Ultrasound-assisted nanoscaled supramolecular coordination polymer as an efficient recyclable catalyst for photocatalytic degradation of dye pollutants

An ultrasound-assisted nanoscaled supramolecular coordination polymer (nanosized 1′ ) has been synthesized using a self-assembly reaction of K₃[Cu (CN)₄] and hexamethylenetetramine in the presence of Me₃SnCl under ambient conditions. Nanosized 1′ was examined using elemental analysis, Fourier transform–infrared, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffractions. It was structurally compared with the single crystal supramolecular coordination polymer ^∞₃[Cu₆(CN)₇(C₆H₁₂N₄)₂(OH₃)]; SCP 1. The photocatalytic activities of nanosized 1′ and SCP 1 toward different hazardous organic dyes were determined under ambient, UV-light irradiation and ultrasonic conditions. SCP 1 and nanosized 1′ as heterogeneous nanoparticles catalysts exhibited high catalytic activity for degradation of Congo Red, Methyl Violet 2B and Methylene Blue dyes. The effects of operational parameters on catalytic degradation process, identification of the degradation products and recycling of the catalyst were also investigated. SCP 1 and nanosized 1′ are recyclable heterogeneous catalysts and can be reused with efficient activities. The mechanism of degradation using different scavenger techniques iss proposed and discussed. The catalytic oxidation process is mainly caused by ^•OH radicals.     

Synthesis of gold/polydopamine composite surfaces on glass substrates for localized surface plasmon resonance and catalysis

Composite materials of polydopamine (PDA) and gold nanoparticles on glass substrates (Au/PDA@slide) were obtained via a simple chemical process. First, PDA films (PDA@slide) were formed by immersing slides in 20 mg ml⁻¹ dopamine aqueous solution at pH = 8.5 for 1 h. Then, PDA@slide was dipped in 0.02 M chloroauric acid (HAuCl₄) aqueous solution for a certain time, Au/PDA@slide being formed. Gold nanoparticles were obtained by the reductive properties of PDA. The morphology and chemical composition of the composite material were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The catalytic properties of Au/PDA@slide were evaluated using the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol (4‐NP) in the presence of sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) aqueous solution at room temperature. The catalytic activity of the optimal Au/PDA@slide was so satisfactory that the reduction of 4‐NP was completed within 10 min. Moreover, the Au/PDA@slide composite material was stable up to five cycles without significant loss of its catalytic activity. In addition, Au/PDA@slide also exhibited photocatalytic ability, photodegrading 2.5 ml of 17.5 mg l⁻¹ methyl orange in 100 min. By measuring the UV–visible absorption bands of Au/PDA@slide, it was proved that the condition of the strongest surface plasmon resonance of Au/PDA@slide was the optimal condition for catalytic reduction of 4‐NP.     

具有多通道载流子分离功能的 ZnO/P25异质结构光催化氧化甲苯

甲苯是一种最常见的室内有毒挥发性有机物(VOCs),目前消除方法主要有吸附、催化燃烧和光催化氧化,其中光催化是一种最高效和经济可行的方法,能在较温和条件下将甲苯完全矿化为 CO2.作为研究最广泛的光催化剂, TiO2在应用中通常有锐钛矿(ATiO2)和金红石(RTiO2)两种物相,但单物相 TiO2的低量子产率和光生电子-空穴对的快速复合严重限制了它的应用.本文选择兼具锐钛矿和金红石两种物相的 P25为催化剂载体,通过负载少量 ZnO和构建多组分并具备多通道载流子分离功能的异质结以提高 TiO2基光催化剂的性能.
　　利用一步浸渍法制备了一系列 ZnO/P25复合光催化剂,考察了其光催化降解气相甲苯性能. X射线粉末衍射结果表明, ZnO/P25异质光催化剂是由 ATiO2, RTiO2和红锌矿三种物相结构组成.高分辨透射电镜结果表明, ZnO/P25具备三相异质结 ZnO(002)/ATiO2(101)/RTiO2(110).紫外可见光谱、荧光光谱和光电流表征结果表明, ZnO/P25所形成的三相异质结不但增强了光吸收能力,还实现了多通道电子/空穴分离.催化降解实验表明, ZnO/P25异质光催化剂能在室温紫外光辐射下将甲苯完全矿化为 CO2和 H2O.基于三相异质结和多通道光生电子-空穴对分离的形成及促进作用, ZnO/P25光催化活性和速率均明显高于 P25.本文报道的多通道载流子分离理念可为高效光催化剂设计和应用提供一种新思路.     

