Engineering nanostructures of CuO-based photocatalysts for water treatment: Current progress and future challenges

Nowadays, increasing extortions regarding environmental problems and energy scarcity have stuck the development and endurance of human society. The issue of inorganic and organic pollutants that exist in water from agricultural, domestic, and industrial activities has directed the development of advanced technologies to address the challenges of water scarcity efficiently. To solve this major issue, various scientists and researchers are looking for novel and effective technologies that can efficiently remove pollutants from wastewater. Nanoscale metal oxide materials have been proposed due to their distinctive size, physical and chemical properties along with promising applications. Cupric Oxide (CuO) is one of the most commonly used benchmark photocatalysts in photodegradation owing to the fact that they are cost-effective, non-toxic, and more efficient in absorption across a significant fraction of solar spectrum. In this review, we have summarized synthetic strategies of CuO fabrication, modification methods with applications for water treatment purposes. Moreover, an elaborative discussion on feasible strategies includes; binary and ternary heterojunction formation, Z-scheme based photocatalytic system, incorporation of rare earth/transition metal ions as dopants, and carbonaceous materials serving as a support system. The mechanistic insight inferring photo-induced charge separation and transfer, the functional reactive radical species involved in a photocatalytic reaction, have been successfully featured and examined. Finally, a conclusive remark regarding current studies and unresolved challenges related to CuO are put forth for future perspectives.     

铜在空气中生成碱式碳酸铜的热力学分析

从热力学角度研究了酸度、湿度、水的存在状态不同时,单质铜在空气中生成碱式碳酸铜的电动势及其自由能变。通过计算发现:在酸性条件下,p H的大小对于反应的自发性没有影响;大气中二氧化碳溶解达到饱和时,空气湿度增加,反应的自发性略微增加;相同条件下,水由气态变为液态时,反应的自发性增幅较大。     

Effect of Butyric Acid on p53 Expression and Apoptosis in Colon Epithelial Cells in Mice after Treated with 9,10-dimethyl-1,2-benz(a)anthracene

As the most common cancer, colorectal cancer is the fourth leading cause of death among this malignancy disease. Surgery procedure with chemotherapy and radiotherapy for colorectal cancer treatment may cause unpleasant side effects. Therefore, prevention and early detection of the disease is important. Butyrate, a short chain fatty acid, has a protective effect against colon cancer by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. We conduct a research to investigate the effect of butyrate as a possible agent to decreased mutant p53 gene expression.     

Effect of Ultrasonic‐assisted Preparation Methods on Structure,Morphology and Optical Properties of Nanosized Cupric Oxide

Cupric oxide is a p‐type semiconductor with a narrow band‐gap which is suitable for catalysis, electrochemical cells, field emission devices and gas sensor applications. Despite considerable efforts devoted to the preparation of the nanosized CuO, there is a lack of information about ultrasonic‐assisted (US) preparation methods. Nanosized cupric oxide was successfully prepared through different ultrasonic‐assisted (US) preparation methods. Furthermore, the influence of preparation method on the structure, morphology and optical properties of nanosized CuO has been reported. XRD patterns were identical to the single‐phase pure CuO with a monoclinic structure. The enhancement of the crystallinity and crystallite size was observed for the sample prepared through the US thermal decomposition. The absorption band of CuO nanocrystals prepared through the US liquid hydrolysis shows a clear red shift of about 40 nm compared to those obtained with other preparation methods. Our results indicated that almost spherical CuO nanoparticles with an average size of 65 nm were prepared during the US thermal decomposition, while CuO rod‐like nanostructures with an average diameter of about 16 nm were obtained via the US liquid hydrolysis method. The band gap values of nanosized CuO samples were larger than the reported value for the bulk CuO. Synthesized CuO samples by US methods with adjustable and controllable properties make the applicability of cupric oxide even more versatile.     

高效抗菌Cu2+-壳聚糖季铵盐/丙烯酸复合物的制备

以过硫酸铵为引发剂,在壳聚糖季铵盐（HACC）上接枝丙烯酸（AAc）并络合Cu²⁺,制备了具有高效抗菌性能的HACC-g-PAAc-Cu²⁺复合物.采用红外光谱（FTIR）和核磁共振波谱（¹H NMR）表征了壳聚糖季铵盐接枝改性前后的化学结构变化;利用紫外-可见吸收光谱（UV-Vis）、Cu²⁺选择电极和热失重分析（TGA）表征了壳聚糖季铵盐接枝前后负载Cu²⁺的能力;测定了HACC-Cu²⁺和HACC-g-PAAc-Cu²⁺对金黄色葡萄球菌及大肠杆菌的最小抑菌浓度,并对小鼠经口摄入毒性和兔皮肤敷涂刺激性进行了考察.研究结果表明,在壳聚糖季铵盐上负载Cu²⁺能够有效提高其抗菌性;接枝丙烯酸能提高HACC负载Cu²⁺的能力和抗菌性,Cu/HACC结构单元的摩尔比由接枝前的3：7提高到接枝后的1：1;对金黄色葡萄球菌的最小抑菌浓度由60 mg/L下降到9.2 mg/L,对大肠杆菌的最小抑菌浓度由37 mg/L下降到6.3 mg/L,无摄入毒性和皮肤刺激性.     

