Anodic electrochemiluminescent behavior of lucigenin on MWNT/GCE

The electrochemiluminescent (ECL) behavior of lucigenin on a multiwall carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode (MWNT/GCE) during anodic scanning was studied. A strong and stable anodic ECL signal was found on MWNT modified electrode, which results from the oxidation reaction between lucigenin and the oxidation production of OH^-. The effects of electrode materials, pH and scan rate on the ECL intensity were studied, and the possible ECL mechanism was also proposed. Under the optimized conditions, the ECL intensity was found to be linear with concentration of lucigenin in the range of 5.0 × 10^?7–5.0 × 10^?6 mol/L with a detection limit of 2.0 × 10^?7 mol/L. Superoxide dimutase (SOD) was found to be able to inhibit this ECL system, based on which a sensitive ECL methods for detection of SOD had been established.     

Electrochemiluminescent biosensor based on multi-wall carbon nanotube/nano-Au modified electrode

The electrochemiluminescent (ECL) behavior of lucigenin on a multi-wall carbon nanotube/nano-Au modified glassy carbon electrode (MWNT/nano-Au/GCE) was studied in this paper. Compared with the bare GCE, the ECL intensity of lucigenin can be greatly enhanced at MWNT/nano-Au/GCE. Based on the fact that superoxide dimutase (SOD) could obviously inhibit the ECL of lucigenin at MWNT/nano-Au/GCE, a sensitive ECL biosensor for determination of SOD was developed with a wide linear range of 5.0 × 10⁻⁸–5.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol/L with detection limit of 2.5 × 10⁻⁸ mol/L.     

Effective enhancement of peroxydisulfate electrochemiluminescence on C60/DDAB films

Effective enhancement of electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of peroxydisulfate on a C₆₀/didodecyldimethyl ammonium bromide (C₆₀/DDAB) film coated glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface is reported in this paper. The C₆₀/DDAB film gave lower cathodic current in the presence of peroxydisulfate than that from a bare GCE. To our surprise, electrochemiluminescent intensity from peroxydisulfate reduction was effectively enhanced on the C₆₀/DDAB film, which was 50 times and 250 times higher than those from a DDAB film coated and bare GCE, respectively. Moreover, the ECL onset potential on the C₆₀/DDAB film was about −0.9 V, which positively shifted 200 mV compared with that from the bare GCE. Dissolved oxygen and the applied potential also affected the electrochemiluminescent intensity. The presence of oxygen decreased the intensity, and the intensity reached maximum at the applied potential of −1.7 V. The unique property will greatly enrich ECL studies and applications based on fullerenes.     

An enhanced electrocatalytic oxidation and determination of 2,4-dichlorophenol on multilayer deposited functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube/Nafion composite film electrode

The voltammetric (CV and DPV) behavior of multi-walled carbon nanotube/Nafion composite coupled with a glassy carbon electrode was investigated for the determination of 2,4-dichlorophenol. The structural and morphological evaluation by XRD and FESEM revealed that the acid treated MWCNT retained their morphology without any structural change. The existence of the possible functional groups was investigated by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Compared to bare GCE, a significantly reduced interfacial charge transfer resistance was noticed for MWCNT/Nafion/GCE by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The use of Nafion not only contributed to the non-covalent functionalization of MWCNT, but also protected the electrode surface against the polymerization of phenoxy radicals forming a passivating film. For MWCNT/Nafion/GCE, the combination of anti-passivating ability and excellent catalytic properties resulted in the rapid and direct electrochemical determination of 2,4-DCP. Under optimal experimental conditions, the DPV responses for MWCNT/Nafion/GCE is linear over the 1–150 μmol/L range with a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 0.01 μmol/L. The presence of many interfering species had no influence on the signals of 2,4-DCP. The proposed sensor was successfully tested for the determination of 2,4-DCP in tap water samples and the recovery was in the range of 99.0–102.5%.     

