Graphene‐mesoporous anatase TiO2 nanocomposite: A highly efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for one‐pot multicomponent synthesis of benzodiazepine derivatives

The potential to bias chemical reaction pathways is a significant goal for physicists and material researchers to design revolutionary materials. Recently, two‐dimensional materials have appeared as a promising candidate for exploring novel catalyst activity in organic reaction. In this context, herein we report an easy and efficient synthesis of substituted benzodiazepines in high yields through the graphene‐based mesoporous TiO₂ nanocomposite (Gr@TiO₂ NCs) catalyst. To validate the merits of the Gr@TiO₂ NCs as a catalyst, we have also designed TiO₂ nanoparticle (NPs) under similar conditions. Successful comprehension realization of Gr@TiO₂ NCs and TiO₂ NPs were concluded from the XRD, SEM, HR‐TEM, EDS elemental mapping, FT‐IR, Raman, UV–Vis and TGA analysis. Gr@TiO₂ NCs has the propitious catalyst performance (~98%) over the TiO₂ NPs (~77%), which could be scrutinized in terms of graphene support toward the TiO₂ NPs and enable the large contact area between graphene and TiO₂ NPs. Incorporated graphene maintaining TiO₂ as a catalytically active and attracting electron to site isolation, as well as protecting TiO₂ from oxidative degradation during the reaction. Moreover, the role of graphene is suggested to prolonged reaction duration, yield and unaltered throughout the reaction because of the π‐π interaction between graphene and TiO₂ NPs. Additionally, the catalyst is recycled by filtration and reprocessed six times without having a significant loss in its catalytic activity.     

Fabrication of Au‐Nanoparticle/TiO2‐Nanotubes Electrodes Using Electrochemical Methods and Their Application for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Hydroquinone

Gold nanoparticle (Au‐NPs)‐Titanium oxide nanotube (TiO₂‐NTs) electrodes are prepared by using galvanic deposition of gold nanoparticles on TiO₂‐NTs electrodes as support. Scanning electron microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy results indicate that nanotubular TiO₂ layers consist of individual tubes of about 60–90 nm diameters and gold nanoparticles are well‐dispersed on the surface of TiO₂‐NTs support. The electrooxidation of hydroquinone of Au‐NPs/TiO₂‐NTs electrodes is investigated by different electrochemical methods. Au‐NPs/TiO₂‐NTs electrode can be used repeatedly and exhibits stable electrocatalytic activity for the hydroquinone oxidation. Also, determination of hydroquinone in skin cream using this electrode was evaluated. Results were found to be satisfactory and no matrix effects are observed during the determination of hydroquinone content of the “skin cream” samples.     

Green synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst with high reusability for synthesis of 1,2‐dihydroquinoline derivatives

Nano materials find wide applications due to their behavior at nano scale. TiO₂ nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) was synthesized using Neem leaf extract. This is simple, rapid, eco‐friendly, cheaper and green tools for TiO₂ NPs synthesis using agricultural waste at lower applied temperature. Characterization of the extracted TiO₂ NPs was confirmed by XRD, SEM, EDAX, TEM, HR‐TEM, SAED, and FT‐IR, respectively. The catalytic activity of TiO₂ NPs was investigated in synthesis of 1,2‐dihydroquinoline derivatives with excellent yields and low cost. Purification of the synthesized 1,2‐dihydroquinoline derivatives carried out by easy work‐up of non‐chromatographic methods.     

