Insight into Adsorption Performance and Mechanism on Efficient Removal of Methylene Blue by Accordion-like V₂CT_<i>x</i> MXene

Abstract

Dye-bearing wastewaters leading to the water pollution and ecological upset is a crucial issue in the textile industry. Herein, we report a facile method using two-dimensional transition metal carbides (MXenes) for the removal of the methylene blue (MB) in the water. The accordion-like V₂CT_<i>x</i> MXene is originally demonstrated to have high and spontaneous adsorption capacity of MB at 111.11 mg·g^-1, thrice over that of Ti₃C₂T_<i>x</i> as previously reported. The wide lamellar space of V₂CT_<i>x</i> is certain to have large accommodation for MB. The electrostatic interaction effect and hydrogen bond between V₂CT_<i>x</i> and MB not only promote the efficient adsorption process but also provide the selectivity between anionic and cationic dyes. Combined with good reusability, we anticipate that the V₂CT_<i>x</i> MXene is a promising candidate for the removal of cationic dyes from textile-dye-bearing wastewaters.