Electrospun zirconia-embedded carbon nanofibre for high-sensitive determination of methyl parathion

Carbon nanofibers embedded with ultrafine zirconia nanoparticles (ZrO₂-CNFs) are fabricated via a new methodology. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) binary polymers containing zirconium n-butoxide are first dissolved in dimethylformamide, and the resulting solution is electrospun and heat-treated. The tetragonal zirconia nanoparticles formed, with a size of 5 ± 2 nm in diameter, are uniformly distributed in the carbon nanofibres. Using Nafion as an additive, ZrO₂-CNFs are drop-cast onto the glassy carbon electrode (ZrO₂-CNF/GCE) and the modified electrode is then applied to detect methyl parathion (MP) using differential pulse voltammetry. Two linear relationships are found at the concentration ranges of 1 × 10^− 9–2 × 10^− 8 g/L and 2 × 10^− 8–2 × 10^− 7 g/L, with a detection limit of 3.4 × 10^− 10 g/L (S/N > 3). The electrospun-based ZrO₂-CNF is a very promising coating material for electrochemical sensing of organophosphorus compounds.     

The remediation of wastewater containing 4-chlorophenol using integrated photocatalytic and biological treatment

In this work, the performance of integrated photocatalytic and biological treatment was studied for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol (MCP) present in wastewaters. Photocatalysis was used as a pre-treatment to biological degradation. Pollutant removal efficiency was quantified using MCP removal and total organic carbon (TOC) removal. Both photocatalytic as well as biological treatments were carried out in batch reactors, using TiO₂ as the photocatalyst. The inoculum for biological experiments was obtained from paper mill effluent treatment plant and was developed through a process of selection and acclimatization. Effect of TiO₂ concentration on the photocatalytic degradation of MCP was studied along with the effect of the duration of photochemical oxidation and glucose concentrations (0 g/L, 1 g/L and 2 g/L) on the biodegradation of MCP. Integrated biological and photochemical degradation was found to be more effective in treating MCP, especially at higher concentrations (400 mg/L). An initial MCP concentration of 400 mg/L required 96 h for complete mineralization when treated with the process combination, whereas the treatment went on up to 264 h when biodegradation alone was employed.     

Photocatalytic degradation of EU priority substances: A comparison between TiO2 and Fenton plus photo-Fenton in a solar pilot plant

Titanium dioxide photocatalysis (200 mg/L) and photo-Fenton were applied to the treatment of several different pesticides considered priority substances (PS) by the European Commission dissolved in water at 50 mg/L or at maximum water solubility (alachlor, atrazine, chlorfenvinphos, diuron, isoproturon and pentachlorophenol) alone (20 mg/L of iron) and as a mixture (10 mg/L of iron). All tests were performed in new twin 75-L compound parabolic collector (CPC) pilot plants driven by solar energy. Total organic carbon (TOC) mineralisation, disappearance of the parent compound and inorganic ion release are discussed as a function of treatment time. Photo-Fenton treatment was found to be shorter than TiO₂ and more appropriate for these compounds and mixtures of them.     

Visible LED light photoelectrochemical sensor for detection of L-Dopa based on oxygen reduction on TiO2 sensitized with iron phthalocyanine

The present work describes the development of a new strategy to photoelectrochemical detection of L-Dopa at low potential based on oxygen reduction on TiO₂ sensitized with iron phthalocyanine (FePc/TiO₂). The FePc/TiO₂ composite shows a photocurrent 10-fold higher than that of pure TiO₂ nanoparticles and it was 4-fold higher than that of FePc exploiting visible light. The band gaps of pure TiO₂ nanoparticles, FePc and FePc/TiO₂, calculated according to the Kubelka–Munk equation, were 3.22 eV, 3.11 eV and 2.82 eV, respectively. The FePc/TiO₂ composite showed a low charge transfer resistance in comparison to the photoelectrode modified with FePc or TiO₂. Under optimized conditions, the photoelectrochemical sensor shows a linear response range from 20 up to 190 μmol L^− 1 with a sensitivity of 31.8 μA L mmol^− 1 and limit of detection of 1.5 μmol L^− 1 for the detection of L-Dopa.     

