Green clay engineering via dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethylformamide, and urea-assisted exfoliation of serpentinite for efficient azithromycin adsorption as emerging pharmaceutical pollutant.

ABSTRACT: Azithromycin (AZT), a persistent macrolide antibiotic, is an emerging environmental contaminant due to its high aqueous stability and role in antimicrobial resistance. In this study, natural serpentinite was chemically exfoliated using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylformamide (DMF), and urea (U) to enhance surface reactivity and adsorption performance toward AZT. Textural characterization revealed a marked increase in surface accessibility, with BET area rising from 6.1 m²/g (raw) to 23.7 m²/g (DMSO/SP), 18.8 m²/g (DMF/SP), and 15.3 m²/g (U/SP), while pore diameters expanded from 11.1 nm to ~ 16 nm, exposing more reactive hydroxyl groups. Batch adsorption experiments showed pH-dependent uptake, with maximum removal at pH 9. Adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-first-order model (R²

SUBMITTER: Diab AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12511387 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature