Fabrication of magnetic multi-template molecularly imprinted polymer composite for the selective and efficient removal of tetracyclines from water

Antibiotic contamination of the water environment has attracted much attention from researchers because of their potential hazards to humans and ecosystems. In this study, a multi-template molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) modified mesoporous silica coated magnetic graphene oxide (MGO@MS@MIP) was prepared by the surface imprinting method via a sol-gel process and was used for the selective, efficient and simultaneous removal of tetracyclines (TCs), including doxycycline (DC), tetracycline (TC), chlorotetracycline (CTC) and oxytetracycline (OTC) from water. The synthesized MIP composite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope and thermogravimetric analysis. The adsorption properties of MGO@MS@MIP for these TCs were characterized through adsorption kinetics, isotherms and selectivity tests. The MIP composite revealed larger adsorption quantities, excellent selectivity and rapid kinetics for these four tetracyclines. The adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic and followed the Freundlich isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The MGO@MS@MIP could specifically recognize DC, TC, CTC and OTC in the presence of some chemical analogs. In addition, the sorption capacity of the MIP composite did not decrease significantly after repeated application for at least five cycles. Thus, the prepared magnetic MIP composite has great potential to contribute to the effective separation and removal of tetracyclines from water.