Highly photocatalytic activity of metallic hydroxide/titanium dioxide nanoparticles prepared via a modified wet precipitation process

Surface modification is one important approach to increase the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂. By using a modified wet precipitation process, novel M(OH)_x/TiO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized, where M(OH)_x represents ferric or cupric hydroxide. The prepared M(OH)_x/TiO₂ powders were characterized with XRD, FT-IR, BET, UV–vis DRS, and TGA, and were observed to yield high photocatalytic ability by using methyl orange (MO) as a model compound of organic pollutants to be degraded. Due to the accelerating effects of the new photocatalyst, the half-time of MO during its photocatalytic degradation at pH 6.0 over M(OH)_x/TiO₂ was decreased from 332 min for unmodified neat TiO₂ to 63 min for Fe(OH)₃/TiO₂ and 65 min for Cu(OH)₂/TiO₂, respectively. The enhancing effects of M(OH)_x/TiO₂ was further observed in a wide composition range with various M/Ti atomic ratios in the photocatalysts and in a wide pH range of the MO solution from 3 to 7. This enhancing effect is mainly attributed to the increased trapping of the photogenerated electron by the higher valence sites (Fe(III) or Cu(II)) in the hydroxide layer near the M(OH)_x/TiO₂ interface and the enriched surface hydroxyl groups which accept photogenerated holes to yield more hydroxyl radicals.     

One‐pot Synthesis of 3,4‐Dihydropyrimidin‐2(1H)‐ones Catalysed by Cupric Acetate under Solvent‐free Conditions

A solvent‐free synthesis of 3,4‐dihydropyrimidin‐2(1H)‐ones from aromatic aldehydes, β‐keto ester/acetyl acetone and urea catalysed by cupric acetate under thermal condition is reported as a simple and an efficient protocol. Compared with classical Biginelli reaction reported in 1893, this new method provides much improved modification in terms of yield and reaction time. The usage of milder catalyst, environmental friendly procedures and excellent yields within a very short time (5–15 min) are the advantages of the method in which the involvement of solvent‐free condition adds an edge to the method. Thus, the efficiency of the protocol enabled the rapid synthesis of 3,4‐dihydropyrimidin‐2(1H)‐one derivatives in a short duration.     

丁酸钠预培养对水稻花药绿苗形成的影响

对水稻花药进行了丁酸钠预培养的试验,结果表明:2mM丁酸钠24小时的预处理,可以促进小孢子的均等分裂,增加多核花粉的比例,并影响愈伤组织诱导率和愈伤组织的分化绿苗潜力,对愈伤组织分化绿苗的促进作用尤其显著。丁酸钠对愈伤组织诱导的作用,与介质的pH的值有关,pH7.0的培养基的诱导率低于pH5.8,但对分化有利。 文章讨论了丁酸钠促进愈防组织分化的可能原因,以及丁酸钠影响愈伤组织诱导和促进分化之间关系。     

铸膜液溶剂体系的物理参数与BCA不对称膜的透气性

铸膜液的溶剂体系（溶剂和非溶剂）对不对称膜形态的形成有重要作用。为了探索溶剂和透气性间的关系，本文考虑到了制备ＢＣＡ梯度密度不对称膜的各种溶剂的一系列物理参数，得到了一些定性结果，并指出了更全面、明确、解释两者关系的研究方向。     

纳米复合锆基固体超强酸的制备及其催化酯化反应

采用改性技术和浸渍—沉淀法制备出纳米固体超强酸催化剂S2O82-/ZrO2-Al2O3。通过正交试验获得催化剂制备的最佳条件,即ω(Al2O3)为2.0%,-15℃陈化24h,浸渍液(NH4)2S2O8浓度为0.8mol/L,焙烧温度为650℃,焙烧时间为3h。用XRD、TEM、BET、TG-DTG和化学分析等手段分析了S2O82-/ZrO2-Al2O3的晶化过程、比表面积、含硫量和热稳定性,分析结果表明这四个方面对催化剂的酸性有较大影响。500~650℃焙烧温度下制备的催化剂属纳米材料(<41nm),有较大比表面积和较好的热稳定性。以优化的催化剂S2O82-/ZrO2-Al2O3用于催化合成丁酸异丁酯的最佳条件为:n(异丁醇):n(丁酸)=1.8:1.0,催化剂用量为1.0g(以0.3mol丁酸为准),脱水剂环己烷用量为10mL,反应时间为3.0h,催化剂重复使用8次后酯化率仍在90%以上,该催化剂具有催化活性高、不污染环境、可重复使用等特点。