Hydroxyl radical formation upon dark oxidation of reduced iron minerals: Effects of iron species and environmental factors

Dark formation of hydroxyl radical upon oxidation of reduced iron minerals plays an important role in the degradation and transformation of organic and inorganic pollutants. Herein, we compared the hydroxyl radical formation from various reduced iron minerals at different redox conditions. OH production was generally observed from the oxidation of reduced iron minerals, following the order: mackinawite (FeS) > reduced nontronite (iron-bearing smectite clay) > pyrite (FeS₂) > siderite (FeCO₃). Structural Fe²⁺ and dissolved O₂ play critical roles in OH production from reduced iron minerals. OH production increases with decreasing pH, and Cl^? has little effect on this process. More importantly, dissolved organic matter significantly enhances OH production, especially under O₂ purging, highlighting the importance of this process in ambient environments. This sunlight-independent pathway in which OH forms during oxidation of reduced iron minerals is helpful for understanding the degradation and transformation of various inorganic and organic pollutants in the redox-fluctuation environments.     

Enhanced Peroxymonosulfate Activation by NixCo1-xOOH for Efficient Catalytic Oxidation of Organic Pollutants

Peroxymonosulfate(PMS) has received increasing attention as viable technology for recalcitrant organics removal from polluted waters. Although promising, alternative heterogeneous catalysts with stable structure, strong hydrophilicity, environmental friendliness and excellent catalytic performance are highly desirable to facilitate the wide industrialization of PMS. In this work, Ni doped CoOOH catalyst was employed as PMS activator. Ni dopant had a significant influence on the morphology, structure and catalytic performance of CoOOH. NiojCoo.gOOH exhibited the best catalytic performance. Reaction rate ofNio.2Coo.8OOH was 2, 4, and 4.4 times that of CoOOH, CoFe2O4 and CO3O4, respectively. Moreover, Ni。2C00.8OOH/PMS system had potential application to organic pollutants and displayed a great catalytic activity over a broader pH value(e.g., 4-10). More importantly, Ni doping accelerated the transfonnation of Co(Ⅲ) and Co(Ⅱ) and formed active species CoOH^+ and NiOH^+ which were responsible to the enhancement of PMS activation.OH, SO4^-:O2^- and 1^O2 were detected, indicating both non-radical and radical processes in the Nio.2Coo.8OOH/PMS system. These findings provide a promising alternative to mixed-metal oxyhydroxides catalysts for PMS activation, demonstrating a great potential in environmental remediation and wastewater treatment.     

Synthesis, Photoluminescence and Photocatalytic Performance of BiPO4 with Different Phase Structures

Three kinds of crystal phase BiPO₄(HP, LTBP, and HTBP) were selectively synthesized by controlling the preparation conditions. Structures of the three samples are all constructed by PO₄ and BiO₈ polyhedra but with different geometric structures. Detailed characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning eletron microscopy(SEM) and Raman, UV-Vis, and luminescence spectrometries. Three samples exhibit huge distinctions in their photoluminescence(PL) lifetime: 0.68, 162 and 160 μs for HP, LTBP, and HTBP, respectively. More interesting, an outstanding photocatalytic activity is observed for as-prepared LTBP nanorod, which shows even higher activity for the degradation of MB solution than P25. In addition, experiments were carried out to clarify the role of hydroxyl (^·OH) and superoxide radicals(O₂^·) played in photocatalytic process and it was found O₂^· was the main active species in BiPO₄ photocatalysts. Further comparison of structural and photocatalytic properties of the three samples finds that structure distortion is contributed to their property difference. A correlation was found between photocatalytic performance and the distortion of BiO₈ dodecahedra. The internal field generated by the distortion of BiO₈ dodecahedra was believed advantageous for the separation of electron and hole, which was in favor of the improvement of photocatalytic activity. This correlation may help to design other photocatalysts with high activity.     

