Encapsulation of CoS nanoparticles in PAN electrospun nanofibers: Effective and reusable catalyst for ammonia borane hydrolysis and dyes photodegradation

In this study, the effective cobalt sulfide NPs were successfully encapsulated inside polyacrylonitrile (PAN) electrospun nanofibers. Typically, the solid NPs were in-situ synthesized by addition of ammonium sulfide drops to PAN/cobalt acetate solution. Electrospinning of the obtained colloid led to obtain good morphology polymeric nanofibers containing CoS NPs. Complete sheathing of the active nanoparticles did not affect their catalytic activity as the prepared mats revealed high performance toward hydrogen release from ammonia borane hydrolysis. Moreover, as a photocatalyst, a mat containing 2 wt% CoS could catalyze oxidation of methylene blue dye to be completely eliminated within 15 min. Furthermore, the introduced nanofibers photocatalytically enhanced complete degradation of the methyl red dye within relatively short time. The experimental results indicated that the optimum CoS content is 2 wt%, more increase in the concentration of the solid NPs leads to particles aggregation and consequently decrease the surface area. Beside the good activity obtained, the introduced immobilization strategy is considered an acceptable methodology to overcome the secondary pollution of the nanostructural photocatalysts because of the easy separation feasibility.     

微波辅助制备B-N共掺杂TiO_2催化剂及其光催化活性

以钛酸丁酯为钛源,采用微波辅助溶胶-凝胶法制备Ti O2微粒,用于亚甲基蓝染料紫外光照降解实验。对比研究了未掺杂、B掺杂、N掺杂和B-N共掺杂Ti O2的光催化活性,采用扫描电子显微镜表征催化剂微观结构,用Langmuir-Hinshelwood模型进行动力学拟合,并从电化学角度分析。结果表明,采用微波辅助溶胶-凝胶法制备的B-N共掺杂Ti O2具有最佳催化活性,其表面形貌比未掺杂Ti O2更均匀,具有更高的比表面积,同时B-N共掺杂使Ti O2催化剂产生了微观的p-n结效应,表现出很好的催化活性。在B-N共掺杂Ti O2催化剂用量为2 g·L-1和亚甲基蓝初始浓度为10 mg·L-1条件下,室温紫外光照4 h,亚甲基蓝降解率达91.6%。     

High Performance Removal of Anionic and Cationic Dye Pollutants with Co<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> Modified Nanoclinoptilolite: Kinetics and Adsorption Equilibrium Studies

In this paper Co₃O₄ doped nanoclinoptilolite was synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) techniques. The adsorption efficiency for removing of methylene blue was about 95% in 10 min. The effect of some factors such as adsorbent dose, concentration of analyte and pH was investigated for enhancing the removing efficiency. Moreover Freundlich and Langmuir patterns were plotted for this new nanocomposite. Maximum of adsorption capacity was obtained from slope of Langmuir and was about 25 mg/g. The kinetic study for methylene blue shows a second order kinetic with rate constant about 0.02 g/mg/min. The prepared nanocomposite was successfully applied for removing some color compounds such as methylene blue, methyl green, and methyl red and also binary dye mixtures.     

Characterization and evaluation of ZnO/CuO catalyst in the degradation of methylene blue using solar radiation

Catalysts based on the combination of zinc oxide and copper oxide were synthesized at a 80:20 mass ratio by the Pechini method and calcined at 500, 600 and 700 °C for 1 h. These catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR, BET, UV-Vis, TGA and XRF. They were subsequently tested for the removal of methylene blue dye by means of heterogeneous catalysis combined with solar radiation through a RCCD experimental design, analyzing the concentrations of H₂O₂ and methylene blue, as well as radiation exposure time and pH. The average crystallite size obtained was of 26.21, 28.21 and 35.91 nm for the respective calcined samples. The XRF was effective in determining the elements present in the catalyst, consisting of 75% zinc oxide and 25% copper oxide. The values of surface area were of 7.54, 7.19 and 3.92 m²/g, respectively. The experimental design showed that the catalyst calcined at 500 °C exhibited the highest removal efficiency (93%) of methylene blue with a dye concentration of 20 mg/L. Despite the need to carry out new studies to optimize the process, results suggest that the application of solar photocatalysis in the treatment of methylene blue with ZnO/CuO is a feasible alternative.     

