Synthesis of HgI2 Nanoparticles and Nanorods by Laser Ablation in Liquid for Photodetector Applications: Effect of Laser Fluence

In this study, mercury iodide (HgI₂) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in ethanol at laser fluences of 22.9, 33.1, and 43.3 J/cm². The effect of laser fluence on the structural and optical properties of HgI₂ NPs was studied. X-ray diffraction findings reveal that all synthesized HgI₂ samples were polycrystalline in nature with orthorhombic structure. Absorption peak was appeared at 474 nm and the optical energy gap of HgI₂ NPs decreases from 2.13 to 2.05 eV as laser fluence increased from 22.9 to 43.3 J/cm². Zeta potential (ZP) results confirm that the nanoparticles synthesized at 22.9 and 33.1 J/cm² have high degree of stability. Fluorescence measurements show the presence of several emission bands. Raman spectra of HgI₂ NPs show the presence of six vibration modes centered at 15, 29, 37, 44, 51, and 70 cm^?1. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) results show the presence of two bonds, namely, C–O and Hg-I. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) results showed that the formation of spherical nanoparticles for sample prepared at 22.9 J/cm², 25–75 nm in size. While the nanoparticles synthesized with 33.1 and 43.3 J/cm² exhibit nanorods and nanotubes morphologies, respectively. The dark I–V characteristics of β-HgI₂ NPs/Si heterojunction photodetectors show rectification properties and the junction quality depends on the laser fluence and the best junction characteristics was obtained for heterojunction prepared at 33.1 J/cm². The white light photosensitivity of the HgI₂/p-Si photodetectors was measured at reverse bias under different intensities. The maximum responsivity reached was 3.39A/W at 450 nm for photodetector prepared at 33.1 J/cm².

     

Synthesis and Characterization of Magnetically Retrievable Fe3O4/Polyvinylpyrrolidone/Polystyrene Nanocomposite Catalyst for Efficient Catalytic Oxidation Degradation of Dyes Pollutants

Recently, the application of metal oxides such as Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles have wide interest for environmental remediation and treatment of wastewater especially contaminated with azo dyes owing to its high degradation efficacy and low toxicity. The recovery of magnetic catalysts without losing their efficiency is an essential feature in the catalytic applications. The aim of this article is to investigate and synthesis of magnetically retrievable Fe₃O₄/polyvinylpyrrolidone/polystyrene (Fe₃O₄/PVP/PS) nanocomposite for the catalytic degradation of azo dye acid red 18 (AR18). Fe₃O₄/PVP/PS nanocomposite was prepared in two steps. Firstly, PVP/PS microsphere was synthesized by γ-irradiation polymerization of styrene in presence of PVP solution. Secondly, deposition of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles on PVP/PS microsphere was achieved by the alkaline co-precipitation of Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ ions. The chemical structural and morphological properties of PVP/PS microsphere and Fe₃O₄/PVP/PS nanocomposite were examined by XRD, TEM, DLS, FTIR, EDX and VSM techniques. TEM results showed homogeneous morphology, spherical shaped and well-dispersed Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with average particle size of 26 nm around PVP/PS microspheres. The VSM measurements of Fe₃O₄/PVP/PS nanocomposite exhibit excellent magnetic response of saturation magnetization 26.38 emu/g which is suitable in magnetic separation. The effect of the synthesized Fe₃O₄/PVP/PS nanocomposite on the catalytic degradation of AR18 in presence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst was examined. The catalyst Fe₃O₄/PVP/PS/H₂O₂ played basic role in promoting the oxidation degradation efficiency of AR18 of initial concentration 50 mg/L to 94.4% in 45 min with excellent recyclability till the sixth cycles under the best conditions of pH 3, 2% v/v H₂O₂ and 0.3 g catalyst amount. Furthermore, the Fe₃O₄/PVP/PS/H₂O₂ hybrid catalyst system supports high capability for oxidation degradation of mixture of different dyes. The Fe₃O₄/PVP/PS nanocomposite catalyst had high magnetic and recyclability characters which are acceptable for the treatment of wastewater contaminated by various dyes pollutants.

