Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were synthesized hydrothermally and modified with Co2+ and Zn2+. The as-prepared samples were denoted as MSN, Co-MSN(X), and Zn-MSN(X), where X is the Si/M molar ratio. In addition, co-modified MSN samples with both cations were also prepared and denoted as Co-Zn(Y)-MSN(X), where Y indicates the Zn2+ content in the range of 1-7 wt.% relative to Co2+. Correctness of the anticipated structures was approved by FTIR, XRD, SEM, EDX, BET, and XRF analyses. It was found that Co-Zn(7)-MSN(75) can be used as an efficient photocatalyst for discoloration of basic red 5 under very mild conditions. Up to 86% of basic red 5 was discolored after 3.75 h under the optimized conditions including catalyst dosage of 0.025 mg mL-1, pH=7, and irradiation of 4×8 W UV (254 nm) lamps. By using the Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetics model, it was found that the reaction followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic. Manuscript profile