TiO2粉体光催化降解四种可溶性染料的研究

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备TiO2粉体,光催化降解了亚甲基蓝、孔雀石绿、酸性品红、甲基橙等四种染料.研究了染料浓度、pH值、催化剂用量、时间等因素对四种染料光催化降解的影响.在染料的浓度为5 mg·L-1(甲基橙10 mg·L-1)、pH=7、TiO2粉体的用量为2 g·L-1、光照时间为1.0 h,其脱色率可以达到90%以上.     

Evaluation of Red Marine Alga Kappaphycus alvarezii as Biosorbent for Methylene Blue: Isotherm,Kinetic, and Mechanism Studies

In this work, non-living red seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii) biomass was investigated as a new biosorbent of methylene blue from aqueous solution. The effect of operational parameters such as equilibrium pH, agitation time, initial dye concentrations, and biosorbent dosage on the biosorption capacity of Kappaphycus alvarezii was studied. The equilibrium solution pH was found to profoundly affect methylene blue sorption capacity of Kappaphycus alvarezii with pH 8 found to be optimum. Evidence from Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy pictures confirmed the dye biosorption mechanism as electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged seaweed surface and positively charged methylene blue. Biosorption isotherms indicated that Kappaphycus alvarezii exhibited methylene blue uptake of 74.4 mg/g, according to the Langmuir model. The equilibrium isotherm data were evaluated using the Freundlich, Langmuir, Redlich-Peterson, and Toth models. Kinetic studies revealed that methylene blue uptake was fast with 97% or more of the uptake occurred within 60 min of contact time. The pseudo first and second order models were applied to describe kinetic data, of which the pseudo-first order described experimental data better with high correlation coefficient and low percentage of error values.     

微乳液静电纺丝法二氧化钛纳米纤维的制备及性能

以微乳液为前驱体,通过单轴静电纺丝法制备了具有多孔结构的二氧化钛纳米纤维。采用扫描电镜、X射线衍射、紫外可见漫反射光谱和氮气吸附解吸分析等对其进行了表征,并以亚甲基蓝和实际印染废水为目标物对其光催化性能进行了研究。结果表明纳米纤维的结构可以通过改变微乳液体系进行调控,当微乳液体系中加入混油相（石蜡和正己烷）时,制备得到的二氧化钛呈现出多孔和混晶结构,并具有优异的光催化性能。对亚甲基蓝溶液（MB）光催化降解率高达98%,对于实际印染废水光催化降解效果显著。该法制备过程简单,对特殊形貌光催化材料的制备提升性能具有重要的借鉴应用意义。     

β-Cyclodextrin functionalized graphene oxide: an efficient and recyclable adsorbent for the removal of dye pollutants

A novel method for the preparation of β-cyclodextrin grafted graphene oxide (GO-β-CD) has been developed. The GO-β-CD was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The ability of GO-β-CD to remove fuchsin acid from solution was also studied. The GO-β-CD had an excellent adsorption capacity for fuchsin acid and could be recycled and reused. The adsorption capacities of GO-β-CD for other dye pollutants such as methyl orange and methylene blue were also investigated. The absorption capacities for the three dyes are in the order: fuchsin acid>methylene blue>methyl orange.     

The use of chromium waste sludge for the adsorption of colour from dye effluent streams

Adsorption studies show that chromium hydroxide precipitates can be used for the removal of methylene blue, reactive blue, congo red and disperse orange dyes from aqueous media. Three different mechanisms are involved: attraction of positive surface charges on the precipitate at low pH for dye anions (reactive blue and congo red); attraction of negative surface charges on hydroxide at high pH for dye cations (methylene blue), and dye particle entrapment for the neutral disperse orange. The point of zero charge of the chromium hydroxide precipitate based on the dye adsorption studies is pH 10.5. The changes in the surface charge of such precipitates with pH can be used to achieve the removal of any charged dye species. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

负载型TiO2光催化剂的制备及其性能研究

以钛酸丁酯为主要原料，用溶胶-凝胶法在活性炭颗粒表面制备了不同负载次数的负载纳米TiO2。用扫描电镜分析和能谱分析法对负载后的纳米TiO2进行了表征。以亚甲基蓝为降解对象，研究了产品的光催化降解性能。结果表明，随着负载次数的增加，TiO2的负载量增多，负载后的TiO2颗粒呈片层结构，当负载次数太大时，负载颗粒发生团聚，片层结构消失，产品的光催化降解性能下降。负载4次时产品对亚甲基兰的光催化降解效率最高。     

