Synthesis of β-cyclodextrin/mesoporous attapulgite composites and their novel application in adsorption of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and 2,4,5-trichlorophenol

In this work, mesoporous attapulgite (mATP) was firstly prepared in the presence of the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide using attapulgite (ATP) as the matrix materials. Then, it was modified by β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) to obtain the β-cyclodextrin/mesoporous attapulgite composites (β-CD/mATP). The characterization of the composites showed that β-CD/mATP composites remained excellent channel structure and the value of the specific surface area was 300.30 m2/g. As-prepared β-CD/mATP was evaluated as sorbents to adsorption of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP). The results of the batch mode experiment revealed that the Langmuir isotherm model fitted the equilibrium data better, while the kinetic data could be described by pseudo-second-order model perfectly. Furthermore, 2,4,5-TCP adsorption onto β-CD/mATP was more affected than that of 2,4,6-TCP in the presence of competitive phenolic compound. In addition, β-CD/mATP possessed excellent regeneration property.