水蒸汽浴FeS2高效Fenton降解甲草胺(英文)

由于硫化铁在自然环境中的丰富性,其生成活性氧和降解各种有机污染物的类Fenton活性已被广泛研究。然而,由于表面含铁活性位点的暴露有限,它们的类Fenton活性通常不高。在本研究中,以黄铁矿(FeS₂)为例,基于水蒸汽对FeS₂的热处理,开发了一种提高硫化铁矿物Fenton活性的新策略,研究发现经水蒸汽热处理后的FeS₂ (Heat-FeS₂)对甲草胺(ACL)的非均相Fenton活性比由水热反应制备的母体FeS₂ (Fresh-FeS₂)更高。在初始pH为6.3时,Heat-FeS₂-Fenton体系对ACL的降解速率为0.48 min^-1,约为Fresh-FeS₂-Fentton体系的23倍。电子自旋共振分析和苯甲酸探针实验证实,与Fresh-FeS₂-Fenton体系相比,在Heat-FeS₂-Fenton体系中产生更多的羟基自由基(·OH)...     

Efficient Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling triggered by MoO2 in Fenton reaction for the degradation of dye molecules and the reduction of Cr(VI)

In this work, we develop an inorganic cocatalyst of commercial MoO₂ application in Fenton reaction, which can significantly enhance the Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling efficiency to improve the oxidation activity for the remediation of Lissamine rhodamine B (L-RhB).     

Vacuum-UV-photolysis of aqueous solutions of citric and gallic acids

The vacuum-UV- (VUV-) photolysis of water is one of the advanced oxidation processes (AOP) based on the production of hydroxyl radicals (HO) that can be applied to the degradation of organic pollutants in aqueous systems. The kinetics of the VUV-photolyses of aqueous solutions of citric acid (1) or gallic acid (2) were investigated in the presence or absence of dissolved molecular oxygen (O₂) and under different pH conditions. In the case of 1, the rate of consumption of the substrate was faster at pH 3.4 than in alkaline solution (pH 11), whereas, in the case of 2, the variation of pH (2.5–7.5) did not affect the course of the reaction. Unexpectedly, the rates of depletion of both 1 and 2 decreased in the absence of O₂, this effect being much more pronounced in the case of 2. In order to explain these results, possible reaction pathways for the degradation of 1 and 2 are proposed, and the roles of the oxidizing (HO) and reducing (H and e_aq⁻) species produced by the VUV-photolysis of water are discussed.     

Electric magnetic resonance and spectrophotometry evidence on the photodynamic activity of a new perylenequinonoid pigment

Di-cysteine substituted hypocrellin B (DCHB) is a new water-soluble photosensitizer with significantly enhanced red absorption at wavelengths longer than 600 nm over the parent compound hypocrellin B (HB). The photosensitizing properties (Type I and/or Type II mechanisms) of DCHB have been investigated in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and aqueous solution (pH 7.4) using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and spectrophotometric methods. In anaerobic DMSO solution, the semiquinone anion radical of DCHB (DCHB^•−) is predominantly photoproduced via self-electron transfer between excited- and ground-state DCHB species. The presence of an electron donor significantly promotes the formation of the reduced form of DCHB. When a deoxygenated aqueous solution of DCHB and an electron donor are irradiated with 532 nm light, the hydroquinone of DCHB (DCHBH₂) is formed via the disproportionation of the first-formed DCHB^•− and second electron transfer to DCHB^•− from the electron donor. When oxygen is present, singlet oxygen (¹O₂), superoxide anion radical (O₂^•−) and hydroxyl radical (^•OH) are produced. The quantum yield of ¹O₂ generation by DCHB photosensitization is estimated to be 0.54 using Rose Bengal as a reference, a little lower than that of HB (0.76). The superoxide anion radical is also significantly enhanced by the presence of electron donors. Moreover, (O₂^•−) upon disproportionation generated H₂O₂ and ultimately the highly reactive ^•OH via the Haber-Weiss reaction pathway. The efficiency of (O₂^•−) generation by DCHB is obviously enhanced over that of HB. These findings suggest that the photodynamic actions of DCHB may proceed via Type I and Type II mechanisms and that this new photosensitizer retains photosensitizing activity after photodynamic therapy-oriented chemical modification.     

Protein nanoparticles containing Cu(II) and DOX for efficient chemodynamic therapy via self-generation of H2O2

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) refers to generating hydroxyl radical (^·OH) in tumor sites via hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) catalyzed by transition metal ions in cancer cells under acidic environment. However, H₂O₂ content is not enough for effective CDT, although H₂O₂ content in cancer cells is higher than that of normal cells. Herein, we synthesized DOX@BSA-Cu NPs (nanoparticles) for effective CDT by providing enhanced content of H₂O₂ in cancer cells. The results proved Cu²⁺ in NPs could be reduced to Cu⁺ by glutathione (GSH) and effectively converted H₂O₂ to ^·OH. Moreover, the loaded low-dose doxorubicin (DOX) in the NPs could improve the content of H₂O₂ and resulted in more efficient generation of ^·OH in cancer cells. Thus DOX@BSA-Cu NPs exhibited higher cytotoxicity to cancer cells. This research may provide new ideas for the further studies on more effective Cu(II)-based CDT nanoagents.     

