BACKGROUNDSilica-based adsorbents have shown huge potential and bright perspective in adsorptive removal of antibiotic contaminants for water remediation. To further simplify the synthesis process, stabilize the doped metal and improve the adsorption capacity, a highly-effective metal iron-doped mesoporous silica (meso-Fe(III)/SiO2) adsorbent was in situ one-step synthesized under the strategy of using metal-based ionic liquid [(C12H25)(3)NCH3]FeCl4 as template and iron source. RESULTSIron(III) species have been found highly dispersed in the confined space of meso-SiO2 without pore blocking(.) Compared with the prototype and Fe-impregnate meso-SiO2 adsorbents, the meso-Fe(III)/SiO2 exhibited significantly enhanced adsorptive removal of 95.6% and 93.8% for tetracycline (TC) and levofloxacin (LOF), respectively. The adsorption was controlled by diffusion processes and well described by pseudo-second-order kinetics equation and Langmuir isotherm model. Solution pH, co-existing Na+ and Ca2+ exhibited significant impact on the adsorption process which is strongly related to -complexation, hydrophobic effect and electrostatic interactions. CONCLUSIONThe strategy of metal-based ionic liquid assisted synthesis provide a promising approach to design and develop highly-stable metal-supported adsorbents. Furthermore, the excellent adsorption performance indicated the potential application of this meso-Fe(III)/SiO2 in the removal of antibiotics from aqueous solutions. (c) 2019 Society of Chemical Industry