Dopamine-modified Graphene-based Adsorbent for Antibiotics Removal from Aqueous Solutions

Antibiotic residues have been found in drinking water and pose serious risks to human health and the environment. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), antibiotic resistance is responsible for more than 2 million infections and 23,000 deaths at a direct cost of $20 billion in the United States only. Traditional water treatment systems used to remove biological contamination from water and wastewater are not efficient for removal of antibiotics. Therefore, develop effective technologies to remove antibiotics from water, specially drinking water. Our research team has developed an efficient adsorbent for removal of antibiotics from aqueous solution. The dopamine-modified graphene-based materials attached to natural porous materials provides a promising solution for antibiotics removal, and possibly other emerging contaminants like Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Dopamine acted as both reducing reagent and adherent (undergoing self-polymerization process at a weak alkaline pH) which ensures the good stability and dispersity of reduced graphene-based materials on the surface of porous materials. The dopamine-modified graphene-based materials was coated four times onto the surface of natural porous materials, and batch adsorption studies were conducted for antibiotics: Ciprofloxacin (CIP) and Tetracycline (TC) and for POPs cationic model compound Methylene Blue (MB). The adsorption behavior was studied for the effect of initial compounds concentration, contact time, pH, temperature and ion concentration and has been demonstrated to be an easy, effective and environmentally friendly method removal of emerging contaminants from aqueous solutions, such as antibiotics