Eco-green C, O co-doped porous BN adsorbent for aqueous solution with superior adsorption efficiency and selectivity.

Abstract Toxic dyes in wastewater will become a significant hazard to human health if they are not treated effectively. Therefore, it is significant to separate and remove dyes from the aqueous solution. C and O co-doped BN (BCNO) with high adsorption capacity and outstanding cycle efficiency is a simple and efficient adsorbent for the cationic dye malachite green (MG). Glucose is characterized as an eco-friendly and cheap source of C and O. Benefited by the high specific surface area (1515.6 m2/g), the maximum adsorption capacity of MG is 1511.1 mg/g. Besides, the curves of adsorption fitting correspond to the Langmuir model and the pseudo-second-order model, respectively. Moreover, after 5 cycles, the adsorption efficiency reached 78% of the first time and the adsorption capacity remained above 780 mg/g. Furthermore, in the selectivity adsorption study, the cationic dyes (MG, neutral red (NR), methylene blue (MB)) can be removed more effectively in the binary dye system of MG-methyl orange (MO), NR-MO, MB-MO, MG-Orange II (OR), MB-OR, or NR-OR. BCNO-2 has a promising application in the removal of cationic dyes from complex dye wastewaters.