Functionalized nanocomposite for simultaneous removal of antibiotics and As(III) in swine urine aqueous solution and soil

In this work, amido-functionalized Fe3O4 microspheres (AFFMs) were loaded in network-structured MnO2 to form a nanocomposite named as OAM. OAM could remove chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTC) and trivalent arsenic (As(III)) simultaneously from swine urine aqueous solution and soil. Therein, OAM has a high adsorption capability for CTC through hydrogen bonds. Additionally, OAM could effectively adsorb As(III) through electrostatic attraction and then oxidize it to pentavalent arsenic (As(V)). Afterward, the resulting OAM/CTC/As could be conveniently removed with a magnet. When OAM was deposited on the surface of a piece of cotton fabric (CF), the obtained OAM/CF could efficiently control the migration of CTC and As(III) in a sand–soil mixture. Importantly, OAM could effectively reduce the uptake of CTC and As by zebrafish, water spinach, and pakchoi, and promote the growth of water spinach. Finally, OAM possessed good biosafety for embryos of Caenorhabditis elegans. Thus, this work provides a new method to remove CTC and As(III) simultaneously in swine urine aqueous solution and soil, which may have a high application value.