Transition metal modified and partially calcined inorganic–organic pillared clays for the adsorption of salicylic acid, clofibric acid, carbamazepine, and caffeine from water

Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) are considered emerging contaminants, and their efficient removal from water is going to be a challenging endeavor. Microporous adsorbent materials, including pillared clays, could offer a potential solution if tailored properly. Although pillared clays have been employed previously for the removal of organics, the effective removal of PPCPs will only be possible if their surface and textural properties are manipulated from the bottom-up. This work presents the use of modified inorganic–organic pillared clays (IOCs) for the adsorption of salicylic acid, clofibric acid, carbamazepine, and caffeine. The IOCs have been modified with Co2+, Cu2+, or Ni2+ to induce complexation-like adsorbate–adsorbent interactions at ambient conditions, in an attempt to provide an efficient and yet reversible driving force in the sub-ppm concentration range. Furthermore, the IOCs were partially calcined to increase effective surface area by an order of magnitude while preserving some hydrophobicity. In general, the Ni2+ IOCs exhibited the greatest interaction with salicylic and clofibric acids, respectively, while the Co2+ adsorbents excelled at adsorbing caffeine at low concentrations. All of the metal-modified IOCs showed comparable adsorption capacities for the case of carbamazepine, probably due to the lack of availability of particular functional groups in this adsorbate.

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► IOCs modified with Co2+, Cu2+ or Ni2+ to induce enhanced surface interactions.
► IOCs were also partially calcined to increase effective surface area.
► Nickel based IOCs excellent adsorbents for removal of salicylic and clofibric acids.
► Partially calcined IOCs excellent adsorbents for removal of caffeine.