A facile strategy to fabricate well-defined mesoporous γ-Al2O3 microcubes with good adsorption performance towards Cr(VI) removal

• Mesoporous γ-Al2O3 microcubes are synthesized through a facile thermal decomposition route.
• Mesoporous γ-Al2O3 exhibits high thermal stability.
• The product has high adsorption capacity and good recycling ability towards aqueous Cr(VI).

A facile route is initiated to fabricate well-defined mesoporous γ-Al2O3, with a three-dimensional micro/nanostructure, using basic aluminum sulfate (BAS) microcubes as precursor. The as-synthesized γ-Al2O3 is cubic-like in morphology with an average size of ca. 6 μm. Mesoporous γ-Al2O3 synthesized by this method is highly thermal stable and exhibits superior adsorption performance (maximum adsorption capacity 9.93 mg/g) with good recycling efficiency (more than 76% of its original adsorption capacity after 4 cycles) as an adsorbent to remove the heavy metal ions Cr(VI) as a result of its unique structure, which made it to be a promising material for environmental remediation.