Hydrothermal synthesis of MoS2 nanoflowers and its rapid adsorption of tetracycline

The effects of different hydrothermal conditions on the morphologies and structures of MoS2 nanoflowers were studied. MoS2 nanoflowers were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and N2 adsorption-desorption apparatus. The results showed that MoS2 nanoflowers had homogeneous dispersion which prepared with H24Mo7N6O24, 1:4 ratio of Mo/S, 220 °C of hydrothermal temperature, 18 h of hydrothermal time and pH = 5. The MoS2 nanoflowers were used as adsorbents to remove tetracycline (TC) pollutants, which can reach the maximum removal efficiency of 93.8% and had a good adsorption capacity of 27.9 mg g−1 in 60 min. In addition, MoS2 nanoflowers had good stability and adsorption efficiency after four cycles. The adsorption mechanism of MoS2 nanoflowers to TC was also described.