Abstract
Mesoporous magnesia (MgO) was prepared in one-pot synthesis procedure based on sol-gel technique by using triethanol amine as a template. The characterization data confirmed the mesoporosity of the prepared material and showed that it has a high surface area compared to commercially available MgO. The adsorption behavior of mesoporous magnesia was tested in the removal of chromium (VI) ions and arsenazo (III) dye from wastewater. The adsorption capacity of mesoporous magnesia was much higher than commercial MgO. Furthermore, the cytotoxic behavior of mesoporous magnesia was evaluated against three types of cancerous cells, i.e. hepatocellular carcinoma, colon carcinoma, and breast carcinoma cells. The obtained results were promising and encouraging with respect to hepatocellular carcinoma cells, in which 88% of the 1000-2000 cancerous cells could not survive in the presence of 50 mu g of mesoporous magnesia. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.