Cu₂O/hollow mesoporous silica composites for the rapid and efficient removal of methylene blue

ABSTRACT

Cu₂O/hollow mesoporous silica (HMS) composite was synthesized using HMS as supporting material by the impregnation method. This composite displayed integrated physicochemical performance of Cu₂O and HMS, resulting in low density, large surface area and excellent dispersibility. The synthesized nano-sized composite of Cu₂O/HMS demonstrated rapid and effective removal for methylene blue with an efficiency of 99.8% with the reaction time of 5 min. Moreover, the Cu₂O/HMS composite exhibited high stability and present no obvious performance degradation after seven cycles. The dye removal efficiency stood up to 89% even after 15 cycles. The improved properties of Cu₂O/HMS are possibly the account of the collaborative effect between the mesoporous adsorption with Cu₂O photocatalysis.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Textile dyes
• Cu₂O particles
• hollow mesoporous silica
• dye removal efficiency
• synergistic effect

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study financed by the Scientific Research Foundation of Shandong University of Science and Technology for Recruited Talents [grant number 2014RCJJ017].