Preparation of Ag Nanoclusters-Modified Non-Sintered Silica Ceramic-Like Nanosheet for Removing Dyes and Bacteria from Water

Xiuli Ren,1 Xinyan Lv,1 Zhenhua Chen,1 Peng Zhang,1 Xun Hu Snr,2 Xifan Mei1 1Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, 121001, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China; 2University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, Shandong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhenhua Chen; Xifan Mei Email zhchen561@yahoo.com; meixifan1971@163.comPurpose: Worldwide water contamination treatment and water security are essential for all living organisms. Among various water contaminants, dye, and bacteria pollution needs to be solved urgently.Methods and Results: In this work, a ceramic sheet from monodisperse, porous silica nanospheres (SiO2 NSs) with an average diameter of 220 was prepared. The prepared SiO2 ceramic sheets were investigated as a “filtration” material in removing dyes (alcian blue, AB; and methylene blue, MB) and bacteria (E. coli and S. aureus). The obtained sheets had efficient adsorption efficiency of 98.72% (for AB) and 97.35% (for MB), and a high adsorption capacity for AB is 220 (mg/g), for MB is 176 (mg/g). Furthermore, these SiO2 ceramic sheets had a high recycling capability for removing dyes by calcination. Being modified by Ag nanoclusters, the ceramic sheets present a strong bactericidal function.Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that the obtained SiO2 non-sintered ceramic sheets is rapid and efficient in the filtration of dyes and bacteria from polluted water.Keywords: SiO2 nanospheres, ceramic sheet, Ag nanoclusters, water treatment