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

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.