纳米ZnO/膨润土光催化降解亚甲基蓝研究

以Zn(NO3)2和膨润土为原料,采用沉淀法制备纳米ZnO-膨润土复合光催化材料,用FT-IR、XRD和SEM对其结构和形貌进行了表征。以高压汞灯为光源,光催化降解活性亚甲基蓝模拟染料废水,研究了ZnO/有机膨润土光催化降解性能,讨论了影响亚甲基蓝降解率主要因素。结果表明,在光照射下1.5 h,ZnO/膨润土光催化降解亚甲基蓝达96%,其重复使用降解效果保持稳定,利用该复合光催化材料降解有机染料废水是一种可行的方法。     

Structurally modified electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) nanofibers as advanced host matrices for PbS quantum dots

The present work deals with the studies of the host matrix nature of pure and structurally modified surface roughened and coaxial hollow electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers to lead sulphide (PbS) quantum dots. The various structural and molecular analyses conducted on these samples proved the advancements and structural modifications made in the properties of pure PMMA nanofibers by electrospinning and selective dissolution. The successful incorporation of the quantum dots to pure and structurally modified PMMA nanofibers and hence the host matrix nature of these nanofibers is proved by different spectral analyses of the samples. The coaxial hollow PMMA nanofibers are found to be the best host matrix among these PMMA nanofibers as proved by the optical studies of the samples. Photoluminescence analyses of the samples showed the influence of these quantum dots on the optical properties of PMMA nanofibers. It is observed here that, the quantum dots enhance the intensity of coaxial hollow PMMA nanofibers to about four times than its virgin form. The pure and structurally modified PMMA nanofibers incorporated with PbS quantum dots are proved to be efficient for the degradation of methylene blue dye where coaxial hollow PMMA nanofibers incorporated with PbS quantum dots is the best.     

Optimization of crystal violet photodegradation and investigation of the antibacterial performance by silver-doped titanium dioxide/graphene aerogel nanocomposite

In this study, silver-doped titanium dioxide/graphene aerogel (Ag–TiO₂/GA ‒ ATG) was synthesized using the simple hydrothermal method with different Ag contents. The obtained materials were characterized by various modern analytical methods, in which the ATG50 sample, prepared with 50 mg of AgNO₃, demonstrated the highest photodegradation performance towards crystal violet (CV). The individual and simultaneous effects of crucial factors, namely pH, CV concentration, catalyst dose, adsorption time, and photodegradation time on the photocatalytic efficiency were evaluated via Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken models, respectively, which revealed up to 99.95% of removal efficiency at pH 6.5, 25 mg/L of the dye, and 29 mg of catalyst. Besides, ATG50 also achieved notable photodegradation potentials against methylene blue and indigo carmine with 97.11 and 53.22% of elimination, respectively, whilst a sufficient silver release and great reusability were acquired even after the 5th recycling run. And the antibacterial activity of the as-chosen ATG50 was also affirmed against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Therefore, the acquired results elucidate the synthesized ATG material as a promising solution for the treatment of organic dyes in wastewater and antibacterial applications.     

磺化聚醚醚酮纳米纤维膜的制备及其吸附性能

通过静电纺丝法制备了不同磺化度的磺化聚醚醚酮(SPEEK)纳米纤维膜,运用扫描电镜、热重分析仪分别对纤维的形貌和热性能进行了分析,并利用紫外-可见分光光度计研究了纤维膜对亚甲基蓝染料的吸附行为。结果表明:随着磺化度的增加,纺丝束流的稳定性得到改善,纤维直径减小;纤维膜对亚甲基蓝具有良好的吸附能力,在p H值=7时其对亚甲基蓝的去除率最大,平衡吸附时间约为90min;热力学分析表明,使用Freundlich模型描述SPEEK纳米纤维膜对亚甲基蓝的吸附行为更加合理;动力学分析表明,SPEEK纳米纤维膜对亚甲基蓝的吸附遵循准二级动力学模型。     

Novel chitosan‐TiO2 nanohybrid: Preparation,characterization, antibacterial,and photocatalytic properties

In this report, chitosan (CS) encapsulated titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanohybrid was prepared by chemical precipitation method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of nanohybrid. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed the immobilization of TiO₂ nanoparticles on the surface of CS. The nanohybrid was also characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and zeta potential. The nanohybrid exhibited high photocatalytic activity as evident from the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. The result revealed substantial degradation of the MB dye (90%) under UV‐light illumination. The catalytic efficiency was unaltered even after five cycles of reuse. In addition, the nanohybrid exhibited a superior antibacterial activity of 100% within 24 h of treatment against Escherichia coli (E. coli) was measured by colony forming units (CFU). POLYM. COMPOS., 35:327–333, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