     

Tunning the Physical Properties of PVDF/PVC/Zinc Ferrite Nanocomposites Films for More Efficient Adsorption of Cd (II)

This work deals with the synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄ NPs and studies the effect of addition on the physical properties PVDF/PVC blend. XRD affirmed the formation of ZnFe₂O₄ NPs and HRTEM shows that the size of the prepared ZnFe₂O₄ NPs ranged from 20 to 55 nm. The effect of ZnFe₂O₄ on the behavior of PVDF/PVC was studied through XRD, ATR-FTIR, FESEM and UV–Visible spectroscopy. XRD revealed that the addition of ZnFe₂O₄ NPs enhanced the crystallinity of PVDF/PVC blend system and also confirmed the incorporation of ZnFe₂O₄ NPs by appearing a diffraction peak at 2θ equals 35°. ATR-FTIR affirmed the interaction between blend sample and ZnFe₂O₄ NPs by appearing new bands 554 cm^?1 and 421 cm^?1 which are corresponded to ZnFe₂O₄ NPs functional group with appearing a new band at 603 cm^?1. FESEM showed that the addition of ZnFe₂O₄ to PVDF/PVC blend improved surface properties, for example, roughness average has been increased from 319 to 414 nm while maximum height increased from 260 to 473 nm for PVDF/PVC and PVDF/PVC/10% ZnFe₂O₄, respectively. Optical properties and band gap calculations revealed that addition of ZnFe₂O₄ NPs changes the structure of polyblend samples which results due to the formation of localized states. The removal efficiency of Cd (II) by using PVDF/PVC/10% ZnFe₂O₄ reached about 50% at pH 6 after 60 min. the absorption mechanism as well as kinetics isotherm have been studied. It is found that adsorption of Cd (II) occurred through the Langmuir mechanism and fellow pseudo-second order isotherm.

     

KCNQ1 Haplotypes Associate with Type 2 Diabetes in Malaysian Chinese Subjects

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of potassium voltage-gated channel, KQT-like subfamily, member 1 (KCNQ1) with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Malaysian Chinese subjects. The KCNQ1 SNPs rs2237892, rs2283228 and rs2237895 were genotyped in 300 T2D patients and 230 control subjects without diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Two logistic regression models of analysis were applied, the first adjusted for age and gender while the second adjusted for age, gender and body mass index. The additive genetic analysis showed that adjusting for body mass index (BMI) even strengthened association of rs2237892, rs2283228 and rs2237895 with T2D (OR = 2.0, P = 5.1 × 10(-5); OR = 1.9, P = 5.2 × 10(-5); OR = 1.9, P = 7.8 × 10(-5), respectively). The haplotype TCA containing the allele of rs2237892 (T), rs2283228 (C) and rs2237895 (A) was highly protective against T2D (Second model; OR = 0.17, P = 3.7 × 10(-11)). The KCNQ1 rs2237892 (TT), and the protective haplotype (TCA) were associated with higher beta-cell function (HOMA-B) in normal subjects (P = 0.0002; 0.014, respectively). This study found that KCNQ1 SNPs was associated with T2D susceptibility in Malaysian Chinese subjects. In addition, certain KCNQ1 haplotypes were strongly associated with T2D.     

One‐bath union dyeing of a modified wool/acrylic blend with acid and reactive dyes

Pretreated wool/acrylic fibre was obtained by a facile amidoximation process. Fibre characterisation (nitrogen content, tensile strength, shrinkage, infrared spectra and X‐ray diffraction) proved the success of the pretreatment. Union dyeing of wool/acrylic fabrics with acid and reactive dyes, namely CI Acid Red 40, CI Acid Blue 25, CI Reactive Red 194 and CI Reactive Blue 25, was obtained using a one‐bath dyeing process. Different factors that may affect the dyeability of the blend fibre, such as dyebath pH, liquor ratio, temperature, time and dye concentration, were evaluated with respect to the dye exhaustion, fixation, colour strength, levelling and fastness properties. Excellent to good fastness was obtained for all samples, irrespective of the dye used. The result of the investigation offers a new viable method for union dyeing of wool/acrylic fibres in a one‐dyebath process.     

Synthesis and proton conductivity studies of 5‐aminotetrazole‐doped sulfonated polymer electrolyte membranes

This work reports the preparation and characterization of a new anhydrous proton conducting membrane based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), sulfosuccinic acid (SSA), and 5‐aminotetrazole (ATet) at various stoichiometric ratios. The proton conductivities of membranes were investigated as a function of ATet composition, SSA composition, and temperature. New anhydrous proton conducting membranes were characterized by infrared spectra, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), methanol permeability, and impedance measurements for proton conductivity. TGA showed that the samples were thermally stable up to 150°C. DSC results illustrated the homogeneity of the materials. Mechanical analysis showed that the storage modulus of the PVA–SSA–ATet blend polymer membranes decreased with increasing ATet content. The membranes with higher tetrazole content, or higher acid doping level presented the higher proton conductivity. PVA–SSA–ATet4 can exhibit an anhydrous proton conductivity of 1.7 × 10⁻³ S/cm at 130°C and the proton conductivity increased with increasing temperature and acid doping level. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effect of additives concentration on the surface properties and performance of PVDF ultrafiltration membranes for refinery produced wastewater treatment