Fe2O3/ZnO/ZnFe2O4 composites for the efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes under visible light

In this study, novel ternary Fe₂O₃/ZnO/ZnFe₂O₄ (ZFO) composites were successfully prepared through a simple hydrothermal reaction with subsequent thermal treatment. The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) measurement, and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–vis DRS). The photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (Rh B) under visible light irradiation indicated that the ZFO composites calcined at 500 °C has the best photocatalytic activity (the photocatalytic degradation efficiency can reach up to 95.7% within 60 min) and can maintain a stable photocatalytic degradation efficiency for at least three cycles. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of ZFO composites toward dye decomposition follows the order cationic Rh B > anionic methyl orange. Finally, using different scavengers, superoxide and hydroxyl radicals were identified as the primary active species during the degradation reaction of Rh B.     

Fabrication of nanoporous polymeric crystalline TiO2 composite for photocatalytic degradation of aqueous organic pollutants under visible light irradiation

A nanoporous polymeric crystalline TiO₂ composite (TiO₂/PDVB‐MA) has been successfully synthesized through an in situ synthesis method using divinylbenzene (DVB), methacrylic acid (MA) and tetrabutyl titanate. The experimental results showed that TiO₂ nanoparticles composed of the mixture phases of anatase and rutile were homogeneously dispersed into the PDVB‐MA support. The TiO₂/PDVB‐MA composite was used as photocatalyst for Rhodamine B (RhB), bisphenol A and 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol degradation under visible light irradiation. More interestingly, the excellent photocatalytic performance of the composite was observed with regard to RhB and bisphenol A, which might be ascribed to the synergistic effect between TiO₂ nanoparticles and PDVB‐MA. Moreover, TiO₂/PDVB‐MA composite could be recycled at least four times in the removal of RhB, suggesting that it is a promising photocatalyst to catalyze the degradation of organic pollutants under visible light irradiation.     

Au NPs-aptamer conjugates as a powerful competitive reagent for ultrasensitive detection of small molecules by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy

Features of Au NPs-aptamer conjugates as a powerful competitive reagent to substitute antibody in enhancing surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPR) signal for the detection of small molecule are explored for the first time. In order to evaluate the sensing ability of Au NPs-aptamer conjugates as a competitive reagent, a novel SPR sensor based on indirect competitive inhibition assay (ICIA) for the detection of adenosine is constructed by employing the competitive reaction between antiadenosine aptamer with adenosine and antiadenosine aptamer with its partial complementary ss-DNA. The partial complementary ss-DNA of antiadenosine aptamer is firstly immobilized on SPR gold film as sensing surface. When the Au NPs-antiadenosine aptamer conjugates solution is added to SPR cell in the absence of adenosine, Au NPs-antiadenosine aptamer conjugates is adsorbed to SPR sensor by the DNA hybridization reaction, and results in a large change of SPR signal. However, the change of SPR signal is decreased when the mixing solution of adenosine with Au NPs-antiadenosine aptamer conjugates is added. This is because adenosine reacts with antiadenosine aptamer in Au NPs-antiadenosine aptamer conjugates and changes its structure from ss-DNA to tertiary structure, which cannot hybridize with its partial complementary ss-DNA immobilized on SPR gold surface. Based on this principle, a SPR sensor for indirect detection of adenosine can be developed. The experimental results confirm that the SPR sensor possesses a good sensitivity and a high selectivity for adenosine, which indirectly confirms that Au NPs-aptamer conjugates is a powerful competitive reagent. More significantly, it can be used to develop other SPR sensors based on ICIA to detect different targets by changing the corresponding type of aptamer in Au NPs-aptamer conjugates.     

Surface plasmon resonance excited electron induction greatly extends H2 evolution and pollutant degradation activity of g-C3N4 under visible light irradiation

Energy crises and environmental pollution have sparked tremendous research work to handle their impacts. Herein, we fabricated Au/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposites to produce H₂ and degrade 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) under visible light and at different wavelengths. Interestingly, the optimized photocatalyst generated 114 μmol H₂ and degraded 25% 2,4-DCP in 1 hr as compared with 10 μmol H₂ generation and 8% 2,4-DCP degradation by pure g-C₃N₄. This improvement is credited to the extended light absorption and improved charge induction from gold to g-C₃N₄ even at 590 nm as confirmed from photoluminescence, surface photovoltage, and photoelectrochemical study of the samples. Moreover, the surface catalytic property of g-C₃N₄ was much improved after loading a proper amount of gold nanoparticles. We hope that this technique to photosensitize semiconductors with noble metal nanoparticles may provide a feasible way to construct surface plasmon resonance-assisted photocatalysts to cope with energy crises and environmental pollution simultaneously.     

