Bifunctional Nanocellulose@MOF composite aerogel for selective fluorescent detection and efficient removal of tetracycline

The antibiotic tetracycline (TC) significantly pollutes water bodies, adversely impacting ecosystems and human health. In this work, a bifunctional platform for simultaneous detection and removal of TC was successfully constructed by in-situ growth of Zr-MOF in BC microspheres. The in-situ growth ensured the stability, while the design of the aerogel microspheres improved the processability, convenience, and recyclability. The macropores and mesopores in the aerogel microspheres significantly improved the molecular mass transfer efficiency, and the sensitivity and selectivity of TC detection and adsorption were improved due to the size-sieving effect of the abundant micropores of Zr-MOF and the supramolecular interaction of the ligand. Owing to the hierarchical pore structure, the adsorption capacity reaches as high as 317.6 mg/g. The enrichment during the adsorption process enhances the interaction between TC and Zr-MOF, thereby significantly improving the detection sensitivity of TC. As expected, BMAT3H5 has a LOD as low as 28 ± 0.012 nM and a KSV as high as 1.89 ± 0.001 × 106 M−1, providing excellent detection performance compared to other work in recent years. The good selectivity to TC was theoretically validated through simulations with Materials Studio software (MS). It provides a novel and practical bifunctional platform for efficient fluorescence detection and adsorption of TC, which has a broad application prospect in the fields of environmental monitoring, water treatment, and food safety testing.