Comparison between activated carbon, carbon xerogel and carbon nanotubes for the adsorption of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin

S.A.C. Carabineiro (1) , T. Thavorn-Amornsri (1, 2) , M.F.R. Pereira (1) , Philippe Serp (3) , J.L. Figueiredo (1)

1 Universidade do Porto = University of Porto
2 Chulalongkorn University [Bangkok]
3 LCC - Laboratoire de chimie de coordination

A comparison was made for the adsorption capacity of ciprofloxacin (CPX) on three types of carbon-based materials: activated carbon, carbon nanotubes and carbon xerogel. The obtained samples were characterised by adsorption of N2 at −196 °C, determination of the point of zero charge and by temperature programmed desorption. The Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to describe the equilibrium isotherms obtained. Adsorption capacities ranging from approximately 112 to 231 mgCPX gC−1 were obtained (for carbon xerogel and activated carbon, respectively). The influence of the textural and surface properties of the carbon materials on the CPX adsorption was discussed and it was shown that the carbon nanotubes sample presents the best performance per unit surface area.

Mots clés: Activated carbon; Carbon xerogel; Carbon nanotubes; Ciprofloxacin; Adsorption

Domaines: Chimie de coordination

S.A.C. Carabineiro, T. Thavorn-Amornsri, M.F.R. Pereira, Philippe Serp, J.L. Figueiredo. Comparison between activated carbon, carbon xerogel and carbon nanotubes for the adsorption of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. Catalysis Today, 2012, 186 (1), pp.29-34. ⟨10.1016/j.cattod.2011.08.020⟩. ⟨hal-02909427⟩