PREPARATION OF POLYSULFONAMIDE/TiO2 NANOCOMPOSITES BY SOL-GEL

Polysulfonamide (PSA) was synthesized at room temperature, the polymerization based on terephthaloyl chloride and 3,3 '-diaminodiphenylsulfone in the common solvent N,N -Dimethyl-acetamide (DMAc). Polysulfonamide/titanium oxide nanocomposites were prepared by sol-gel method. Tetrabutyl titanate(TBT) was added into the polysulfonamide solution, at the same time ,some water was mixed to make the TBT hydrolyze. In the process, hydrochloric acid was used to catalyze the reaction. The polysulfonamide chemistry structure was characterized by FT-IR spectrum. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to observe the microstructure of the composite film. The thermal property was investigated by TGA.The results show that we have succeeded to synthesize the polysulfonamide, TiO2particles were well distributed in the composite film and average size was about 20 nm on average, the heat-resistance of nanocomposite was batter than the pure polysulfonamide.     

PREPARATION OF POLYSULFONAMIDE/TiO_2 NANOCOMPOSITES BY SOL-GEL

1. INTRODUCTIONPolysulfonamide resin can be used to prepare heat-resistant fibers. The first investigation was started by the Chinese scientists in the 1970’s [1], then it is widely used in industry field. Its aerospace and fire protection application ha…     

Unveiling the Anticancer and Antibiofilm Potential of Catechin Overlaid Reduced Graphene Oxide/Zinc Oxide Nanocomposites

Journal of Cluster Science - In the present study, catechin was successfully grafted in reduced graphene oxide Zinc oxide (rGO/ZnO) nanocomposite by solvent free hydrothermal method. Absorption...     

Improvement in the light conversion efficiency of silicon solar cell by spin coating of CuO,ZnO nanoparticles and CuO/ZnO mixed metal nanocomposite material

Synthesis of pure Zinc oxide (ZnO), Copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) and their (ZnO/CuO) nanocomposites (NCs) in 1:1 M ratio were successfully prepared by co-precipitation method. The structural properties of the as synthesized nanoparticles and nanocomposite materials were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Optical band-gap studies were done using UV–Visible absorption spectroscopy. Photovoltaic properties of pure ZnO NPs, CuO NPs and ZnO/CuO NCs coated over a single-crystalline silicon solar cell were carried out to compare improvement of light-conversion efficiency in coated solar cell. The maximum light conversion efficiencies were found to be of 8.02% for CuO (3 mg/ml concentration) and 7.28% for ZnO NPs (3 mg/ml concentration), whereas that of mixed metal nanocomposite CuO/ZnO NCs was found to be 7.62%. at very low concentration of 1 mg/ml. This indicates with low concentration of mixed metal NCs an improvement in light efficiency can be obtained. The enhancement in efficiency could be due to formation of p - n heterojunction by CuO/ZnO NCs composites which enhances the number of electrons and holes participating in conduction on the surface.     

PREPARATION OF POLYSULFONAMIDE AND MODIFIED TITANIUM OXIDE NANOCOMPOSITES BY IN-SITU POLYMERIZATION

1. INTRODUCTIONAlthough Polysulfonamide fibers have showed excellent high temperature resistance with Tg over 370℃ , their poor mechanical strength and easy broken character after the exposure of UV radiation, have limited their applications [1～3]. Titanium oxide nanoparticles were widely used as UV absorptive additives in textile materials and cosmetic industries because of its’ efficiency and harmless characters [4～6]. In our work, we used a kind of titanium oxide nanoparticles, w…     

PREPARATION OF POLYSULFONAMIDE AND MODIFIED TITANIUM OXIDE NANOCOMPOSITES BY IN-SITU POLYMERIZATION

A kind of new nano composite with ultraviolet (UV) ray resistance and high temperature stability was prepared by in-situ polymerization in low temperature. Polysulfonamide (PSA) was synthesized with 4, 4'-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) and terephthaloyl chloride (TPC) in the common solvent N, N-Dimethyl- -acetamide (DMAc). Nano filler is a certain nano titanium oxide modified by silicon oxide (TMS), which plays the role of UV resistance additives. Properties of the novel composite materials were characterized by Atomic Force microscopy (AFM), thermal gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy. AFM had showed the sizes and distributions of TMS particles in the nanocomposite. Ultraviolet Spectroscopy for the nanocomposites showed a large absorption in UV band. TGA showed the decomposition temperature was increased over ten degrees with 0.5% wt TMS for this nanocomposite compared with pure PSA.     

