Multifunctional mesoporous aluminosilicate synthesized from LCD waste for heavy-metal adsorption, pollutant photodegradation, photoelectrochemical water splitting, and antibacterial applications

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Background Heavy metal, organic, pharmaceutical, and microbial contamination in herbal medicines and water require low-cost, multifunctional materials for integrated adsorption, photocatalysis, antibacterial treatment, and photoelectrochemical (PEC) applications. Methods Mesoporous aluminosilicate (MAS) was upcycled from LCD glass waste and thoroughly characterized. Its performance was evaluated in heavy metal adsorption, photocatalytic degradation, antibacterial testing against Escherichia coli , and PEC water-splitting. Significant findings MAS showed a BET surface area of 62.4 m² g⁻¹ and a hierarchical architecture of 7.5 μm microclusters, 344 nm nanoparticles, and 12.6 nm mesopores. ICP-OES of 13 Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang ingredients from Can Tho, Vietnam, revealed 7.7% exceeded the WHO Pb limit, including 19.1 μg g⁻¹ Pb in Radix Angelicae Pubescentis . MAS achieved >92.5% Pb²⁺, 83.6% Cd²⁺, and 74.5% As³⁺ removal through ion exchange and surface complexation. It degraded 90% methylene blue in 50 min and 70% chloramphenicol in 30 min under UV-Vis, with rate constants of 3.93 × 10⁻³ and 11.02 × 10⁻³ min⁻¹, respectively. In dim light, MAS inhibited E. coli by 61.1%, and PEC measurements gave ∼11 μA cm⁻² photocurrent and 0.036% ABPE at 0.78 V vs. RHE. MAS is a waste-derived, proof-of-concept multifunctional material exhibiting moderate heavy-metal adsorption, photocatalytic, antibacterial, and preliminary photoelectrochemical activities.