Removal of Tamoxifen from Aqueous Solutions Using Magnetite Nanoparticles Modified with PAMAM: Study of Equilibrium and Kinetic

The drug residues as a contaminant in water resources can lead to risks for humans and other biologists. Therefore, removal of them from the effluents is essential for environmental protection. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of evaluation of the removal efficacy of tamoxifen from aqueous solutions using magnetite nanoparticles modified with PAMAM. In this study, magnetite nanoparticles modified with PAMAM were synthesized by co-precipitation method and used as an adsorbent for the removal of tamoxifen from aqueous solution. Magnetite nanoparticles modified with PAMAM characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pHpzc, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) analysis methods. We used UV–visible spectrophotometer to determined tamoxifen in the solution at 236 nm. The results showed that removal efficiency increased until 0.03 g adsorbent, pH =7.0 and 40 min contact time. Also, the adsorption process followed the Freundlich adsorption isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Based on the results it can be admitted that the magnetite nanoparticles modified with PAMAM can be used as an effective and available absorbent to remove tamoxifen from sewage and pharmaceutical wastewater.