Development of an Aluminium Doped TiO2 Nanoparticles‐modified Screen Printed Carbon Electrode for Electrochemical Sensing of Vanillin in Food Samples

A new chemically modified electrode based on titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂‐NPs) has been developed. Aluminium was incorporated into the TiO₂‐NPs to prepare aluminium doped TiO₂ nanoparticles (Al‐TiO₂‐NPs). Aluminium doped TiO₂ nanoparticles‐modified screen printed carbon electrode (Al‐TiO₂‐NPs/SPCE) was employed as easy, efficient and rapid sensor for electrochemical detection of vanillin in various types of food samples. Al‐TiO₂‐NPs were characterized by energy‐dispersive X‐ray (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and analyses showing that the average particle sizes varied for the Al‐NPs (7.63 nm) and Al‐TiO₂‐NPs (7.47 nm) with spherical crystal. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were used to optimize the analytical procedure. A detection limit of vanillin was 0.02 μM, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 3.50 %, obtained for a 5.0 μM concentration of vanillin. The electrochemical behaviour of several compounds, such as vanillic acid, vanillic alcohol, p‐hydroxybenzaldehyde and p‐hydroxybenzoic, etc., generally present in natural vanilla samples, were also studied to check the interferences with respect to vanillin voltammetric signal. The applicability was demonstrated by analysing food samples. The obtained results were compared with those provided by a previous method based on liquid chromatography for determination of vanillin.     

Surface-modified TiO(2) nanoparticles as affinity probes and as matrices for the rapid analysis of phosphopeptides and proteins in MALDI-TOF-MS

We utilized three different types of TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) namely TiO₂‐dopamine, TiO₂‐CdS and bare TiO₂ NPs as multifunctional nanoprobes for the rapid enrichment of phosphopeptides from tryptic digests of α‐ and β‐casein, milk and egg white using a simplified procedure in MALDI‐TOF‐MS. Surface‐modified TiO₂ NPs serve as effective matrices for the analysis of peptides (gramicidin D, HW6, leucine‐enkephalin and methionine‐enkephalin) and proteins (cytochrome c and myoglobin) in MALDI‐TOF‐MS. In the surface‐modified TiO₂ NPs‐based MALDI mass spectra of these analytes (phosphopetides, peptides and proteins), we found that TiO₂‐dopamine and bare TiO₂ NPs provided an efficient platform for the selective and rapid enrichment of phosphopeptides and TiO₂‐CdS NPs efficiently acted as the matrix for background‐free detection of peptides and proteins with improved resolution in MALDI‐MS. We found that the upper detectable mass range is 17 000 Da using TiO₂‐CdS NPs as the matrix. The approach is simple and straightforward for the rapid analysis of phosphopeptides, peptides and proteins by MALDI‐MS in proteome research.     

Properties of different natural organic matter influence the adsorption and aggregation behavior of TiO2 nanoparticles

Natural organic matter (NOM) has considerable influence on the aggregation and stability of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs). However, the effect of chemical properties of NOM on the interface interaction and the aggregation process is still not clear. In this study, we investigated the effects of two typical types of NOM (fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA)) on its adsorption onto TiO₂ nanoparticles and their aggregation behavior in aqueous phase. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was used to study their functional groups, indicating that HA has a stronger hydrophobicity than FA. The presence of HA or FA lowered the critical coagulation concentration (CCC) of TiO₂ NPs, while FA showed a more significant effect. HA promotes the aggregation of TiO₂ NPs when ionic strength (IS) > CCC, which was likely due to the bridging effect. Contact angle measurements indicate that HA has higher hydrophobic properties than FA, and it is easier to transfer from water to the surface of TiO₂ NPs. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was applied to investigate the aggregate formation and colloid interface morphology of NOM-coated-TiO₂ NPs and NOM entanglement. Different structures of HA and FA result in various behavior and their interface interaction mechanisms including IS-induced entanglement and NOM/IS bridging.     

