A comprehensive method for tetracycline removal using lanthanum-enriched titania-zirconia oxide system with tailored physicochemical properties

A novel TiO2-ZrO2 hybrid oxide material enriched with lanthanum via in situ modification was successfully synthesized via a sol-gel process and applied in tetracycline (TC) removal. Lanthanum was introduced to increase the adhesion of organic compound to the TiO2-ZrO2 surface, which is beneficial for adsorption capacity and photocatalytic activity. Detailed physicochemical analysis of the hybrid oxide materials was carried out using analytical techniques including energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), low-temperature N-2 adsorption (BET model) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A key aspect of the research was the determination of optimum conditions for tetracycline removal from model solutions by a comprehensive method that combines adsorption and photocatalytic degradation processes. The maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity of the TiO2-ZrO2/La system with respect to TC was calculated to be 69.44 mg/g. Additionally, photocatalytic tests showed that 35 mg of TiO2-ZrO2/La photocatalyst was able to remove TC from a 10 mg/L model solution in 120 min with 100% efficiency. Thus, it is a very promising material for the treatment of wastewaters containing tetracycline. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

A novel TiO2-ZrO2 hybrid oxide material enriched with lanthanum was successfully synthesized via a sol-gel process and applied in tetracycline removal. Lanthanum was introduced to enhance adhesion of organic compound to the material's surface, improving adsorption capacity and photocatalytic activity. The material showed high efficiency in removing tetracycline from wastewater solutions.