Co‐Al Layered Double Hydroxide Showing Dual Functional Performance for the Removal of Cationic and Anionic Dyes

Textile industries generate substantial quantities of hazardous chemicals, primarily including dyes. The release of such contaminants causes environmental damage and harms human health. Thus, developing an effective adsorbent with low cost and high efficiency is an urgent task. The present study describes the synthesis of Co‐Al layered double hydroxide using a simple co‐precipitation method for the adsorption of a textile effluent, reactive red 120 (RR120) dye and the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). DLS, zeta potential analysis, FESEM, HRTEM, XRD, and XPS were studied to investigate the physicochemical features. The prepared catalyst exhibits a positive zeta potential, which favors the adsorption of the anionic pollutant. Under optimal conditions, the Co‐Al LDH exhibits the maximum adsorption capacity of 314 mg g −1 for the elimination of the pollutant. Unfortunately, excessive adsorption blocks active sites and impairs light absorption, rendering the photocatalytic degradation of RR120 ineffective. However, for the cationic pollutant MB, lesser adsorption makes the photocatalytic degradation more feasible under visible light. Therefore, Co‐Al LDH exhibits a 79% photocatalytic degradation of MB after 300 min. Therefore, the Co‐Al LDH demonstrates potential as an effective adsorbent for mitigating RR120 and methylene blue.