Preparation of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/activated carbon with Fe ions doping photocatalyst and its application to photocatalytic degradation of reactive brilliant red K2G

Titanium dioxide coated on activated carbon (AC) with Fe ions doping (Fe-TiO₂/AC) composite was prepared by an improved sol-gel method. The photocatalytic activities were tested by photocatalytic degradation of reactive brilliant red K2G in solution. The results show that in comparison with the agglomeration of pure TiO₂, the TiO₂ nanoparticles are well dispersed in the AC matrix, of which sizes are decreased with Fe ions doping. Additionally, the iron species on TiO₂ of composite are Fe₂O₃ and FeO, which do not affect the crystalline structures of TiO₂ nanoparticles. The AC matrix and iron doping content influence the fluorescence intensity of composite due to their effects on recombination probability of hole-electron pairs. Compared with TiO₂, 0.3% Fe-TiO₂, TiO₂/AC, 0.5% Fe-TiO₂/AC and 0.1% Fe-TiO₂/AC, the 0.3% Fe-TiO₂/AC shows the highest photoactivity with the complete mineralization of K2G for finite time due to the optimum Fe ions content and AC matrix. Furthermore, the kinetic constant (k = 0.0229 min⁻¹) of 0.3% Fe-TiO₂/AC composite is more than the sum of both TiO₂/AC (0.0154 min⁻¹) and 0.3% Fe-TiO₂ (0.0057 min⁻¹) because coexistence of the AC and Fe ions has an enlarging effect on improving the photoactivity of TiO₂. Supported by the Education Department Foundation of Hunan Province (Grant No. 08B063) and Science and Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (Grant No. 09JJ6101)     

A Photoelectrochemical Biosensor Fabricated using Hierarchically Structured Gold Nanoparticle and MoS2 on Tannic Acid Templated Mesoporous TiO2

In a tannic acid assisted synthesis of mesoporous TiO₂, tannic acid was used as a cost effective and non‐toxic template for pore formation. Meanwhile, a gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) deposited TiO₂ nanocomposite was coated on an indium tin oxide electrode for the fabrication of a photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing system. Upon the formation of anatase structure, the electrode was coated with MoS₂ for effective visible light absorption. The mesoporous structure led to an enhanced surface area by improving Au NPs and glucose oxidase adsorption. Incorporation of Au NPs led to an enhanced photonic efficiency due to the generation of Schottky barriers. The obtained nanocomposite was used for the light‐driven, real‐time, and selective PEC glucose sensing. Under visible light irradiation, the enzyme immobilized electrodes yielded significant photocurrent improvement owing to the releasing electron donor H₂O₂. The obtained PEC biosensor demonstrated acceptable reproducibility and stability with a sensitivity of 4.42 μA mM^?1 cm^?2 and a low detection limit of 1.2 μM glucose. Also, the linear measurement range was found to be 0.004–1.75 mM glucose. The results indicated that the proposed production method of mesoporous TiO₂ will pave the way for a green chemistry based porous material production, along with the extension of the implementation of semiconductors in PEC biosensing systems.     

A One‐Step Process for the Antimicrobial Finishing of Textiles with Crystalline TiO2 Nanoparticles

Titanium oxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) in their two forms, anatase and rutile, were synthesized and deposited onto the surface of cotton fabrics by using ultrasonic irradiation. The structure and morphology of the nanoparticles were analyzed by using characterization methods such as XRD, TEM, STEM, and EDS. The antimicrobial activities of the TiO₂–cotton composites were tested against Escherichia coli (Gram‐negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram‐positive) strains, as well as against Candida albicans. Significant antimicrobial effect was observed, mainly against Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the combination of visible light and TiO₂ NPs showed enhanced antimicrobial activity.     

Fabrication of Heterostructured Fe2TiO5–TiO2 Nanocages with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance for Solar Energy Conversion

Photocatalysts with well‐designed compositions and structures are desirable for achieving highly efficient solar‐to‐chemical energy conversion. Heterostructured semiconductor photocatalysts with advanced hollow structures possess beneficial features for promoting the activity towards photocatalytic reactions. Here we develop a facile synthetic strategy for the fabrication of Fe₂TiO₅–TiO₂ nanocages (NCs) as anode materials in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting cells. A hydrothermal reaction is performed to transform MIL‐125(Ti) nanodisks (NDs) to Ti–Fe–O NCs, which are further converted to Fe₂TiO₅–TiO₂ NCs through a post annealing process. Owing to the compositional and structural advantages, the heterostructured Fe₂TiO₅–TiO₂ NCs show enhanced performance for PEC water oxidation compared with TiO₂ NDs, Fe₂TiO₅ nanoparticles (NPs) and Fe₂TiO₅–TiO₂ NPs.     

