Eco-friendly and acid-resistant magnetic porous carbon derived from ZIF-67 and corn stalk waste for effective removal of imidacloprid and thiamethoxam from water

Neonicotinoids, extensively present in water environment, can adversely affect the ecological safety and human health. Herein, a low-cost magnetic porous carbon ZIF-67/CS@C derived from ZIF-67 and agricultural waste corn stalk (CS) is designed and applied for adsorptive removal of imidacloprid and thiamethoxam from water. The adsorbent is fabricated by carbonizing ZIF-67/CS hybrid pre-prepared through an in-situ decoration of ZIF67 on the surface of CS, and then acid picking to elute the unstable constituents. In the carbonization, Co2+ ions are reduced to magnetic Co0 nanoparticles, with the result that ZIF-67/CS@C shows a strong magnetic response (saturation magnetization intensity is 12.25 emu 1) and can be easily magnetically separated. Meanwhile, Co nanoparticles are protectively encapsulated in well-developed graphitized wall, which endows ZIF-67/CS@C with good acid resistance (only 0.23% of Co is leached out at pH 1.0). More importantly, reasonable pore size distribution (most pore sizes match or are 3-6 times that of imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) and high external surface area (280 m21) are obtained, which makes ZIF-67/CS@C super adsorbent. The adsorption capacities for imidacloprid and thiamethoxam can reach as high as 189 and 133 mgreespectively. Moreover, after six consecutive recycling processes, the adsorption efficiencies are still above 95%, which reveals excellent reusability of ZIF-67/CS@C. Mechanism analysis affirms that pore-filling, H-bond, and pi-pi EDA interaction are mainly responsible for driving imidacloprid and thiamethoxam adsorption. Finally, ZIF-67/CS@C with a great security towards Daphnia carinata survival and wheat growth is eco-friendly. This study can be easily adapted to different biomass wastes and MOFs, thus potentially enabling the preparation of more novel adsorbents.

Automated summary

This study introduces a low-cost magnetic porous carbon adsorbent, ZIF-67/CS@C, designed for efficient removal of neonicotinoids from water. The adsorbent exhibits strong magnetic response, high adsorption capacity, and excellent recyclability, showing great potential for environmental remediation applications.