Hierarchically porous SiO/C hollow microspheres: a highly efficient adsorbent for Congo Red removal.

Hierarchically porous SiO/C hollow microspheres (HPSCHMs) were synthesized by a hydrothermal and NaOH-etching combined route. The adsorption performance of the prepared HPSCHMs was investigated to remove Congo Red (CR) in aqueous solution. The results show that the synthesized composite possesses a hollow microspherical structure with hierarchical pores and a diameter of about 100-200 nm, and its surface area is up to 1154 m g. This material exhibits a remarkable adsorption performance for CR in solution, and its maximum adsorption amount for CR can reach up to 2512 mg g. It shows faster adsorption and much higher adsorption capacity than the commercial AC and γ-AlO samples under the same conditions. The studies of the kinetics and thermodynamics indicate that the adsorption of CR on the PHSCHM sample obeys the pseudo-second order model well and belongs to physisorption. The adsorption activation energy is about 7.72 kJ mol. In view of the hierarchically meso-macroporous structure, large surface area and pore volume, the HPSCHM material could be a promising adsorbent for removal of pollutants, and it could also be used as a catalyst support.