Mesoporous titanium dioxide as a novel solid-phase extraction material for flow injection micro-column preconcentration on-line coupled with ICP-OES determination of trace metals in environmental samples

Mesoporous titanium dioxide as a novel solid-phase extraction material for flow injection micro-column preconcentration on-line coupled with ICP-OES determination of trace metals (Co, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, V, Ce, Dy, Eu, La and Yb) in environmental samples was described. Possessing a high adsorption capacity towards the metal ions, mesoporous titanium dioxide has found to be of great potential as an adsorbent for the preconcentration of trace metal ions in samples with complicated matrix. The experimental parameters including pH, sample flow rate, volume, elution and interfering ions on the recovery of the target analytes were investigated, and the optimal experimental conditions were established. Under the optimized operating conditions, a preconcentration time of 90 s and elution time of 18 s with enrichment factor of 10 and sampling frequency of 20 h⁻¹ were obtained. The detection limits of this method for the target elements were between 0.03 and 0.36 μg L⁻¹, and the relative standard deviations (R.S.D.s) were found to be less than 6.0% (n =7, c =5 ng mL⁻¹). The proposed method was validated using a certified reference material, and has been successfully applied for the determination of the afore mentioned trace metals in natural water samples and coal fly ash with satisfactory results.     

Photoassisted degradation of dye pollutants in aqueous TiO2 dispersions under irradiation by visible light

The photoassisted degradation of two dye compounds, erythrosine and rhodamine B, has been investigated in an aqueous TiO₂ dispersion under irradiation by visible light. The compounds can be easily decomposed photochemically by visible light, which provides possibly a new approach for the treatment of dye pollutants in wastewater.     

Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of ethylene by a combination of TiO2 and activated carbon felts

Postharvest loss of quality is an important problem in the food and horticultural product industry. One of the major factors contributing to loss of quality is the uncontrolled exposure of the products to small amounts of ethylene gas during storage. In this study we investigated the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) degradation of ethylene gas at a temperature of 3 ± 1 °C and relative humidity of 90 ± 3% on an activated carbon felts (ACF)-supported photocatalyst titanium dioxide photoelectrode [TiO₂/ACF] or on a photoelectrode which had been modified by coating the ACF support with platinum [TiO₂/ACF-Pt]. The apparent pseudo-first-order kinetic model was used to describe the PEC degradation of ethylene. The key designing parameters for a PEC reactor affecting the degradation efficiency in terms of the rate constant of this model were studied, including the bias voltage and the light intensity. Degradation of ethylene by applying a bias voltage to the [TiO₂/ACF] |Nafion|[TiO₂/ACF] electrode-membrane assembly or to the [TiO₂/ACF-Pt] |Nafion|[TiO₂/ACF-Pt] electrode-membrane assembly enhanced the efficiency of photocatalytic (PC) degradation. The combination of the ACF support modified with platinum and the applied bias voltage were found to have an additive enhancement effect on the rate constant compared to PEC degradation carried out using the unmodified ACF support. With respect to the [TiO₂/ACF-Pt] |Nafion|[TiO₂/ACF-Pt] electrode-membrane assembly, a kinetic model was established using response surface methodology to describe the relationship between the rate constant and the affecting parameters. Optimized parameters were found to be a light intensity of 3.1 mW cm⁻² with a bias voltage of 47.5 V.     

采用溶胶-凝胶-溶剂热路径合成H3PW12O40/TiO2和H4SiW12O40/TiO2 及其光催化降解二硝基甲苯

以非离子表面活性剂P123为结构导向剂,采用溶胶-凝胶与溶解热相结合方法,制备了两类介孔材料H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/TiO₂和H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀/TiO₂,并对其进行了表征.?X射线粉末衍射和拉曼光谱分析表明,所制催化剂为锐钛矿晶型,体系中H₃PW₁₂O₄₀和H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀的Keggin结构经400?℃焙烧后仍保持完整.?H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/TiO₂和H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀/TiO₂的平均粒径分别为15.49和7.75?nm.?N₂吸附-脱附和扫描电镜结果表明,P123的加入使催化剂的粒径减小,比表面积和孔体积明显增大,其中H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/TiO₂和H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀/TiO₂的比表面积分别高达252.2和250.0?m²/g.?紫外漫反射吸收光谱表明,与纯TiO₂相比,复合催化剂的吸收光谱发生了明显的红移,且吸收强度明显增大.?催化剂对DNT降解实验表明,在最佳操作条件下降解率可高达95%.?     

