Chemical deposition of iron nanoparticles (Fe0) on titanium nanowires for efficient adsorption of ciprofloxacin from water

The development of antimicrobial resistance genes (AMRs) in water was globally accelerated due to the occurrence of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in water. This study aims to precipitate iron nanoparticles (Fe0) on the surface of titanium nanowires (TNWs) through a chemical process to overcome the limitations of Fe0 and efficiently remove CIP from water. TEM and XRD results confirmed the successful synthesis of Fe0 and TNWs. They also proved the successful deposition and dispersion of Fe0 on TNWs. Several (Fe0/TNW) nanocomposites were synthesised with different percentages of TNWs (5, 10, 20, 30, and 50%) to define the best TNWs ratio that will decrease the aggregation of Fe0 nanoparticles and achieve an outstanding removal efficiency of CIP. (Fe0/TNW) nanocomposite with 20% of TNW was nominated as the best nanocomposite because it demonstrated a promising performance, compared with other nanocomposites, by removing more than 67% of CIP with insignificant desorption behaviour during the treatment period (120 min). Dosage of (20%-Fe0/TNW), initial pH of CIP solution and reaction temperature were optimized through a group of batch experiments to efficiently remove CIP from water. The optimum removal of CIP was obtained by 1 g L−1 of (20%-Fe0/TNW) nanocomposite at initial pH of 7 under 35 °C.