The reactions of a dinuclear ferric complex (oxo) di-iron(III) triethylenetetraamminehexaacetate, Fe2O(ttha), with oxidizing and reducing free radicals. A pulse radiolysis study

The rate constants at which oxidizing and reducing radicals react with the dinuclear iron(III) complex Fe₂O(ttha)²⁻ were measured in neutral aqueous solution. The rate constants for reduction of the complex by ·CO₂^.− CH₃^.CHOH and O₂^.− were found to be comparable with rate constants previously measured in mononuclear iron(III) polyaminocarboxylate systems. Fe₂O(ttha)²⁻ reacts slowly with O₂^.− (k₈ = (1.2 ± 0.2) × 10⁴ dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹) and, hence, is a relatively poor catalyst for the dismutation of superoxide radical. The hydrated electron reduces the complex at a diffusion-controlled rate in a process which consumes one proton: e_aq⁻ + Fe₂O(ttha)²⁻ → Fe₂^III,IIO(ttha)³⁻ The reduction by carbon-centered radicals produces a (III,II) mixed-valence complex with an absorption spectrum different from that of the Fe₂(II,III) species produced from reduction by the hydrated electron. The oxidizing radicals ^.OH and ·CO₃⁻ appear to act as reductants of the complex via ligand oxidation rather than by oxidation of the Fe₂^IIIO core to Fe₂^III,IVO. In the former case ligand attack appears to occur mainly at the methylene carbon of a glycinate group. The decarboxylation product, CO₂, was detected by its aquation reaction in the presence of a pH sensitive dye, bromthymol blue.     

Photocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin by carbon quantum dots modified K2Ti6O13 nanotubes: Effect of light wavelength

Novel carbon quantum dots modified potassium titanate nanotubes (CQDs/K₂Ti₆O₁₃) composite was synthesized and exhibited high photocatalytic activity for degradation of amoxicillin under UV and visible lights with nine wavelengths. Better amoxicillin removal was achieved at lower wavelength irradiation due to its higher photo energy.     

Fabrication of niobium doped titanate nanoflakes with enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity for efficient ibuprofen degradation

Niobium doping increases the visible light adsorption of titanate nanoflakes, which greatly enhances the photocatalytic activity for ibuprofen elimination.     

Theoretical Studies on Thermal Decomposition of Benzoyl Peroxide in Ground State

Systematic studies of the thermal decomposition mechanism of benzoyl peroxide(BPO) in ground state,leading to various intermediates, products and the potential energy surface(PES) of possible dissociation reactions were made computationally. The structures of the transition states and the activation energies for all the paths causing the formation of the reaction products mentioned above were calculated by the AM1 semiempirical method. This method is shown to to be one predict correctly the preferred pathway for the title reaction. It has been found that in ground state, the thermal decomposition of benzoyl peroxide has two kinds of paths. The first pathway PhC(O)O--OC(O)Ph→PhC(O)O→Ph CO2 produces finally phenyl radicals and carbon dioxide. And the second pathway PhC (O) OO--C (O) Ph→PhC (O) OO PhC (O)→PhC(O) O2→Ph CO O2, via which the reaction takes place only in two steps, produces oxygen and PhC(O) radicals, and the further thermal dissociation of PhC(O) is quite difficult because of the high activation energy in ground state. The calculated activation energies and reaction enthalpies are in good agreement with the experimental values. The research results also show that also the thermal dissociation process of the two bonds or the three bonds for the benzoyl peroxide doesn‘t take place in ground state.     

