Self-assembly of α-MoO3 flower as a highly effective organics adsorbent for water purification

We report α-MoO 3 flowers as a highly effective organics adsorbent for the first time. With α-MoO 3 microfibers (MFs), α-MoO 3 flowers uniformly self-assemble on a carbon cloth, serving as a great organics scavenger. They not only provide a high specific surface area but also possess van der Waals force, both of which guarantee a high adsorption efficiency for multiple organics. Nearly 100% of Rhodamine B (RhB), methylene blue (MB), and crystal violet (CV) are rapidly adsorbed while flowing through the designed α-MoO 3 flower-based filtration device. Even after five recycling times, its high adsorption efficiency toward RhB remains unaffected. The adsorption capacity of α-MoO 3 flowers for RhB, MB, and CV reaches up to 4974, 6217, and 3886 mg/m 2 , respectively. Additionally, this novel adsorbent can adapt to a wide pH range, maintaining the excellent capacity of 4774 and 4473 mg/m 2 toward RhB at pH of 2.0 and 12.0. The α-MoO 3 flowers can also adsorb other organics, including MO, noroxin, and tetracycline hydrochloride. Moreover, the free-standing α-MoO 3 flowers on a carbon cloth realize the adsorptive filtration for organics removal, which not only require no conditions and no energy consumption but also avoid secondary pollution to the water as compared to the powdery adsorbents.