Cobalt-seamed C-methylpyrogallol[4]arene nanocapsules-derived magnetic carbon cubes as advanced adsorbent toward drug contaminant removal

Rational designing of carbon-based adsorbent precursors is an important way to enhance adsorption performance. In this work, fascinating Co@C composites have been designed and fabricated using a new cobalt-seamed metal–organic nanocapsule (Co-MONC), which exhibits incredibly high adsorption capacity for chlorpromazine (CPZ) removal from aquatic environments. Benefiting from its interconnected micro- and mesoporous structures, well-dispersed and highly available Co adsorption active sites, the optimal Co@C-900 exhibits ultrahigh CPZ adsorption capacity (1039.53 mg g −1 ) and excellent recycling ability, outperforming the reported porous materials and commercial activated carbon. Moreover, the adsorption behaviors of CPZ for the composite have been comprehensively investigated and the plausible adsorption mechanism was proposed. Apart from this, the interaction mechanism between exposed Co adsorption active sites and CPZ have been suggested with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The presented investigation demonstrated a facile and designable strategy for the fabrication of highly effectively adsorbents for organic contaminant removal.