Efficient adsorption of methylene blue by mesoporous silica prepared using sol-gel method employing hydroxyethyl cellulose as a template

A novel worm-like mesoporous silica (denoted as HECMS) was prepared using the sol–gel method employing hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) as a template and sodium silicate nonahydrate as the silica source. Then, Cu and Ce doped mesoporous silica (Cu-HECMS/Ce-HECMS) were prepared using the sol–gel method in one-pot condensation. The obtained materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction, N 2 adsorption-desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The BET specific surface area, pore volume and average pore size of HECMS were found to be 344.92 m 2 /g, 0.56 cm 3 /g and 5.85 nm, respectively. After the metal incorporation, the Cu-HECMS/Ce-HECMS maintained the worm-like mesoporous structure. HECMS, Cu-HECMS and Ce-HECMS were evaluated as adsorbents for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. The isotherms and kinetics corresponded to Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model, respectively. The adsorption capacity of Ce-HECMS was found to be 349.15 mg/g, while that of Cu-HECMS was 284.60 mg/g. In comparison, the corresponding adsorption capacity of HECMS was 282.08 mg/g.