Coral-like TiO2/organosilane hybrid particles with rapid adsorption of methyl orange

TiO 2 /Bis[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]amine (BTMSPA) hybrid particles with a coral morphology were prepared using a facile method and used for the removal of methyl orange (MO) dye from wastewater. The structure of the TiO 2 /BTMSPA particles and the adsorption mechanism for MO were analyzed. Meanwhile, the adsorption isotherms and kinetics of MO on the particles were also studied. During the preparation of the TiO 2 /BTMSPA hybrid adsorbent, some of the BTMSPA linked the TiO 2 particles to form a skeleton, while the remaining BTMSPA grew in situ on the TiO 2 surface into nanopapillae, forming a micro/nano-porous coral-like structure. The secondary amine group in BTMSPA acted as an adsorbent via a single molecular layer chemisorption mechanism. In a neutral environment, the decolorization rate of MO was 83.3% after 1 min, eventually reaching 91.2 %. The maximum adsorption capacity was determined to be 90.3 and 369.3 mg/g under neutral and acidic conditions, respectively. Furthermore, the hybrid particles also showed excellent performance for the removal of other anionic dyes and such as methyl blue and amaranth red, with a 100 % decolorization rate. The adsorbent had good universality and excellent regeneration performance after an alkaline washing step.