Preparation and Characterization of Macroalgae Biochar Nanomaterials with Highly Efficient Adsorption and Photodegradation Ability

In this study, carbonized kelp biochar (AKB) modified by KOH impregnation and photocatalytic Bi₂MoO₆/AKB composite (BKBC) nanomaterials were the first time successfully synthesized for efficient removal of dyes in aqueous solution. BET, XRD, FT-IR, and SEM were employed to characterize as-prepared samples. UV-vis and other test results indicated that the removal efficiency of methylene blue (MB) was 61.39% and 94.12% for BKBC and AKB, respectively, which was up to 13 times and 20 times higher in comparison with pure Bi₂MoO₆ (PBM). In addition, the equilibrium adsorption capacity of MB could reach up to 324.1 mg/g for AKB. This high dyes adsorption performance could be likely attributed to its high specific surface area (507.177 m²/g) and its abundant presence of various functional groups such as ⁻OH and =C⁻H on AKB. Particularly, the existing of amorphous carbon and transition metal oxides, such as Fe₂O₃ and Mn₅O₈, could be beneficial for the photodegradation of MB for AKB. Meanwhile, experimental data indicated that adsorption kinetics complied with the pseudo-second order model well, and all of the tests had satisfactory results in terms of the highly efficient adsorption and photodegradation activity of AKB nanomaterials, which suggested its great potential in wastewater treatment.