掺氮二氧化钛可见光照射降解微囊藻毒素-LR

采用溶胶凝胶法制备了N掺杂TiO2(N-TiO2)纳米粉体光催化剂,利用X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、X射线衍射(XRD)、紫外可见反射光谱及透射电镜(TEM)分析测定,对光催化剂N/TiO2进行了结构表征.发现N掺杂TiO2相对纯TiO2禁带宽度变窄,可见光区有明显吸收.在可见光照射下,利用纳米N/TiO2作为光催化剂降解微囊藻毒素(Microcystin-LR,MC-LR),通过高效液相色谱仪(HPLC)跟踪检测降解过程MC-LR浓度变化,液质联用仪(LC-MS)检测MC-LR降解中间产物变化.利用电子自旋共振法(ESR)及过氧化物酶催化氧化方法跟踪定性定量测定光催化过程中氧化物种的种类变化.采用总有机碳(TOC)测定仪测定了MC-LR光催化深度氧化矿化效果.结果表明,可见光(λ420nm)照射可有效激发光催化剂N-TiO2活化分子氧降解MC-LR,在反应条件下,光催化反应14h,MC-LR降解率达到100%,20h矿化率达到59%.其光催化反应体系中氧化物种主要为羟基自由基(·OH).质谱检测到13种降解产物,主要反应机理为光催化反应产生·OH进攻MC-LR结构四个易氧化部位,以及一些氨基酸之间的肽键的水解.     

Enzyme-free surface plasmon resonance aptasensor for amplified detection of adenosine via target-triggering strand displacement cycle and Au nanoparticles

Herein, we combine the advantage of aptamer technique with the amplifying effect of an enzyme-free signal-amplification and Au nanoparticles (NPs) to design a sensitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) aptasensor for detecting small molecules. This detection system consists of aptamer, detection probe (c-DNA1) partially hybridizing to the aptamer strand, Au NPs-linked hairpin DNA (Au-H-DNA1), and thiolated hairpin DNA (H-DNA2) previously immobilized on SPR gold chip. In the absence of target, the H-DNA1 possessing hairpin structure cannot hybridize with H-DNA2 and thereby Au NPs will not be captured on the SPR gold chip surface. Upon addition of target, the detection probe c-DNA1 is forced to dissociate from the c-DNA1/aptamer duplex by the specific recognition of the target to its aptamer. The released c-DNA1 hybridizes with Au-H-DNA1 and opens the hairpin structure, which accelerate the hybridization between Au-H-DNA1 and H-DNA2, leading to the displacement of the c-DNA1 through a branch migration process. The released c-DNA1 then hybridizes with another Au-H-DNA1 probe, and the cycle starts anew, resulting in the continuous immobilization of Au-H-DNA1 probes on the SPR chip, generating a significant change of SPR signal due to the electronic coupling interaction between the localized surface plasma of the Au NPs and the surface plasma wave. With the use of adenosine as a proof-of-principle analyte, this sensing platform can detect adenosine specifically with a detection limit as low as 0.21 pM, providing a simple, sensitive and selective protocol for small target molecules detection.     

氮缺陷石墨相氮化碳的制备及其光催化降解环境有机污染物性能

通过在三聚氰胺热分解过程中加入NaHCO₃制备出具有氮缺陷的石墨相氮化碳（g-C₃N₄）,利用X射线衍射（XRD）、傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT-IR）、N₂吸附-脱附、X射线光电子能谱（XPS）、紫外-可见漫反射光谱（UV-vis DRS）和固体荧光光谱（PL）等方法对其进行表征,并在可见光（λ> 420nm）照射下,以水相中罗丹明B（RhB）的降解为模型反应,研究了该氮缺陷g-C₃N₄对有机污染物降解的光催化活性。结果表明,引入氮缺陷可以提高g-C₃N₄对可见光的吸收以及电子-空穴对的分离效率,进而提高g-C₃N₄的可见光催化活性。催化剂CNK0.005、CNK0.01和CNK0.05在30min内对RhB的降解率分别为79.8%、100.0%和87.6%;而在相同条件下,没有氮缺陷的g-C₃N₄对RhB的降解率仅为59.8%。     

