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Abstract
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Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) decorated with Ag nanoparticles (NPs) are
bifunctional adsorbent nanomaterials with antibacterial activity. They can be magnetically recovered
from wastewater in case of coupling with γ-Fe2O3. In this study, for the first time, an environmentally friendly technique was applied to prepare a nanocomposite (NC) material composed
of γ-Fe2O3/MWCNT/Ag by using Bridgestone disposable tires and Viscum album leaves extract.
γ-Fe2O3/MWCNTs/Ag NC was employed for the removal of sulfamethazine (SMT) from aqueous solutions. Under the optimized conditions determined via the Taguchi method, the highest SMT adsorption capacity of the γ-Fe2O3/MWCNT/Ag NC was measured to be 47.6 mg/g.
The experimental data fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir
isotherm. The thermodynamic parameters implied that the adsorption process was endothermic. In addition to adsorption of the drug pollutant, the NC demonstrated a superior antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The reusability test also showed that over 79% SMT
can be removed using γ-Fe2O3/MWCNTs/Ag NC even after four adsorption cycles. Taken together, γ-Fe2O3/MWCNTs/Ag NC was proven to be a promising antibacterial nano-adsorbent for
wastewater treatment.
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