Thermally stimulated dielectric properties of polyvinylidenefluoride–zinc oxide nanocomposites

Thirty-micrometer thick polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF)–zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposite samples in the mass ratio of ZnO (1–6% (w/w)) have been prepared by solution mixing method. The nano- and microstructures of PVDF–ZnO nanocomposite of different mass ratios were characterized by using high-resolution techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM and AFM images show the presence of different components such as nanoparticles, amorphous and crystalline phases in nanocomposite samples. Dielectric properties of polymer nanocomposite based on PVDF and ZnO of different mass/% compositions have been studied to understand the molecular motion at different frequencies in the temperature range from 300 to 500 K. The permittivity of the nanocomposites decreases with frequency, while increases with the increasing temperature and ZnO content. The loss peak that disappeared at higher frequency is the remarkable result of this study.     

In situ hydrothermal growth of ZnO/g-C3N4 nanoflowers coated solid-phase microextraction fibers coupled with GC-MS for determination of pesticides residues

In this paper, Zinc oxide (ZnO) hybridized with graphite-like C₃N₄ (ZnO/g-C₃N₄) nanoflowers based solid phase microextraction (SPME) coating was prepared on fiber using in situ hydrothermal growth method for gas chromatographic -mass spectrum (GC- MS) separation and analysis target analytes in complex matrixes for the first time. The proposed hybrid ZnO/g-C₃N₄ fiber exhibited wide linearity for the pesticide residues in range of 0.003–5.0 ng mL⁻¹. The limits of detection (LOD) were 0.001–0.0025 ng mL⁻¹. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for three replicate extractions using one fiber was ranged from 2.3% to 7.6%. The fiber to fiber RSD was 5.3–11.3% (n = 3). This method was successfully used for simultaneous determination of nine pesticide residues in cucumber, pear, Green tea and Minjiang water with satisfactory recoveries of 79.1–103.5%. These results indicated that the ZnO/g-C₃N₄ composite provided a promising alternative in sample pretreatment and analysis.     

Humidity sensing properties of ZnO-based fibers by electrospinning

Zinc oxide (ZnO) based fibers with a diameter of 80-100 nm were prepared by electrospinning. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and zinc acetate dihydrate were dissolved in water and the polymer/salt solution was electrospun at 2.5 kV cm⁻¹. The resulting electrospun fibers were subjected to calcination at 500 °C for 2 h to obtain ZnO-based fibers. Humidity sensing properties of the fiber mats were investigated by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method and electrical measurements. The adsorption kinetics under constant relative humidity (RH) between 10% and 90% were explained using Langmuir adsorption model. Results of the measurements showed that ZnO-based fibers were found to be promising candidate for humidity sensing applications at room temperature.     

On the synthesis and characterization of ZnO/MgO nanocomposite by thermal evaporation technique

ZnO/MgO nanocomposites have been synthesized by an easy and cost effective thermal evaporation technique. Various growth temperatures ranging from 800 to 900 °C were tried. It is observed that the process temperature plays a key role in the formation of ZnO/MgO nanocomposite and the proper formation of ZnO/MgO nanocomposite occurs at 875 °C temperature as confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies. Scanning electron microscopic images indicate that the ZnO/MgO nanocomposite is formed as agglomerated nanoparticles distributed over a large area. Energy dispersive X-ray analyses also reveal that the Mg composition in the synthesized nanocomposite strongly depends on the process temperature. Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum exhibits a blue shift for the ZnO/MgO nanocomposite synthesized at 875 °C indicating the incorporation of Mg into the ZnO crystal lattice. A higher PL intensity ratio of band-edge to deep band emission has been observed for this sample indicating the presence of low crystalline defects.     

Photocatalytic degradation of acid blue 74 in water using Ag–Ag2O–Zno nanostuctures anchored on graphene oxide

Water pollution due to industrial effluents from industries which utilize dyes in the manufacturing of their products has serious implications on aquatic lives and the general environment. Thus, there is need for the removal of dyes from wastewater before being discharged into the environment. In this study, a nanocomposite consisting of silver, silver oxide (Ag₂O), zinc oxide (ZnO) and graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized, characterized and photocatalytically applied in the degradation (and possibly mineralization) of organic pollutants in water treatment process. The Ag–Ag₂O–ZnO nanostructure was synthesized by a co-precipitation method and calcined at 400 °C. It was functionalized using 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane and further anchored on carboxylated graphene oxide via the formation of an amide bond to give the Ag–Ag₂O–ZnO/GO nanocomposite. The prepared nanocomposite was characterized by UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy. The applicability of Ag–Ag₂O–ZnO/GO nanocomposite as a photocatalyst was investigated in the photocatalytic degradation of acid blue 74 dye under visible light irradiation in synthetic wastewater containing the dye. The results indicated that Ag–Ag₂O–ZnO/GO nanocomposite has a higher photocatalytic activity (90% removal) compared to Ag–Ag₂O–ZnO (85% removal) and ZnO (75% removal) respectively and thus lends itself to application in water treatment, where the removal of organics is very important.     

