Highly effective removal of Cu(II) in aqueous solution by using mesoporous TiO2.

Abstract

Mesoporous TiO2 has been prepared by a brief and simple sol-gel processing and applied for the removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution. The adsorption behavior of mesoporous TiO2 for Cu(II) was investigated using batch experiments. Results showed that the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm were more accurate to describe the kinetics process and adsorption isotherm. Mesoporous TiO2 adsorbent displayed excellent Cu(II) adsorption efficiency (195.52mg g-1). The thermodynamic parameters showed that the adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic. It was also found that mesoporous TiO2 could be used at least seven times without obvious loss of its original adsorption efficiency. Therefore, the obtained mesoporous TiO2 could be employed as an effective and low-cost adsorbent for removal of Cu(II) from contaminated effluents.