Thermal decomposition route for synthesis of Mn3O4 nanoparticles in presence of a novel precursor

The synthesis of manganese oxide (Mn₃O₄) nanoparticles by using thermal decomposition and its physicochemical characterization are being reported in present investigation. As a new precursor, [bis(2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehydato)manganese(II)] complex was used in the presence of oleylamine (C₁₈H₃₇N) as both surfactant and solvent to control the size of resulting nanoparticle. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectrum. Synthesized manganese oxide nanoparticles have a tetragonal structure with average size of 9–24 nm. The phase pure samples were characterized by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for Mn 2p level. The values of binding energies are consistent with the relative values are reported in the literature. As a comparison between two methods, the novel precursor thermally was treated in solid state reaction in different temperature, 400, 500, and 600 °C and the products were characterized by SEM images. Magnetic property of the as-prepared Mn₃O₄ nanoparticle shows a ferromagnetic behavior with high saturation magnetization and coercivity.     

A photo-oxidation procedure using UV radiation/H2O2 for decomposition of wine samples — Determination of iron and manganese content by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

This paper proposes the use of photo-oxidation with UV radiation/H₂O₂ as sample pretreatment for the determination of iron and manganese in wines by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The optimization involved the study of the following variables: pH and concentration of buffer solution, concentrated hydrogen peroxide volume and irradiation time. The evaluation of sample degradation was monitored by measuring the absorbance at the maximum wavelength of red wine (530 nm). Using the experimental conditions established during the optimization (irradiation time of 30 min, oxidant volume of 2.5 mL, pH 10, and a buffer concentration of 0.15 mol L^− 1), this procedure allows the determination of iron and manganese with limits of detection of 30 and 22 μg L^− 1, respectively, for a 5 mL volume of digested sample. The precision levels, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), were 2.8% and 0.65% for iron and 2.7% and 0.54% for manganese for concentrations of 0.5 and 2.0 mg L^− 1, respectively. Addition/recovery tests for evaluation of the accuracy were in the ranges of 90%–111% and 95%–107% for iron and manganese, respectively. This digestion procedure has been applied for the determination of iron and manganese in six wine samples. The concentrations varied from 1.58 to 2.77 mg L^− 1 for iron and from 1.30 to 1.91 mg L^− 1 for manganese. The results were compared with those obtained by an acid digestion procedure and determination of the elements by FAAS. There was no significant difference between the results obtained by the two methods based on a paired t-test (at 95% confidence level).     

Photocatalytic decomposition of phenol over a novel kind of loaded photocatalyst of TiO2/activated carbon/silicon rubber film

A novel kind of loaded photocatalyst TiO₂/activated carbon/silicon rubber film that can photodegrade organic pollutants in dilute aqueous solution effectively is reported in this paper. Activated carbon is used as adsorbant and silicon rubber film as support. Compared with powdered TiO₂ catalyst this preparation procedure leads to a highly active and easily separable immobilized hybrid catalyst composed of 90 wt.% TiO₂ and 10 wt.% activated carbon in the photodegradation of phenol under UV irradiation. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Peculiarities of CaCO3, SrCO3 and BaCO3 decomposition in CO2 as a proof of their primary dissociative evaporation

The results of thermogravimetric experiments on the decompositions of CaCO₃, SrCO₃ and BaCO₃ in the presence of CO₂ and some data reported in the literature were used for the determination of the E parameter of the Arrhenius equation by the third-law method. The values obtained (495, 569 and 605 kJ mol⁻¹) are twice as much compared with the values of the E parameter obtained for these carbonates earlier in the absence of CO₂. This fact together with the invariance of the E parameter with partial pressure of CO₂ (P_CO2) and a hyperbolic dependence of the rate of decomposition on P_CO2 is in excellent agreement with the theoretical predictions deduced from the mechanism of decomposition that includes the primary stage of dissociative evaporation of reactant.     

