Hierarchical flower-like ZnO–Ag@Cellulose composite with antifouling and antibacterial properties for efficient recovery of tellurium (IV) from wastewater

Recovery of the tellurium from wastewater is significant for both industrial applications and sustainable development due to the adverse impacts emanating from environmental pollution and strategic values in the photovoltaic industry. Herein, this study presents the recovery of tellurium from wastewater by flower-like structure ZnO−Ag@cellulose (ZAC) composite. Cellulose was first extracted from waste wood debris by an alkaline extraction process. Then, the flower-like structure of ZAC composite was synthesized by a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The obtained materials were conducted under different parameters to investigate tellurium adsorption properties. Thermodynamic and kinetic results indicate that the adsorption process of tellurium is dominated by monolayer exothermic chemisorption. Besides, as-prepared ZAC exhibited excellent performance for tellurium elimination from wastewater with superior removal efficiency of 98.86%. ZAC also shows outstanding antifouling performance in polluted environments, and still achieves 94.23% adsorption efficiency for tellurium. Moreover, the ZAC composite reveals high reusability and stability after six desorption-regeneration cycles. Importantly, the ZAC composite exhibits disinfection performance against E. coli and S. aureus. Therefore, this work not only demonstrates that ZAC composite is an efficient adsorbent with antifouling and antibacterial ability, but also provides an effective channel for wastewater decontamination and practical application as a promising candidate.