羟基自由基和鸟嘌呤-胞嘧啶碱基对反应的密度泛函理论研究

为了解决年龄衰老、基因突变和癌症等问题, 理解DNA的氧化损伤机理非常重要. 本文利用密度泛函方法和极化连续介质模型在液相条件下研究了羟基自由基夺取鸟嘌呤-胞嘧啶(GC)碱基对上5 个氢原子的反应机理. 研究结果表明, 所有的脱氢反应路径都是放热过程, 热力学上五个脱氢反应路径形成自由基的稳定性顺序是(H2b-GC)^·>(GC-H4b)^·>(GC-H6)^·>(GC-H5)^·~(H8-GC)^·, 其中H2b反应路径的能量变化最大, 说明该反应平衡时的转化率最高. 动力学上, 相对于反应复合物的局部反应能垒大小顺序是H2b     

Anomalous excimer formation of a pyrenyl derivative having a mesogen group of alkoxycyanobiphenyl in its smectic mesophase

The direct photolysis of 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) in aqueous solution was investigated under monochromatic ultraviolet (UV) irradiation at 254 nm. ABTS was found to be directly photolyzed by UV irradiation to yield the one-electron oxidized radical, ABTS⁺, which is a blue-green colored persistent radical species that has strong visible absorption bands. The photochemical production of ABTS⁺ was strongly dependent on the solution pH and the presence of dissolved oxygen. The presence of dissolved oxygen increased the quantum yields at pH 3, whereas it inhibited the production of ABTS⁺ at pH 6.5. Spectrophotometric and spectrofluorometric data indicated that ABTS photolysis may occur as a result of the transfer of one-electron between the singlet excited state and the ground state of ABTS. Observations made during UV/H₂O₂ experiments with ABTS suggested that the dependence of the photoloysis of ABTS on the solution pH and the presence of dissolved oxygen is related to the role of the hydroperoxyl/superoxide radical (HO₂/O₂⁻), which appears to be formed via a secondary reaction of the reduced intermediate of ABTS with dissolved oxygen. The proposed photolytic reactions were supported by the observed stoichiometry between the amount of ABTS⁺ radicals produced and the amount of ABTS molecules decomposed.     

Primary radicals in the photo-oxidation of aromatics — reactions of xylenols with OH, N3 and H radicals and formation and characterization of dimethylphenoxyl, dihydroxydimethylcyclohexadienyl and hydroxydimethylcyclohexadienyl radicals by pulse radiolysis

Photo-oxidations of environmental organics in illuminated TiO₂ dispersions have implicated surface-bound ^•OH radicals and/or valence band holes. To explore the implications of the former oxidizing entity, six isomeric xylenols (dimethylphenols) were examined by pulsed (nanoseconds to milliseconds) radiolysis methods. The spectral and kinetic characteristics of formation and decay of the transients formed by the reaction of N₃^•, ^•OH and H^• radicals with these xylenols were assessed in buffered (pH 4, 10⁻³ M phosphate) aqueous media, where the xylenols exist in their protonated form (pK ≈ 10.19–10.65). The products from the reaction of N₃^• with 2,6- and 3,4-xylenol were exclusively the corresponding dimethylphenoxyl radicals, formed via electron transfer followed by deprotonation. In contrast, except with 3,4-xylenol, the principal radical intermediates formed initially upon reaction with ^•OH were the corresponding ^•OH adducts, the dihydroxydimethylcyclohexadienyl radicals. 3,4-Xylenol was examined in the pH range 4–10. At pH 8 the initial ^•OH adduct (dihydroxy-3,4-dimethylcyclohexadienyl radical) was subsequently transformed (about 20%–40%) via water elimination into the dimethylphenoxyl radical. In contrast, at pH 9 and 10 the ^•OH adduct and the dimethylphenoxyl radical were formed concurrently (about 60% ^•OH adduct and about 40% dimethylphenoxyl species), the latter through an inner-sphere electron transfer pathway. The switch in behaviour from pH 8 to pH 9 suggests that the pK_a of the dihydroxy-3,4-dimethylcyclohexadienyl radical is about 8–9, about 2 pK units below the pK_a of the parent substrate (10.4). A mechanism for the conversion of the ^•OH adduct to the dimethylphenoxyl radical is proposed. Reaction of 2,6-xylenol with H^• radicals gave exclusively the H^• adduct (hydroxycyclohexadienyl radical), whose spectral characteristics are similar to those of the related ^•OH adduct.     