Enhanced electrochemiluminescence based on Ru(bpy)32+-doped silica nanoparticles and graphene composite for analysis of melamine in milk

A sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor for melamine analysis was fabricated based on Ru(bpy)₃²⁺-doped silica (Ru(bpy)₃²⁺@SiO₂) nanoparticles and graphene composite. Spherical Ru(bpy)₃²⁺@SiO₂ nanoparticles with uniform size about 55 nm were prepared by the reverse microemulsion method. Since per Ru(bpy)₃²⁺@SiO₂ nanoparticle encapsulated a great deal of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺, the ECL intensity has been greatly enhanced, which resulted in high sensitivity. Due to its extraordinary electric conductivity, graphene improved the conductivity and accelerated the electron transfer rate. In addition, graphene could work as electronic channel improving the efficient luminophor amount participating in the ECL reaction, which further enhanced the ECL signal. This proposed sensor was used to melamine analysis and the ECL intensity was proportional to logarithmic melamine concentration range from 1 × 10⁻¹³ M to 1 × 10⁻⁸ M with the detect limit as low as 1 × 10⁻¹³ M. In application to detect melamine in milk, satisfactory recoveries could be obtained, which indicated this sensor having potential application in melamine analysis in real samples.     

Self-assembled Nafion–silica nanoparticles for elevated-high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

In this paper, a novel Nafion/SiO₂ nanocomposite membrane based on the self-assembled Nafion–SiO₂ nanoparticles was developed. The average particle size of Nafion–SiO₂ nanoparticles prepared by self-assembly process was 2.8 ± 0.5 nm. The self-assembled Nafion–SiO₂ nanoparticles significantly enhance the durability of the Nafion/silica nanocomposite membrane as compared to that of conventional Nafion/silica composite and Nafion 212 membranes under wet/dry cyclic tests at 90 °C. With an addition of 5 wt% self-assembled Nafion–SiO₂ nanoparticles, the Nafion/SiO₂ nanocomposite membrane shows a significantly improved performance stability at cell/humidifying temperatures of 100 °C/60 °C under a current density of 600 mA/cm², and the degradation rate is 0.12 mV/min, almost 20 times lower than 2.33 mV/min measured on the pristine Nafion 212 membrane under the same conditions. The present results demonstrate the promises of the self-assembled Nafion/SiO₂ nanocomposite membrane for elevated-high temperature PEM fuel cells applications.     

Greatly enhanced electrochemiluminescence of CdS nanocrystals upon heating in the presence of ammonia

CdS nanocrystals (NCs) usually exhibit very weak electrochemiluminescence (ECL) emission. It is showed that when CdS NCs were treated by heating in the presence of ammonia (heated-CdS–NH₃), greatly enhanced ECL was observed. The ECL of the heated-CdS–NH₃ modified glassy carbon electrode (heated-CdS–NH₃/GCE) in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0) containing 0.1 M K₂S₂O₈ was ca. 310 times higher than that of CdS/GCE. The treatment caused the changes in the morphology and surface electronic structure of CdS NCs, which facilitated the reduction process of CdS, consequently improved the quantity of the excited states (CdS*), leading to enormous enhancement in ECL.     

Highly efficient electrogenerated chemiluminescence of natural chlorophyll a

Highly efficient electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of natural chlorophyll a (Chl a) was observed in acetonitrile with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate as electrolyte and tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) as a coreactant. The collected ECL spectrum displayed a maximum emission peak at ca. 670 nm, suggesting that the same excited states with the photo-excitation processes were generated. The possible ECL reaction mechanism of this Chl a–TPrA system was discussed and established. ECL intensity of Chl a was proportional to its concentration over the range of 0.1–11 μM, and a high ECL efficiency (Φ_ecl) of 0.86 was calculated using Ru(bpy)₃^2 + as the standard (Φ_ecl = 1). Herein, an important property of natural Chl a was expanded and a new kind of ECL luminophores was developed. Moreover, it is expected that this high ECL efficiency of natural porphyrin complex has great potential to expand its ECL sensing application.     

