{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T03:53:03Z","timestamp":1781495583242,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,13]],"date-time":"2026-06-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781308800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Hierarchical ZnO\u2013SiO2\/carbon composites (C-Zn1, C-Zn2, C-Zn3) were synthesised via the carbonisation of resorcinol\u2013formaldehyde gels in the presence of ZnO-modified fumed silica, and characterised by N2 adsorption\u2013desorption, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and zeta potential analysis. The composites exhibited hierarchical micro\u2013mesoporous structures with BET surface areas of 467\u2013499 m2 g\u22121; the non-microporous volume fraction increased from 0.09 (reference carbon RFC, 545 m2 g\u22121) to 0.54\u20130.63 upon ZnO\u2013SiO2 incorporation. Adsorption of methylene blue (MB), crystal violet (CV), and rhodamine 6G (R6G) followed the Marczewski\u2013Jaroniec isotherm model. Maximum adsorption capacities for the best-performing composite (C-Zn1) reached 1.22 mmol g\u22121 for MB, 1.04 mmol g\u22121 for CV, and 0.63 mmol g\u22121 for R6G, compared to 1.32, 1.17, and 0.67 mmol g\u22121 for unmodified RFC. Kinetic analysis revealed up to 3.5-fold faster adsorption rates for C-Zn1 relative to RFC (for CV and R6G), attributed to enhanced diffusion through mesoporous channels while preserving the micropore-driven capacity. Agar well-diffusion assays against four bacterial strains showed no inhibition zones for any composite, indicating that no biologically active concentration of zinc species was released under the assay conditions. The proposed approach yields composites with enhanced adsorption kinetics, preserved capacity, and confirmed non-leaching character, positioning them as effective candidates for water purification.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31122079","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T03:01:27Z","timestamp":1781492487000},"page":"2079","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Hierarchical Micro\u2013Mesoporous ZnO\u2013SiO2\/Carbon Composites: Synthesis, Structural Characterisation, and High-Capacity Adsorption of Cationic Organic Pollutants from Water"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9784-1348","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariia","family":"Galaburda","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Sk\u0142odowska University, M. Curie-Sk\u0142odowska Sq 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland"},{"name":"Chuiko Institute of Surface Chemistry, NAS of Ukraine, 17 General Naumov Str., 03164 Kyiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5747-1178","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ma\u0142gorzata","family":"Wasilewska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Sk\u0142odowska University, M. Curie-Sk\u0142odowska Sq 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2037-6227","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"El\u017cbieta","family":"Grz\u0105dka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Sk\u0142odowska University, M. Curie-Sk\u0142odowska Sq 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3307-591X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jolanta","family":"Kutkowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Maria Curie-Sk\u0142odowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-031 Lublin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2070","DOI":"10.1021\/acsestwater.5c00100","article-title":"Porosity of Activated Carbon in Water Remediation: A Bibliometric Review and Overview of Research Perspectives","volume":"5","author":"Melo","year":"2025","journal-title":"ACS EST Water"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"122538","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molliq.2023.122538","article-title":"Highly Adsorptive Removal of Molecular Diclofenac and Bacteria Using Polycation Modified ZnO\/SiO2 Nanocomposites","volume":"386","author":"Tran","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. 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