Exploration of functional MOFs for efficient removal of fluoroquinolone antibiotics from water

Abstract Antibiotics released into aquatic environment can pose serious threats to human and ecological health, making it of great significance to remove them efficiently from wastewater. In this work, MIL-101(Cr)–SO3H, a stable mesoporous metal-organic framework with polar –SO3H groups in the structure, was firstly explored for the adsorption removal of fluoroquinolone (FQ) antibiotics from water by using norfloxacin, ofloxacin, and enoxacin as examples. Remarkably, it exhibits record-high adsorption capacities of 408.2, 450.4, and 425.5 mg g−1 and fast removal rates for the three FQs. Electrostatic interaction between the electronegative ionized –SO3H groups and positive charged segment of FQ molecules is demonstrated to play a key role in the adsorption process. Besides, MIL-101(Cr)–SO3H exhibits good reusability during the stability and regeneration tests. This first work on the FQs removal from water by MOFs shows the great potential of MOFs in this field that deserves further study.