Influence of Ce³⁺ doping on the algal inhibiting properties of copper/sepiolite nanofibers

Algal inhibiting materials were synthesized by the co-impregnation method. Cerium was taken as an algal inhibiting agent with copper/sepiolite utilized as the carrier. The algal growth inhibition was assessed based on the form of presence and distribution of Cu²⁺and Ce³⁺ ions on the surface of sepiolite using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and SEM analysis. The results indicate that at 5 wt. % Cu content, 0.8 wt. % Ce and after heat treatment at 400 °C, the materials exhibit the best algal inhibiting capacity of 83.11%.