Radiation-induced catalytic degradation of p-nitrophenol (PNP) in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles

The gamma radiation induced catalytic degradation of p-nitrophenol (PNP) in the presence of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles in aqueous solution was investigated. The initial concentration of PNP solution was 50 mg/L, and the additional TiO₂ doses were 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 g/L. The experimental results indicated that the PNP decomposition kinetics conformed to the modified pseudo-first order reaction equation under all applied conditions. When the TiO₂ dose was in the range of 0–2.0 g/L, the effect of additional TiO₂ on PNP decomposition rate was not obvious because PNP could be removed quite well by irradiation even in the absence of TiO₂ nanoparticles; however, the removal of total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) was significantly accelerated in the presence of TiO₂ nanoparticles, the TOC removal efficiency increased from about 16% to 42%, and therefore the mineralization of PNP could be enhanced by TiO₂ nanoparticles. The inorganic nitrogen products were quantitatively measured to estimate the decomposition degree of PNP. The major aromatic intermediates, as well as carboxylic acids were identified by LCMS and IC. Possible reactions involved in radiation induced catalytic decomposition of PNP in aqueous solutions were proposed.     

Detection of hypoxanthine based on the electrochemiluminescent of 6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-3(7H)-one on the electrically heated indium–tin-oxide electrode

An electrochemiluminescent (ECL) enzyme biosensor was developed for detection of hypoxanthine based on ECL of 6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-3(7H)-one (MCLA). The xanthine oxidase (XOD) was modified on the heated indium–tin-oxide (ITO) electrode, and the ECL enzyme biosensor was found to be electrode temperatures depend, this was because that both the diffusion and convection of compounds near the electrode surface and the catalytic reaction of immobilized enzyme were affected by the temperature of electrode (T_e). In this work, the highest sensitivity was gained when T_e was 36 °C. Under the optimum condition, the linear response range of hypoxanthine (HX) was found to be 0.3–27 μmol/L, and the detection limit (defined as the concentration that could be detected at the signal-to-noise ration of 3) was 0.15 μmol/L.     

Investigation on catalyzed combustion of wheat straw by thermal analysis

Combustion of wheat straw incorporating TiO₂, CuO and MnO₂ was investigated by means of thermal analysis carried out at 20 °C/min in the temperature range from 50 °C to 900 °C. Combustion characteristic indexes had been put forward to describe wheat straw combustion characteristics. All the results showed that the catalysis of the catalysts to the wheat straw combustion had been embodied in facilitation of the volatile matters release from wheat straw, which reduced the temperature of the maximum combustion rate, and the relative active sequence of catalysts to the ignition characteristic could be improved remarkably. The catalysis of different catalysts to the Devolatilization Index could be described as follows: MnO₂ > TiO₂ > CuO, and the relative active sequence of catalysts to the Combustion Characteristic Index could be described as follows: CuO > TiO₂ > MnO₂.     

Phosphatization: A promising approach to enhance the performance of mesoporous TiO2 anode for lithium ion batteries

We report phosphatization is a promising method to enhance the performance of mesoporous TiO₂ anode for lithium ion batteries. The resulting phosphated mesoporous TiO₂ possessed higher reversible capacity and better cycling stability than the pure mesoporous TiO₂. When cycled at 30 mA/g between 3.0 and 1.0 V, the initial capacity of phosphate mesoporous TiO₂ was 249 mA h/g, significantly higher than that of pure mesoporous TiO₂ (204 mA h/g). After 40 cycles, the capacity retention ratio of phosphate mesoporous TiO₂ reached 83.7%, while pure mesoporous TiO₂ had merely a capacity retention ratio of 62.3%. We believe that this phosphatization process could be used to enhance the electrochemical performance of other metal oxides for lithium ion batteries.     