新型Lewis固体酸Ce~(3+)-Ti~(4+)-SO_4~(2-)/MWCNTs制备及催化酯化反应合成生物柴油性能研究

采用高温浸渍法,通过Ce~(3+)、Ti~(4+)和浓硫酸磺化反应对多壁纳米碳管进行了改性处理,制备了Lewis酸型固体酸催化剂Ce~(3+)-Ti~(4+)-SO_4~(2-)/MWCNTs,并采用透射电镜、拉曼光谱、X射线光电子能谱、吡啶吸附红外光谱、X射线荧光光谱、X射线衍射光谱和NH_3程序升温脱附等多种测试技术对催化剂的物理化学特性和结构特征进行了表征。以Ce~(3+)-Ti~(4+)-SO_4~(2-)/MWCNTs为油酸与甲醇经酯化反应合成生物柴油的催化剂,对其催化性能进行了研究。结果表明,当醇油物质的量比为12∶1,催化剂与反应物质量比为1%,反应温度为65℃,反应5 h,油酸转化率为93.4%。催化剂Ce~(3+)-Ti~(4+)-SO_4~(2-)/MWCNTs在重复使用八次后,油酸的转化率仍为80.8%,由此表明其具有较高的催化活性和稳定性。高催化活性和稳定性是因为,纳米碳管的C 1s结合能较一般炭材料低,使得电子在其管状结构中的流动和逃逸非常容易,从而有助于负载于纳米碳管之上的活性组分之间发生强烈的相互作用,最终促使Ce~(3+)和Ti~(4+)分别与SO_4~(2-)形成稳定的配位键,增大催化剂的晶化程度,并使SO_4~(2-)与纳米碳管结合的更加牢固,增强了催化剂的稳定性,减少了催化剂中活性组分的流失。最后,由于SO_4~(2-)与Ce~(3+)的强相互作用,在不增加纳米碳管表面缺陷的情况下,改变了Ti~(4+)-SO_4~(2-)中表面原子的化学状态,使得S~(6+)离子和Ti~(4+)离子的吸电子能力增加,使催化剂以Lewis酸性活性位为主,避免了SO_4~(2-)/MWCNTs因为以Brnsted酸位为主,而在富含水的反应介质中,由于水合反应而降低其催化活性的现象发生。     

The decomposition kinetics of [Et4N]2[M(dmit)2] (M = Ni, Pd) in a nitrogen atmosphere using thermogravimetry

Thermal properties and thermal decompositions of [NEt₄]₂[M(dmit)₂] (M = Ni(II), Pd(II), dmit = 1,3-dithiole-2-thione-4,5-dithiolate) have been studied by thermogravimetry (TG). The TG analysis has shown that the complexes are thermally stable up to 460 K and the decomposition of the complexes occurs in three consecutive stages up to 873 K. A thermal stability scale for [M(dmit)₂]ⁿ⁻ anions was based on the thermal properties. Kinetics parameters, such as activation energy, E_a, and kinetic apparent pre-exponential factor, ln A_app, have been calculated from the thermogravimetric data at heating rates of 10, 15, 20 and 25 K/min involving differential (Friedman's equation) and integral (Flynn-Wall-Ozawa's equation) methods.     

Sample preparation methods for subsequent determination of metals and non-metals in crude oil—A review

In this review sample preparation strategies used for crude oil digestion in last ten years are discussed focusing on further metals and non-metals determination. One of the main challenges of proposed methods has been to overcome the difficulty to bring crude oil samples into solution, which should be compatible with analytical techniques used for element determination. On this aspect, this review summarizes the sample preparation methods for metals and non metals determination in crude oil including those based on wet digestion, combustion, emulsification, extraction, sample dilution with organic solvents, among others. Conventional methods related to wet digestion with concentrated acids or combustion are also covered, with special emphasis to closed systems. Trends in sample digestion, such as microwave-assisted digestion using diluted acids combined with high-efficiency decomposition systems are discussed. On the other hand, strategies based on sample dilution in organic solvents and procedures recommended for speciation analysis are reported as well as the use of direct analysis in view of the recent importance for crude oil field. A compilation concerning sample preparation for crude oil provided by official methods as well as certified reference materials available for accuracy evaluation is also presented and discussed.