Fabrication of Heterostructured Fe2TiO5–TiO2 Nanocages with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance for Solar Energy Conversion

Photocatalysts with well-designed compositions and structures are desirable for achieving highly efficient solar-to-chemical energy conversion. Heterostructured semiconductor photocatalysts with advanced hollow structures possess beneficial features for promoting the activity towards photocatalytic reactions. Here we develop a facile synthetic strategy for the fabrication of Fe₂TiO₅–TiO₂ nanocages (NCs) as anode materials in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting cells. A hydrothermal reaction is performed to transform MIL-125(Ti) nanodisks (NDs) to Ti–Fe–O NCs, which are further converted to Fe₂TiO₅–TiO₂ NCs through a post annealing process. Owing to the compositional and structural advantages, the heterostructured Fe₂TiO₅–TiO₂ NCs show enhanced performance for PEC water oxidation compared with TiO₂ NDs, Fe₂TiO₅ nanoparticles (NPs) and Fe₂TiO₅–TiO₂ NPs.     

金红石相TiO2-石墨烯复合材料的制备及其光催化性能

以鳞片石墨为原料, 用改进的Hummers法制备氧化石墨烯(GO), 以异丙醇钛为钛源经一步水热法制备得到金红石相TiO₂-石墨烯复合材料(rGO-TiO₂), 考察了氧化石墨烯用量对复合材料光催化性能的影响. 采用X射线衍射(XRD), 比表面积(BET), 透射电镜(TEM), 扫描电镜(SEM), 拉曼光谱, 紫外-可见(UV-Vis)吸收光谱和荧光光谱(PL)等测试手段对复合材料进行表征. 结果表明: 复合材料中TiO₂为针簇状结构的金红石相, 与石墨烯能够均匀复合; 与纯金红石相TiO₂相比, 复合材料具有较大的比表面积. 研究了该复合材料在紫外光下对罗丹明B 以及可见光下对甲基橙光降解效果. 当氧化石墨烯浓度为0.5 mg·mL^-1时, 制备得到的复合材料rGO-TiO₂具有较好的光催化效果.     

Biosynthesis of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles using <Emphasis Type="Italic">Justicia gendarussa</Emphasis> leaves for photocatalytic and toxicity studies

Eco-friendly biosynthesis of polycrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) was synthesised using Justicia gendarussa (J. gendarussa) leaf extract as oxidizing agents. They were compared with TiO₂ NPs synthesized using the glacial acetic acid and also studied was the combined effect of synthesis of TiO₂ NPs. The crystalline nature and structural formation of TiO₂ NPs synthesized by different methods were confirmed by the X-ray diffraction technique, and functional groups of materials were confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. The synthesized materials were investigated for photocatalytic activity for methylene blue under UV irradiation and toxicity activity against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. The result indicates that TiO₂ NPs synthesised by J. gendarussa showed superior and enhanced activity against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. Biosynthesized TiO₂ NPs showed higher photodegradation of dyes when compared with other TiO₂ NPs synthesized by different methods. This is due to the alterations in band gap; structural changes and surface area in nanoparticles that increased the activity. Also, nanosphere/disc like morphology of TiO₂ NPs is confirmed using TEM.     

