In situ synthesis of novel peroxo-functionalized Ti3C2Tx adsorbent for aqueous pollutants removal: Role of oxygen-containing terminal groups

A novel peroxo-functionalized Ti3C2Tx adsorbent with abundant surface termination groups was facilely pre-pared in situ to remove aqueous anionic and cationic dyes. The adsorption behavior of methylene blue on peroxo-functionalized Ti3C2Tx was systematically investigated by adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics. Compared with Ti3C2Tx, the adsorption capacities of peroxo-functionalized Ti3C2Tx for cationic dyes methylene blue (558.0 mg g(-1)), rhodamine B (524.6 mg g(-1)) and anionic dyes methyl orange (292.6 mg g(-1)), congo red (258.2 mg g(-1)) were increased at room temperature without adjustment of pH, background ions and humic acid, etc of the contaminant solution by 7.9, 5.3, 5.9 and 4.6 times, respectively. In addition, peroxo-functionalized Ti3C2Tx could well tolerate the effects of pH, ionic strength, and humic acid. As revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the adsorption mechanism of peroxo-functionalized Ti3C2Tx for anionic and cationic dyes was mainly attributed to the electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding interaction, and noncovalent surface-pi attraction interaction. This study demonstrates a facile modification strategy for Ti3C2Tx adsorbent materials and aims to provide insights for the development of excellent Ti3C2Tx-based adsorbent materials.

Automated summary

The novel peroxo-functionalized Ti3C2Tx adsorbent demonstrated enhanced adsorption capacities for cationic and anionic dyes without the need for pH adjustment or other modifications in the contaminant solution. The adsorption mechanism was mainly attributed to electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding, and noncovalent surface-pi attraction interaction. This study provides insights for the development of Ti3C2Tx-based adsorbent materials with improved adsorption performance.