tunable pore size as well as diverse sources. This mini review focuses on the research progress of mesoporous silica in removing antibiotics from aquatic environments. The main types and controllable synthesis procedures of mesoporous silica is introduced first, followed by their application in antibiotics removal via both adsorption and catalytic degradation. Furthermore, it proposes the future directions of this field, providing insights for the use of mesoporous silica materials in water pollution control.