Magnetic ZnO Crystal Nanoparticle Growth on Reduced Graphene Oxide for Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance under Visible Light Irradiation

Magnetite zinc oxide (MZ) (Fe₃O₄/ZnO) with different ratios of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was synthesized using the solid-state method. The structural and optical properties of the nanocomposites were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–Vis/DRS), and photoluminescence (PL) spectrophotometry. In particular, the analyses show higher photocatalytic movement for crystalline nanocomposite (MZG) than MZ and ZnO nanoparticles. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) with crystalline ZnO for 1.5 h under visible light was 12%. By contrast, the photocatalytic activity for MZG was more than 98.5%. The superior photocatalytic activity of the crystalline nanocomposite was detected to be due to the synergistic effect between magnetite and zinc oxide in the presence of reduced graphene oxide. Moreover, the fabricated nanocomposite had high electron–hole stability. The crystalline nanocomposite was stable when the material was used several times.     

Fabrication of zinc oxide/poly(styrene) grafted nanocomposite latex and its dispersion

Zinc oxide nanoparticles, with an average size of about 40 nm, were encapsulated by polystyrene using in situ emulsion polymerization in the presence of 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) as a coupling agent and polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether (OP-10) as a surfactant. Polymerization mechanism of nanocomposite latex was discussed. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) proved the presence of ZnO nanoparticle appeared to be monodisperse in nanosize in polymer composite particles. ZnO/PS nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results of FT-IR and XPS revealed that the surface of ZnO particle was successfully grafted by PS through the link of the coupling agent between ZnO and polymer. TGA and DSC results indicated an enhancement of thermal stability of composite materials compared with the pure polymer. SEM (scanning electron microscope) images showed a perfect dispersion of the ZnO particles in latex film. In addition, UV-visible absorption measurements demonstrated that the ZnO/PS composite coatings display a perfect performance of absorbing UV light.     

Preparation, characterization, and photocatalytic activity of polyaniline/ZnO nanocomposite

Polyaniline (PANI)/zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposite was synthesized by in-situ polymerization. X-ray diffraction patterns, UV?Cvisible spectroscopy, SEM, and TEM were used to characterize the composition and structure of the nanocomposite. Nanostructured PANI/ZnO composite was used as photocatalyst in the photodegradation of methylene blue dye molecules in aqueous solution. The photocatalytic activity of PANI/ZnO nanocomposite under UV and visible light irradiation was evaluated and was compared with that of ZnO nanoparticles. ZnO/PANI core?Cshell nanocomposite had greater photocatalytic activity than ZnO nanoparticles and pristine PANI under visible light irradiation. According to these results, application of PANI as a shell on the surface of ZnO nanoparticles causes the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the PANI/ZnO nanocomposite. Also UV?Cvisible spectroscopy studies showed that the absorption peak for PANI/ZnO nanocomposite has a red shift toward visible wavelengths compared with the ZnO nanoparticles and pristine PANI. The effect of different operating conditions on the photocatalytic performance of PANI/ZnO nanocomposite in the photodegradation of methylene blue dye molecules was investigated in a bath experimental setup.     

ZnO–CdO nanocomposite: microemulsion synthesis and dye removal ability

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - In this study, Zinc Oxide (ZnO)–Cadmium Oxide (CdO) nanocomposite has been synthesized by reverse microemulsion method and used as adsorbent to...     

Structural,thermal, dielectric and optical behaviour investigations of water-free ZnO/lyotropic liquid crystal nanocolloids

ABSTRACT

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles of spherical symmetry (average size of ≈ 20 nm) have been synthesised via a non-aqueous lyotropic liquid crystalline (LLC) templating process. Lyotropic liquid crystalline nanocolloids are prepared via dispersing 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 wt.% ZnO nanoparticles in non-aqueous lyotropic phase. No structural phase change has been seen with the doping of nanoparticles as stable lamellar phases are observed in all the cases. Stability of the lamellar structure and orientation of the ZnO nanoparticles in the liquid crystalline matrix may be attributed to the interfacial surface charge interactions. A significant increase and pronounced dispersion in dielectric permittivity of the ZnO/LLC nanocolloids could be the result of parallel coupling among guest/host, higher dipole- moment of the ZnO nanoparticles and Maxwell-Wagner polarisation. The variation of relaxation parameters has also been discussed and correlated with the dielectric and structural parameters. ZnO/lyotropic nanocolloids devices exhibit dc conductivity of the order of 10^?5S/m owing to the increase in the number of ions (of the order of 10¹⁹m^?3) in the doped systems. Nanocolloids exhibits, the refractive index of range 1.40 to 1.45 and the wide bandgap of the range 4.1–4.5 eV.     