Determination of hydrogen sulfide in gasoline by Au nanoclusters modified glassy carbon electrode

A promising hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) sensor was prepared by electrodeposition of Au nanoclusters on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and the surface structure was characterized by SEM and EDAX. These flower-like form Au nanoclusters, which were made up of highly dense clustering Au nanorods with an average diameter of 20 nm and length up to 80 nm, had an average size about 600 nm and uniformly distributed on the GCE surface. The electrocatalytic oxidation of H₂S in gasoline was performed on this modified electrode, which had a satisfactory liner response to H₂S in the range of 1–80 ppm and a detection limit of 0.45 ppm (s/n = 3). This sensor was sensitive, selective and stable.     

Microwave-irradiated synthesized platinum nanoparticles/carbon nanotubes for oxidative determination of trace arsenic(III)

Platinum nanoparticles/carbon nanotubes (Pt_nano/CNTs) were rapidly synthesized by microwave radiation, and applied for the oxidative determination of arsenic(III). The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the size of synthesized Pt nanoparticles with nominal diameter of 15 ± 3 nm. Pt_nano/CNTs modified glassy carbon electrode (Pt_nano/CNTs/GCE) exhibited better performance for arsenic(III) analysis than that of Pt nanoparticles modified GCE (Pt_nano/GCE) by electrochemical deposition or Pt foil electrode. Excellent reproducibility of the Pt_nano/CNTs/GCE was obtained with the relative standard deviation (RSD) of 3.5% at 20 repeated analysis of 40 μM As(III), while the RSD was 9.8% for Pt_nano/GCE under the same conditions. The limit of determination (LOD) of the Pt_nano/CNTs/GCE was 0.12 ppb, which was 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than that of Pt_nano/GCE or Pt foil electrode.     

Tio2@Sn core–shell nanotubes for fast and high density Li-ion storage material

TiO₂@Sn core–shell nanotube material prepared by thermal decomposition of SnCl₄ on TiO₂ nanotubes at 300 °C has been demonstrated superior Li-ion storage capability of 176 mA h/g even at high current rate of 4000 mA/g (charge and discharge of all TiO₂ within 5 min) in spite of using low carbon content (5 wt%). This value corresponds to volumetric energy densities of 317 mA h/cm³, and its value was 3.5-fold larger than that of the bare TiO₂ nanotubes.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of adsorption of hydrophobic 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) on hydrophilic TiO2 in surfactant emulsions and experimental process efficiencies of photo-degradation and -dechlorination

Molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out to assess event details in the adsorption of the hydrophobic substrate 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) on the hydrophilic TiO₂ particle surface in the presence of the biosurfactant 4-O-(4′,6′-di-O-acetyl-2′,3′-di-O-alkanoyl-β-d-mannopyranosyl)-d-erythritol (MEL) and the SDS (sodium dodecylsulfate) surfactant in aqueous media at ambient temperature with interaction forces between organic molecules and TiO₂ calculated from Lennard–Jones and Coulomb potential models. The surfactant and the TCB substrate were arranged in the vicinity of TiO₂ using 768 water molecules in the simulations. Results indicate that the MEL molecules adsorb on the TiO₂ surface in ca. 5 ps (k = 2 × 10¹¹ s^?1) through the oxygen atoms of the hydrophilic functions. Contact distance between the MEL and the TiO₂ surface shortened further after 10 ps with adsorption controlled mostly by van der Waals’ forces. The TCB molecules are trapped within the alkyl chains of the MEL system, which subsumes TCB to a greater extent by the repulsion of water, thereby facilitating the TCB molecules to approach the highly hydrophilic and positively charged TiO₂ particle surface. Along with the simulations, also examined was the photodegradation of this hydrophobic TCB substrate that takes place at the TiO₂/water interface in the presence of the MEL biosurfactant. For comparison, the advantages of the MEL in this task and of the commonly used SDS surfactant were determined under otherwise identical experimental conditions (200 mg L^?1 of surfactants) by examining the dynamics of the photo-induced degradation and dechlorination of TCB. The photodegradation of TCB was nearly quantitative in MEL/TiO₂ in contrast to only ca. 22% complete in SDS/TiO₂ dispersions. It is deduced that wastewater treatments with the highly hydrophilic TiO₂ are seriously limited in their photodegradation of hydrophobic pollutants, an issue easily resolvable by the presence of biodegradable surfactants.