Adsorption of dyes on Sahara desert sand

Sahara desert sand (SaDeS) was employed as a mineral sorbent for retaining organic dyes from aqueous solutions. Natural sand has demonstrated a strong affinity for organic dyes but significantly lost its adsorption capacity when it was washed with water. Therefore, characterization of both natural and water washed sand was performed by XRD, BET, SEM and FTIR techniques. It was found that water-soluble kyanite, which is detected in natural sand, is the dominant factor affecting adsorbance of cationic dyes. The sand adsorbs over 75% of cationic dyes but less than 21% for anionic ones. Among the dyes studied, Methylene Blue (MB) demonstrated the strongest affinity for Sahara desert sand (Q_e = 11.98 mg/g, for initial dye solution concentration 3.5 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L). The effects of initial dye concentration, the amount of the adsorbent, the temperature and the pH of the solution on adsorption capacity were tested by using Methylene Blue as model dye. Pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion models were applied. It was concluded that adsorption of Methylene Blue on Sahara desert sand followed pseudo-second order kinetics. Gibbs free energy, enthalpy change and entropy change were calculated and found −6411 J/mol, −30360 J/mol and −76.58 J/mol K, respectively. These values indicate that the adsorption is an exothermic process and has a spontaneous nature at low temperatures.     

Palygorskite–TiO2 nanocatalysts for photocatalytic degradation of tebuconazole in water

Palygorskite–TiO₂ nanoparticles are frequently used as nanocatalysts. In the present study, two different nanocatalysts were developed based on the use of different palygorskite–TiO₂ ratios: 40–60 and 10–90. The nanocomposites were investigated for the photocatalytic degradation of the common fungicide tebuconazole (TEB), under aquatic conditions. The samples were extensively characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and N₂ specific surface area (SSA) by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analytical techniques. The TiO₂ nanoparticles were successfully dispersed on the mineral's surfaces and the photocatalytic activity reached 88.4% for the palygorskite–TiO₂ ratio of 40:60, where the dispersion was better as proved by the total pore volume and BET parameters (0.49 cm³/g and 258 m²/g compared to 0.33 cm³/g and 220 m²/g of the 10:90 ratio). The photocatalytic efficiency of the proposed materials was significantly higher than Degussa P25 (33.2%), and that makes the palygorskite–TiO₂ nanocomposites very promising for advanced application in fungicides' degradation in aquatic environments.     

Intrinsic photoluminescence from gels containing amine or amide chemical groups

Gels obtained through the sol-gel procedure by mixing an alkoxide with a carboxylic acid emit intense intrinsic photoluminescence when the alkoxide contains an amine or amide group. However, also simple polyether chains with two end amino groups but no alkoxysilane groups gel by interaction with carboxylic acids and also emit photoluminescence. Luminescence emission in these gels could be justified by a model similar to the emission of Green Fluorescent Protein. According to this model, amide groups, abundant in these gels, go through multiple reactions with other amide or amino groups so that they could yield conjugated species that are capable to emit photoluminescence. This model could open the possibility to synthesize a great variety of photoluminescent species based on amine-carboxylate interactions.     

Study of the conditions affecting dye adsorption on titania films and of their effect on dye photodegradation rates

Nanocrystalline titania films have been deposited on glass slides by the sol-gel technique in the presence of surfactant, which plays the role of template of the nanostructure. Several different dyes, both anionic and cationic, have been adsorbed on these films from aqueous solutions. Some of these dyes were adsorbed at large quantities some at lower quantities. Some of them were adsorbed in monomeric form and others formed aggregates. Aggregates are easily distinguished by absorption spectrophotometry, since absorption of light is observed at a different wavelength than monomer absorption in a dilute solution. In all cases, aggregation demonstrated a hypsochromic shift, indicating repulsive interactions, which are justified in view of the fact that titania surface is charged and that adsorbed molecules are aligned in parallel. The above titania films are hydroxylated. Therefore, cationic dyes were readily adsorbed. Anionic dyes could be adsorbed only from aqueous solutions brought at low pH. Photodegradation rates of adsorbed dyes were generally fast since these films are efficient photocatalysts. Nevertheless, photodegradation of an adsorbed dye was faster when the quantity of the dye was smaller. When the adsorbed dyes formed aggregates, aggregation had adverse effect on photodegradation rates.     

Initial use of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole in the chemistry of group 12 metals: An 1D zinc(II) coordination polymer and a mononuclear cadmium(II) complex containing the deprotonated ligand in a novel monodentate ligation mode

The chemistry of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (btaOH) with the group 12 metal ions Zn(II) and Cd(II) resulted in the 1D coordination polymer [Zn(btaO)₂]_n (1) and the mononuclear complex [Cd(btaO)₂(H₂O)₄] · 3H₂O (2 · 3H₂O), respectively. Polymer 1 forms double-stranded chains which are further supported by weak C–H?O hydrogen bonds resulting in a pcu (primitive cubic) rod packing. The mononuclear complexes of 2 form undulating hydrogen bonded layers while the lattice water molecules form 1D hydrogen bonded tapes, comprising 4- and 6-membered rings, within the layers and bridge them to the third dimension. The thermal and optical properties of both compounds are presented. IR data are discussed in terms of the chemical composition of the compounds and the coordination mode of btaO^?.     

Use of Ureasil gels to extract ions from aqueous solutions

Nanocomposite organic-inorganic gels synthesized through the sol-gel procedure by using Ureasil precursors can be employed as efficient sorbents for retaining metal cations and small anions from aqueous solutions. Sulfate or sulfonate as well as nitrate ions demonstrate a high affinity for Ureasils. High affinity was also demonstrated by trivalent metal cations. This affinity was explained by the presence of urea and of ether groups in Ureasils, which have the ability to complex many different types of ionic species.