The catalytic role of oxide in the thermooxidative degradation of poly(methyl methacrylate)-TiO2 nanocomposites

The influence of TiO₂ nanoparticles on the thermal degradation of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was investigated by TGA. The studied materials were characterized by Py-GC-MS, TEM, SEM, TGA, DSC and TGA-MS. The PMMA-TiO₂ nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending with different (5, 10, 15 and 20 wt% TiO₂) loadings. According to TGA results and to the activation energy (determined by the model-free isoconversional method of Vyazovkin), the incorporation of 5 wt% of TiO₂ nanoparticles into PMMA stabilizes it by more than 40 °C. However, for higher loading contents, a catalytic effect on the thermal decomposition was observed which increased with the oxide content. The results obtained by Py-GC-MS showed clearly that TiO₂ increases the formation of methanol, methacrylic acid and propanoic acid methyl ester during the degradation of PMMA. This catalytic effect could be explained through the interaction of the methoxy group of the methacrylate function with the hydroxyl groups present at the surface of the oxide particles.     

Cu2O/reduced graphene oxide/TiO2 nanomaterial: An effective photocatalyst for azide-alkyne cycloaddition with benzyl halides or epoxide derivatives under visible light irradiation

Cu₂O/reduced graphene oxide/TiO₂ (Cu₂O/rGO/TiO₂) photocatalyst was synthesized under ultrasonic irradiation. The nanomaterial was identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, UV–vis absorption, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The Cu₂O/rGO/TiO₂ photocatalyst was utilized in “click” reaction for the preparation of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles via one pot multicomponent reaction of benzyl halide or epoxide derivatives with alkynes in presence of NaN₃ and triethylamine under visible light irradiation. The “click” reaction was performed under mild conditions affording good to excellent yields of the triazole compounds using low catalyst loading in short reaction times. The nanocomposite was recovered and recycled for five successive runs without a major diminution in its catalytic performance.     

Study of Microwave Torch Plasmachemical Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Focused on the Analysis of Phase Composition

This work presents the results obtained on the single-step route towards the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles in a microwave plasma torch. The torch is supplied by 660 sccm of Ar mixed with 1 sccm of Fe(CO)₅ and a variable amount of O₂. The influence of oxygen addition on the phase composition of the synthesized powder was studied. Magnetite and maghemite phases could not be distinguished using the standard X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Therefore, a combined XRD and Raman spectra analysis had to be applied, which is based on fitting of selected diffraction peaks and spectral features. According to XRD and Raman spectroscopy, the powder synthesized from Ar/Fe(CO)₅ consisted about 50 % of magnetite, Fe₃O₄, the rest being α-Fe and FeO. An increase in oxygen flow rate led to an increase in γ-Fe₂O₃ percentage, at the expense of α-Fe, FeO and Fe₃O₄. Almost pure γ-Fe₂O₃ was synthesized at oxygen flow rates 25–75× higher than the flow rate of Fe(CO)₅. A further increase in the oxygen flow rate led to α-Fe₂O₃ and ε-Fe₂O₃ production. The distributions of nanoparticles’ (NPs) diameters were obtained using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The mean diameter of the NPs measured by TEM was 13 nm while the DLS measurements led to the mean diameter of 12 nm. About 90 % of all particles had the diameter in the range of 5–21 nm but a few larger particles were observed in TEM micrographs.     

Visible‐light‐driven self‐cleaning SERS substrate of silver nanoparticles and graphene oxide decorated nitrogen‐doped titania nanotube array

