Resumen
In this work, three silica pillared clays (Si-PILC) were synthetized, characterized, and evaluated as possible adsorbents of ciprofloxacin (CPX) and tetracycline (TC) form alkaline aqueous media. The pillared clays obtained showed significant increases in their specific surface areas (SBET) and micropore volumes (Vμp) regarding the raw material, resulting in microporosity percentages higher than 57% in all materials. The studies of CPX and TC removal using pillared clays were compared with the natural clay and showed that the Si-PILC adsorption capacities have a strong relationship with their porous structures. The highest adsorption capacities were obtained for CPX on Si-PILC due to the lower molecular size of CPX respect to the TC molecule, favoring the interaction between the CPX− and the pillars adsorption sites. Tetracycline adsorption on silica pillared clays evidenced that for this molecule the porous structure limits the interaction between the TCH− and the pillars, decreasing their adsorption capacities. However, the results obtained for both antibiotics suggested that their negative species interact with adsorption sites on the pillared structure by adsorption mechanisms that involve inner-sphere complex formation as well as van der Waals interactions. The adsorption mechanism proposed for the anionic species on Si-PILC could be considered mainly as negative cooperative phenomena where firstly there is a hydrophobic effect followed by other interactions, such as der Waals or inner-sphere complex formation.