ZnO-TiO2纳米纤维的制备及亚甲基蓝的太阳光催化降解

以钛酸四丁酯〔Ti(OC4H9)4〕、硝酸锌和聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(PVP)为原料,采用溶胶-凝胶法和静电纺丝法制备无机有机复合的PVP/ZnO-TiO2纤维,高温焙烧制得直径100～200 nm的ZnO-TiO2纳米纤维。通过差动-热重(DSC-TGA)、傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、扫描电镜(SEM)等进行了表征,并测定了其对亚甲基蓝溶液的太阳光催化性能。结果表明,w(ZnO)=3%时,ZnO-TiO2纳米纤维对亚甲基蓝催化活性最高,太阳光照射6 h后降解率达99.4%,重复使用8次降解率仍然在95%以上。     

A study on UV-protection property of poly(vinyl alcohol)-montmorillonite composite nanofibers

The aim of this research is to investigate the possibility of barrier effect of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/montmorillonite (MMT) nanofiber, against the UV radiation in different electrospinning situations. For this purpose, nanofibers with different weight ratio of PVA and nanoclay (MMT) were electrospun under different circumstances, and the amount of protect that is created by the nanofiber web against UV radiation by examining the rate of degradation of methylene blue dye that was protected by the same web was estimated. The UV-vis spectrometry was used for the analysis of methylene blue color. In order to investigate the morphology and miscibility of PVA-MMT composite nanofiber, X-ray diffraction, scanning election microscope, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer have been used. Thermal gravimetric analysis is used to investigate and explore how nanofibers behave against heat.     

Photocatalytic activities of electrospun tin oxide doped titanium dioxide nanofibers

SnO₂ doped TiO₂ electropsun nanofiber photocatalysts were successfully prepared by means of electrospinning process. The surface morphology, structure and optical properties of the resultant products were characterized by field-emission electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) techniques. The utilized physiochemical analyses indicated that the introduced SnO₂ doped TiO₂ nanofibers have a smooth surface and uniform diameters along their lengths. The photocatalytic performance of the composite nanofibers was tested for degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) dye solution under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Under the UV irradiation, the photocatalytic reaction rate in case of utilizing SnO₂-doped TiO₂ nanofibers was rapidly increased than that of the pristine TiO₂ nanofibers. Overall, this study demonstrates cheap, stable and effective material for photocatalytic degradation at room temperature.     

Novel Ag-AgBr decorated composite membrane for dye rejection and photodegradation under visible light

Photocatalytic membranes have received increasing attention due to their excellent separation and photodegradation of organic contaminants in wastewater. Herein, we bound Ag-AgBr nanoparticles onto a synthesized polyacrylonitrile-ethanolamine (PAN-ETA) membrane with the aid of a chitosan (CS)-TiO₂ layer via vacuum filtration and in-situ partial reduction. The introduction of the CS-TiO₂ layer improved surface hydrophilicity and provided attachment sites for the Ag-AgBr nanoparticles. The PAN-ETA/CS-TiO₂/Ag-AgBr photocatalytic membranes showed a relatively high water permeation flux (~ 47 L·m^–2·h^–1·bar^–1) and dyes rejection (methyl orange: 88.22%; congo red: 95%; methyl blue: 97.41%; rose bengal: 99.98%). Additionally, the composite membranes exhibited potential long-term stability for dye/salt separation (dye rejection: ~97%; salt rejection: ~6.5%). Moreover, the methylene blue and rhodamine B solutions (20 mL, 10 mg·L⁻¹) were degraded approximately 90.75% and 96.81% in batch mode via the synthesized photocatalytic membranes under visible light irradiation for 30 min. This study provides a feasible method for the combination of polymeric membranes and inorganic catalytic materials.     

Alkaline methylene blue method for determination of anionic surfactants and for amine oxides in detergents

The concn of anionic surfactants in alkaline media has been determined by modification of the methylene blue titration. The method is based on the oxidation of methylene blue chloride to dimethylthionoline, a red dye, in the presence of chloroform and sodium hydroxide. This method in conjunction with the acid methylene blue titration, also may be used to determine the amt of amine oxides in formulated products. For concns of less than 100 ppm a spectrophotometric method was used.