Band structure tuning of ZnO/CuO composites for enhanced photocatalytic activity

The toxic dye pigments, even in small quantities, can damage ecosystems. Removing organic, inorganic, and microbiological contaminants from wastewater via heterogeneous photocatalysis is a promising method. Herein, we report the band structure tuning of ZnO/CuO nanocomposites to enhance photocatalytic activity. The nanocomposites were synthesized by a chemical approach using step-wise implantation of p-type semiconductor CuO to n-type semiconductor ZnO. Various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and UV spectroscopy were used to investigate the crystal structure, surface morphology, elemental composition and optical properties of the synthesized samples. As the CuO content increased from 10% to 50% in ZnO/CuO nanocomposites, the optical bandgap decreased from 3.36 to 2.14 eV. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated against the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible irradiation. Our study demonstrates a novel p–n junction oxide photocatalyst based on wt. 10% CuO/ZnO with superior photocatalytic activity. Effectively 66.6% increase in degradation rate was achieved for wt. 10% CuO/ZnO nanocomposite compared to pure ZnO nanoparticles.     

Degradation of organic dye using ZnO nanorods based continuous flow water purifier

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a common semiconductor material uses in waste water treatment. However, utilizing of ZnO particles could be easily drained away by water and charged into the water system during the photocatalytic treatment. This could result of forming secondary pollution in the water system. Hence, it is necessity to grow ZnO nanorods on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber to minimize the above mentioned problem. In this work, ZnO nanorods were grown on the flexible PET fiber in large quantity using a sol–gel method at low temperature (90 °C). A layer of 1-dodacanethiol polymer was per-coated on the PET fiber to improve the deposition of ZnO seed layer prior to the growth of ZnO nanorods. The PET fiber was covered with high areal density of ZnO nanorods (10.2 ± 0.8 NRs/μm²). Subsequently, this PET fiber was inserted into a glass tube for the setup of continuous flow water purifier. The photocatalytic study for degradation of Rhodamine B solution using this setup indicated that the reaction followed 1st order kinetic with rate constant of 1.28 h^?1. The ZnO nanorods were still intact with the fiber after the photocatalytic study. Thus, it is possible to upscale this setup as water purifier to purify the water system.     

常温直接沉淀法制备ZnO纳米棒

在常温下, 以PEG-400(聚乙二醇400)为表面活性剂, 采用直接沉淀法合成了ZnO纳米棒. 产物用XRD, TEM, SAED和 HRTEM等进行了表征. 结果表明, 所得ZnO为一维的纳米棒, 属于六方纤维矿的单晶结构. ZnO纳米棒的直径在20~40 nm之间, 长度在300~800 nm范围. (0001)面为ZnO纳米棒的生长方向. 讨论了ZnO相的生成和ZnO纳米棒的形成机理以及PEG-400在其形成过程中的作用.     

Thermally stimulated current and differential scanning calorimetry spectroscopy for the study of polymer nanocomposites

The thermally stimulated discharge current (TSC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) spectroscopy have been recorded in 25 μm thick samples of pristine polycarbonate (PC) and zinc oxide nano particle-filled polycarbonate. Polycarbonate (PC)/zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposites of different mass ratio (e.g., 1, 3, and 5%) were prepared by sol–gel method, followed by film casting. The glass transition temperature of nanocomposite samples increases with increase in concentration of ZnO nano fillers. It is due to the strong interaction between inorganic and organic components. The TSC peaks of nanocomposite and pristine PC indicate the multiple relaxation process. It has been observed that the magnitude of TSC decreases with increase in concentration of nanofillers. The TSC characteristics of 5% filled nanocomposites shows exponential increase of current at higher temperature region. This increase in current is caused by formation of charge-transfer complex between inorganic phase (e.g., ZnO) and organic phase (e.g., PC). Thus, the nano material like zinc oxide transfers the charge carriers from inorganic phase to organic phase rapidly and resultant current increases exponentially. This current is known as leakage current or breakdown current. TSC peak height is observed as a function of the polarizing field. The height of TSC peak increases as the field increases in pristine PC, while TSC peak height is suppressed in nanocomposite samples. This indicates the amount of space charge is smaller in the nanocomposites with a proper addition of ZnO nano fillers than in the pristine PC.