All-solid-state BiVO4/ZnIn2S4 Z-scheme composite with efficient charge separations for improved visible light photocatalytic organics degradation

Constructing a Z-scheme is a significant approach to improve the separation of photogene rated carriers for effective organic pollutant degradation.Herein,a BiVO4/ZnIn2S4(BZ) Z-scheme composite was successfully synthesized,and applied to photodegrade methyl orange(MO) irradiated by a LED lamp.Anchoring the BiVO4 on the ZnIn2S4 nanoparticles promoted the separation of photogenerated electronholes and broadened the light response range.The detailed characterizations,including surface morphology,elements valence state,and photocurrent performance,demonstrated that the enhanced separation of photogenerated carriers was the pivotal reason for the enhanced photocatalysis reaction.Benefiting from the excellent photocatalytic characteristics,the 5% mass ratio of BZ composite presented the highest MO degradation rate of 0.00997 min^-1,which was 1.9 and 10.3 times greater than the virgin ZnIn2S4 and BiVO4,respectively.Furthermore,the BZ hybrid materials indicated a well photo-stability in the four recycling tests.     

A gold nanoparticle labeling strategy for the sensitive kinetic assay of the carbamate-acetylcholinesterase interaction by surface plasmon resonance

The article presents a novel strategy for a sensitive investigation of the interaction between acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and its small molecular carbamate inhibitors. Two carbamate inhibitors with different ether linkages and the terminal lipoate were synthesized and labeled with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). With the signal amplification of AuNPs, the specific interactions between the AuNPs labeled carbamate inhibitors (ALC1 and ALC2) and the immobilized AChE on sensor chip surface were readily examined. The detection sensitivities of ALC1 and ALC2 were 176 and 121 m°/nM, respectively, with the detection limits of 7.0 and 12 pM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The association/dissociation constants for the binding interaction between carbamate inhibitors and AChE were reported for the first time. The affinity constants were estimated to be 3.13 × 10⁶ and 6.39 × 10⁵ M⁻¹ for ALC1 and ALC2 respectively. This AuNPs labeling strategy is versatile and may be applicable for the direct or competitive SPR kinetic assay of the interaction between small molecule inhibitors and their target proteins with a high sensitivity.     

Localized surface plasmon resonance sensing detection of glucose in the serum samples of diabetes sufferers based on the redox reaction of chlorauric acid

In this paper, the formation of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) as a result of the thermo-active redox reaction of chlorauric acid (HAuCl₄) and glucose in alkaline medium was identified by measuring the plasmon resonance absorption, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, for the formation of Au NPs displays characteristic plasmon resonance absorption bands and corresponding LSPR signals. It was found that the resulted LSPR signals could be easily detected with a common spectrofluorometer. With increasing glucose concentration, the LSPR intensity displays linear response with the glucose content over the range from 2.0 to 250.0 μmol l⁻¹. Thus, a novel assay of glucose was established with the limits of determination (3σ) being 0.21 μmol l⁻¹, and the detection of glucose could be made easily in the serum samples of diabetes sufferers. Mechanism investigations showed that the activation energy and molar ratio of the reaction were 34.8 kJ mol⁻¹ and 3:2, respectively.     

A combination of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and surface plasmon resonance sensing of gold nanoparticles for the determination of ziram pesticide

We have developed a reliable, fast, and highly sensitive analytical method utilizing dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and gold nanoparticles probes for ziram (zinc bis(dimethyldithiocarbamate)) determination. The method is based on the in situ formation of gold nanoparticles in carbon tetrachloride as an organic phase. It was found that the trace levels of ziram influenced the formation of gold nanoparticles, leading to absorbance change of a sedimented phase. The results of the colorimetric ziram determination were in the concentration range of 0.12–2.52 ng/mL with a limit of detection of 0.06 ng/mL. The formation of the stable and dispersed gold nanoparticles in the organic phase provides a good precision for dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method, resulting in the relative standard deviation of 3.8 and 1.2% for 0.56 and 1.58 ng/mL of ziram, respectively. This method has been successfully used for the ziram determination in samples of well and river water, soil, potato, carrot, wheat, and paddy soil.