One pot synthesis of Cu–Ni–S@Ni foam for the simultaneous removal and detection of norfloxacin

The residual antibiotics in the environment will pose a threat to the environment and human health. Thus, it is imperative to develop a smart water treatment material to remove and detect antibiotics from aqueous environment simultaneously. In this study, magnetic Cu–Ni–S@Ni foam was synthesized by liquid phase vulcanization method to in-situ load Cu–Ni–S nanostructures on the surface of Ni foam. The novelty of this material is the combination of adsorption-flocculation technology and semi-quantitative detection technology. Batch experiments showed that Cu–Ni–S@Ni foam has a high removal rate of norfloxacin (NOR) (96.92%), wide pH adaptability (pH = 4.0–10.0) and strong ion interference resistance (0.1–100 mmol/L). According to the Langmuir isotherm , the removal capacity can reach 417.4 mg/g at 25 °C, which is much higher than that of other water treatment agents reported in most studies. Characterization analysis indicated that the main removal mechanisms are surface complexation, cation bridging, electrostatic attraction , precipitation and flocculation . Transmission FTIR detection experiments showed that NOR on Cu–Ni–S@Ni foam has easily recognizable FTIR fingerprints; the intensity of characteristic peaks roughly reflects the concentration information of NOR to some extent. This semi-quantitative detection method, requiring simple operation without the fabrication of KBr tablet, has a wide linear range (5–100 mg/L) and a low limit of detection (4.6 mg/L). Therefore, Cu–Ni–S@Ni foam can be used for simultaneous removal and semi-quantitative detection of NOR in wastewater. It has potential application value in wastewater treatment and water quality monitoring.