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pore-forming hydrophilic additives on the porous asymmetric polyvinylideneflouride (PVDF) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane morphology and transport properties for refinery produced wastewater treatment. PVDF ultrafiltration membranes were prepared via a phase inversion method by dispersing lithium chloride monohydrate (LiCl·H₂O) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles in the spinning dope. The morphological and performance tests were conducted on PVDF ultrafiltration membranes prepared from a different additive content. The top surface and cross-sectional area of the membranes were observed using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The surface wettability of porous membranes was determined by the measurement of a contact angle. The mean pore size and surface porosity were calculated based on the permeate flux. The results indicated that the PVDF/LiCl/TiO₂ membranes with lower TiO₂ nanoparticles loading possessed smaller mean pore size, more apertures inside the membrane with enhanced membrane hydrophilicity. LiCl·H₂O has been employed particularly to reduce the thermodynamic miscibility of dope which resulted in increasing the rate of liquid–liquid demixing process. The maximum flux and rejection of refinery wastewater using PVDF ultrafiltration membrane achieved were 82.50 L/m² h and 98.83% respectively at 1.95 wt.% TiO₂ concentration.     

Morphological and separation performance study of polysulfone/titanium dioxide (PSF/TiO2) ultrafiltration membranes for humic acid removal

In this study, polysulfone (PSF) hollow fiber membranes with enhanced performance for humic acid removal were prepared from a dope solution containing PSF/DMAc/PVP/TiO₂. The main reason for adding titanium oxide during dope solution preparation was to enhance the antifouling properties of membranes prepared. In the spinning process, air gap distance was varied in order to produce different properties of the hollow fiber membranes. Characterizations were conducted to determine membrane properties such as pure water flux, molecular weight cut off (MWCO), humic acid (HA) rejection and resistance to fouling tendency. The results indicated that the pure water flux and MWCO of membranes increased with an increase in air gap distance while HA retention decreased significantly with increasing air gap. Due to this, it is found that the PSF/TiO₂ membrane spun at zero air gap was the best amongst the membranes produced and demonstrated > 90% HA rejection. Analytical results from FESEM and AFM also provided supporting evidence to the experimental results obtained. Based on the anti-fouling performance investigation, it was found that membranes with the addition of TiO₂ were excellent in mitigating fouling particularly in reducing the fouling resistances due to concentration polarization, cake layer formation and absorption.     

Effect of doping polyacrylic acid with some dopants as studied by different techniques

The molecular weight of polyacrylic acid (PAA) was determined by a viscometric method using NaNO₃ as solvent at 30°C. The specific electric conductivities (σ) of PAA as well as PAA doped with carbon black (CB), chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃), and cupferron with different concentrations (from 0.25 to 1 wt %) were measured at a temperature range 360–400 K. IR spectra of some polymers were determined and it was shown that when PAA was doped with 0.5 wt % CB, a C? O? C band appeared at 775–875 cm^?1. The positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) spectra in PAA doped with the above‐mentioned dopants were measured as a function of their concentrations. It was observed that the short lifetime intensity I₁ decreased, whereas the intermediate lifetime intensity I₂, which is related to the conductivity of the material, increased with increasing the wt % of Cr₂O₃ and cupferron as well as at low concentrations of CB. These results are discussed in terms of the conducting island model. It was found that there were distinct positive relationships between σ and I₂. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 877–883, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10381     

Reactive dye removal in dye/salt mixtures by nanofiltration membranes containing vinylsulphone dyes: effects of feed concentration and cross flow velocity

In this study, DS5 DK type nanofiltration membranes were tested to recycle the reactive dye bath effluents. Reactive black 5 (RB5), reactive orange 16 (RO16), reactive blue 19 (RB19) and NaCl were used in the experiments to prepare the synthetic dye and salt mixtures. Effects of feed concentration, pressure and cross flow velocity on the permeate flux and color removal were investigated. Permeate flux increased with increasing pressure for all NaCl solutions. Dye concentration had a significant effect on flux values. Under the fixed NaCl concentrations the flux decreased with increasing dye concentrations. Dye rejections greater than 99% were achieved. Permeate was almost colorless. A gel layer formed by the rejected dye on membrane surface operates as a resistance to the permeation of dyes due to complete rejection of high molecule weight dyes, especially for the low salt concentrations. The presence of salt concentration has an interesting effect on color removal. Color removal decreased with increasing salt concentration. Cross flow velocities had also a significant effect on flux values. The dye formed agglomerates at high NaCl concentrations. High cross flow velocities decreased this effect.