Effective Removal of Tetracycline by Using Biochar Supported Fe3O4 as a UV-Fenton Catalyst

Novel Fe3O4-decorate hierarchical porous carbon skeleton derived from maize straw(Fe3O4@MSC)was synthesized by a facile co-precipitation process and a calcination process,which was developed as a UV assisted heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst.The as-synthesized catalysts were characterized via X-ray powder diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscope(SEM),transmission electron microscope(TEM),Brunauer-Emmet-Teller(BET)and vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM)at room temperature.The morphology and structure analysis revealed that the as-prepared Fe3O4@MSC retained the original pore morphology of the maize straw material.The non-uniform poly- hedral Fe3O4 grew on the whole surface of the MSC,which reduced the aggragation of Fe3O4 and provided more active sites to strengthen the UV-assisted Fenton-like reaction.As a result,the tetracycline(TC)degradation efficiency after 40 min reaction and total organic carbon(TOC)removal efficiency after 2 h reaction of Fe3O4@MSC catalyzing UV-Fenton system reached 99.2%and 72.1%,respectively,which were more substantial than those of Fe3O4@MSC/H2O2(31.5%and 2%),UV/H2O2 system(68%and 23.4%)and UV/Fe3O4/H2O2(80% and 37.5%).The electron spin resonance(ESR)results showed that the ·OH played an important role in the catalytic reaction.A possible degradation pathway of TC was proposed on the basis of the identified intermediates.Overall,the UV assisted heterogeneous Fenton-like process in Fe3O4@MSC improved the cycle of Fe^3+/Fe^2+ and activated the interfacial catalytic site,which eventually realized the enhancement of degradation and mineralization to tetracycline.     

The electrochemical advanced oxidation processes coupling of oxidants for organic pollutants degradation: A mini-review

In this mini-review, the homogeneous and heterogeneous EAOPs-oxidant processes were summarized. The reaction mechanisms of different EAOPs combined with different oxidants are elucidated in detail, as well as the synergistic effect for improving the treatment efficiency.     

Photocatalytic Degradation of 4-Chlorophenol by Gd-Doped β-Bi2O3 Under Visible Light Irradiation

Chlorophenols are known as persistent organic pollutants.Therefore,research on the removal of chlorophenols has attracted widespread attention.Hereto,the photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol by Gd-doped β-Bi2O3 under visible light irradiation was studied.The results showed that Gd-doped β-Bi2O3 materials are efficient catalysts for the photocatalytic degradation of chlorophenols,and 2%(atomic traction)Gd-doped β-Bi2O3 exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity for 4-chlorophenol degradation,because doping an appropriate amount of Gd^3+ions can effectively reduce the recombination rate of the photogenerated e^-/h^+pairs and then enhance the photocatalytic performance.When the reaction was carried out at 25 ℃ for 6 h using the 2% Gd-doped/β-Bi2O3 micro/nano materials of 200 mg and at air flow rate of 40 mL/min,the degradation rate of 4-chlorophenol reached 92.3%.Additionally based on the analysis of the products,it was speculated that the dominant photocatalytic degradation mechanism of 4-chlorophenol by Gd-doped β-Bi2O3 under visible light irradiation is an oxidative process involving an attack by the hydroxyl radical.     

A Role for Hydrogen Peroxide in the Pro-apoptotic Effects of Photodynamic Therapy

Although the first reactive oxygen species (ROS) formed during irradiation of photosensitized cells is almost invariably singlet molecular oxygen (¹O₂), other ROS have been implicated in the phototoxic effects of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Among these are superoxide anion radical (^•O₂⁻), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and hydroxyl radical (^•OH). In this study, we investigated the role of H₂O₂ in the pro-apoptotic response to PDT in murine leukemia P388 cells. A primary route for detoxification of cellular H₂O₂ involves the peroxisomal enzyme catalase. Inhibition of catalase activity by 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole led to an increased apoptotic response. PDT-induced apoptosis was impaired by addition of an exogenous recombinant catalase analog (CAT- skl) that was specifically designed to enter cells and more efficiently localize in peroxisomes. A similar effect was observed upon addition of 2,2'-bipyridine, a reagent that can chelate Fe⁺², a co-factor in the Fenton reaction that results in the conversion of H₂O₂ to ^•OH. These results provide evidence that formation of H₂O₂ during irradiation of photosensitized cells contributes to PDT efficacy.     

过氧化氢酶荧光分析法及其在海洋水生生物酶活力测定中的应用

建立了一种简便、灵敏的测定过氧化氢酶的方法.方法的线性范围为1.7×10^-3～1.7×10^-2U/mL,检测限(LD=3S₀/S)为8.5×10^-4U/mL.将其用于海洋生物样品中过氧化氢酶活力的测定,结果令人满意.