Facile Synthesis of Zn/Co LDH for the Removal of Oxytetracycline from Wastewater: Experimental and DFT-Based Analysis

•Synthesis of Zn/Co LDH to remove Oxytetracycline from Wastewater.•Zn/Co LDH showed 79 % removal of OTC.•The maximum adsorption capacity was achieved at pH 8.•Langmuir isotherm model best suits the removal of OTC.•Pseudo-second-order kinetic model best suits the removal of OTC.•The adsorption mechanism was based on hydrogen bonding (H.B), π-π interaction, ion exchange, and electrostatic interaction.