Graphene oxide (GO) and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) sequentially decorated nitrogen‐doped titania nanotube array (N‐TiO₂ NTA) had been designed as visible‐light‐driven self‐cleaning surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate for a recyclable SERS detection application. N‐TiO₂ NTA was fabricated by anodic oxidation and then doping nitrogen treatment in ammonia atmosphere, acting as a visible‐light‐driven photocatalyst and supporting substrate. Ag/GO/N‐TiO₂ NTA was prepared by decorating GO monolayer through an impregnation process and then depositing Ag NPs through a polyol process on the surface of N‐TiO₂ NTA, acting as the collection of organic molecule and Raman enhancement. The SERS activity of Ag/GO/N‐TiO₂ NTA was evaluated using methyl blue as an organic probe molecule, revealing the analytical enhancement factor of 4.54 × 10⁴. Ag/GO/N‐TiO₂ NTA was applied as active SERS substrate to determine a low‐affinity organic pollutant of bisphenol A, revealing the detection limit of as low as 5 × 10^?7 m . Ag/GO/N‐TiO₂ NTA could also achieve self‐cleaning function for a recycling utilization through visible‐light‐driven photocatalytic degradation of the adsorbed organic molecules. Ag/GO/N‐TiO₂ NTA has been successfully reused for five times without an obvious decay in accuracy and sensitivity for organic molecule detection. The unique properties of this SERS substrate enable it to have a promising application for the sensitive and recyclable SERS detection of low‐affinity organic molecules. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

TiO2纳米管阵列覆盖Si薄膜光催化还原CO2性能的研究

本工作采用CVD法在阳极氧化TiO2纳米管阵列膜表面沉积一层非晶Si膜,通过退火后得到晶化了的Si膜/TiO2纳米管阵列的复合结构,并初步就其光催化还原CO2制备碳氢化合物的活性进行研究。拉曼光谱(Raman)、X射线衍射(XRD)、场发射扫描电镜(FE-SEM)、高分辨透射电子显微镜(TEM)等微结构表征结果表明所制备的TiO2纳米管阵列的厚度为270 nm左右,管直径约为70 nm,管壁厚度约为16 nm。覆盖的Si膜已晶化,其厚度约为300 nm。通过高效液相色谱(HPLC)及总有机碳(TOC)来检测光催化还原液相产物中的甲酸及总有机碳含量,发现负载Si膜后的TiO2纳米管阵列光催化性能有所提高,在装有400cut滤光片氙灯照射2 h下TOC含量从21.2 mg.L-1增长到29.5 mg.L-1,表明Si与TiO2的复合可有效的提高光催化还原CO2的活性,这可能与该异质结结构可增加对光的吸收并且可降低光生空穴-电子对复合有关。光催化循环实验表明所制得的催化剂在循环5次后仍可保持91.6%的催化活性。     

Facile combustion synthesis of Ag2O nanoparticles using cantaloupe seeds and their multidisciplinary applications

Silver oxide nanoparticles (Ag₂O NPs) were prepared using cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) seeds as a fuel by employing a green synthesis method. The prepared Ag₂O NPs were investigated using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), UV–visible spectrum, Fourier transform infrared analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and photoluminescence studies. PXRD data reveal the establishment of cubic crystal structure of Ag₂O NPs. According to SEM and TEM results, the morphology of the prepared NPs was agglomerated and spherical. The photodegradation activity of the prepared Ag₂O NPs over methylene blue dye was promising under visible light irradiation. Furthermore, the antimicrobial assay of the synthesized Ag₂O NPs was carried out by the disc diffusion method against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microbial strains.     

Preparing titania aerogel monolithic chromatography columns using supercritical carbon dioxide

The search for a method to fabricate monolithic inorganic columns has attracted significant recent attention due to their unique ability in separation applications of various biomolecules. Silica and polymer based monolithic columns have been prepared, but titania and other metal oxide monoliths have been elusive, primarily due to their fragility. This article describes a new approach for preparing nanostructured titania based columns, which offer better performance over conventional particle packed columns for separating a wide variety of biomolecules including phosphopeptides. TiO₂ monolithic aerogels were synthesized in separation columns using in situ sol‐gel reactions in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) followed by calcination, and compared to those prepared in heptanes. The characterization results show that scCO₂ is a better solvent for the sol‐gel reactions, providing lower shrinkage with the anatase TiO₂ monolith composed of nanofibers with very high surface areas. The monolithic columns show the ability to isolate phosphopeptides with little flow resistance compared to conventional titania particle based microcolumns.