Adsorption Performance of Zinc Semiconductor Nanoparticles in Tetracycline Removal

Zinc semiconductor nanoparticles have been employed as potential adsorbents for the remediation of organic pollutants. However, the influence of its non-metallic components on the adsorption performance of zinc semiconductor nanoparticles is yet to be understood. Herein, using zinc oxide (ZnO) and zinc chalcogenide (ZnS) as adsorbents, we demonstrated the effect of O and S constituents on the adsorption performance of zinc semiconductor nanoparticles. The morphology, crystallinity, surface area, thermal stability, and the functionals group of both samples were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Resonance Spectroscopy (FT-IR), respectively. Although the surface area of ZnS was observed to be 26 times that of ZnO, the Langmuir adsorption capacity for (TC) of the latter (78.70 mg/g) was significantly higher than the former (47.79 mg/g). The enhanced adsorption performance by ZnO is ascribed to its high porosity and broader point of zero charges (PZC). The present study establishes the impact of S and O on the adsorption performance of zinc nanoparticle adsorbents.