Electrospun Pd-doped ZnO nanofibers for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

Pure and Pd-doped ZnO nanofibers were synthesized via an electrospinning technique, in which polyvinylpyrrolidone was used as the fiber template, zinc acetate/palladium chloride as the precursors, and a mixture of ethanol/acid acetate/water at ratio of 8:5:2 (v/v/v) as the co-solvent. The electrospun fibers were calcined at 600 °C in air for 2 h and characterized by various methods. The photocatalytic activity of the pure and Pd-doped ZnO nanofibers was studied through the photodegradation of methylene blue. Comparing to the pure ZnO nanofibers, the Pd-doped catalysts showed a much enhanced photodegradation efficiency. The possible mechanism was also discussed.     

Chlorophyll-sensitized phenolic resins for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and synthetic blue wastewater

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - A novel method was proposed to incorporate chlorophyll molecules into the phenolic resins for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and...     

Facile synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - ZnO nanoparticle photocatalysts with a grain size range of 20–100?nm were prepared via a simple sol–gel method and characterized by...     

Preparation of ZnS-Fluoropolymer nanocomposites and its photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

The ZnS particles were immobilized on the surface of poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) mixing methacrylic acid (MAA)-trifluoroethyl acrylate (TFA) copolymer electrospun nanofibers. The PVDF and MAATFA copolymer nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning. Zinc ions were introduced onto the surface of nanofibers by coordinating with the carboxyls of MAA, and then sulfide ions were added to react with zinc ions to form ZnS particles under hydrothermal condition. The size and the amount of ZnS particles increased with the reaction time prolonging. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results reveal that a chemical interaction exists between ZnS and fluoropolymer fibers. The degradation rate of methylene blue in ZnS-fluoropolymer nanocomposite system was considerably higher than in that of ZnS powders system under UV irradiation. There may be an adsorption-migration-photodegradation process during the degradation of methylene blue by using ZnS-fluoropolymer nanocomposites as photocatalyst. The photocatalytic activity of ZnS-fluoropolymer nanocomposites changes indistinctively after 10 times repeating tests.     

Kinetics of the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue on titanium dioxide

The first step of the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) on anatase is photocatalytic reduction with subsequent decomposition of the dye itself and its leucobase. At low catalyst concentrations (≤2 g/L), the dye decomposition rate constant increases with increasing anatase concentration. A plateau appears for anatase concentrations above 2 g/L. Under steady-state conditions, the reaction kinetics is described by the Michaelis–Menten equation if the catalyst concentration is significantly greater than the MB concentration, which permits us to determine the kinetic parameters of the degradation process.     

Comparative study for the removal of methylene blue via adsorption and photocatalytic degradation

Physically and chemically activated carbons were prepared from date pits and olive stones. Titania and WO(x)-TiO(2)/MCM-41 were prepared as photoactive catalysts. Surface characterizations were investigated from ash content, pH, base neutralization capacities and FT-IR techniques. The textural characteristics, namely specific surface area (S(BET)) and pore texture, were determined from low temperature adsorption of N(2) at 77 K. The decolorization of aqueous solution of methylene blue was performed by means of two alternative methods. Steam-activated carbons own higher surface area compared with ZnCl(2)-activated carbons, and the micropore surface area represents the major contribution of the total area. Steam-activated carbons were the most efficient decolorizing adsorbents owing to its higher surface area, total pore volume and the basic nature of the surface. The calculated values of DeltaG(0), DeltaH(0) and DeltaS(0) indicate the spontaneous behavior of adsorption. The photocatalytic degradation is more convenient method in decolorizing of methylene blue compared with the adsorption process onto activated carbons.     

Reduced graphene oxide/ZnFe2O4 nanocomposite as an efficient catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye

Research on Chemical Intermediates - This research effort reports the design and development of reduced graphene oxide/zinc ferrite (rGO/ZnFe2O4) nanocomposites for the photo-oxidative degradation...     

Combustion synthesis of calcium doped ZnO nanoparticles for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye

ZnO nanoparticles are one of the prominent photocatalysts for environmental applications due to its high redox ability, nontoxic and higher stability. This report explains the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by a simple solution combustion method using zinc nitrate hexahydrate as an oxidizing agent and incense stick powder as fuel at 400 °C. Several techniques were adopted for the characterization of the obtained product. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern shows that a lower concentration of fuel gives pure ZnO and a higher concentration of fuel results in calcium doped ZnO with a cubic phase having a crystallite size of 32–28 nm. UV–vis spectrum shows that as the fuel concentration increases, band gap decreases and reaches to 3.33 eV for 3 g of fuel. Spongy networks with many pores wereobserved in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images showed the average particle size of Ca doped ZnO NPs is about 20 nm. Pure and Ca doped ZnO nanoparticles were examined for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under UV light irradiation. The results prove that Ca doped ZnO nanoparticles show good photocatalytic activity.     

Facile fabrication of oxygen-doped carbon nitride with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic degradation of methyl mercaptan

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Element doping has demonstrated an effective strategy for enhancing photocatalytic performance of carbon nitride (CN). Herein, we reported that oxygen-doped CN...     

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles and their role in photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Nowadays, synthesis of nanoparticles, particularly silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs), has become a research priority due to their wide application in medicine and...     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of the Fe2O3/g-C3N4 nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic activity for degradation of methylene blue

The preparation and photocatalytic performance of the Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposites with different weight percentage of iron was investigated in this study. Samples were successfully synthesized using melamine and ferric nitrate as the precursors via the green and facile microwave-assisted method. The physicochemical and structural properties of the Fe₂O₃-doped g-C₃N₄ were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis). The photocatalytic activity of the Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄ catalysts was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) at room temperature under visible light irradiation. As expected, the as-synthesized samples exhibited considerable improvement in the photodegradation of MB. The Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄ (1.0 wt%) nanocomposite had superior photocatalytic activity, with almost 70% degradation efficiency within 90 min of irradiation. The enhanced performance was ascribed to the separation and migration of the photoinduced electron–hole pairs and taking part of the charge carriers in the chemical redox reactions at the surface of the photocatalyst. In this work, the effect of Fe weight percentage on the degradation potential was also studied, and the photocatalytic mechanism was proposed with the main reactive species •OH.     

三维Cu-MOF对亚甲蓝的吸附和光催化降解及其机理

本文报道了[Cu₃(ppda)₃(tib)₂(H₂O)₄]·6H₂O (Cu-MOF)的合成、结构、吸附和光催化降解性能。在Cu-MOF中，1，4-苯二乙酸(H₂ppda)和1，3，5-三(1-咪唑基)苯(tib)配体交替连接Cu离子形成二维层，层与层之间通过trans-ppda^2-相互穿插形成稳定的三维结构。Cu-MOF对亚甲蓝(MB)的催化效率为97%，最高反应速率常数为0.019 7 min^-1。光催化降解机理：在光的激发下，催化剂表面的光生电子和空穴对发生分离，并与O₂、H₂O、H₂O₂反应生成活性物质，将染料降解为CO₂和H₂O。在MB溶液中加入NaCl (200 g·L^-1)后，Cu-MOF的吸附量有所提升(87.23 mg·g^-1)，准二级动力学模型和Langmuir等温线模型的实验数据拟合程度较好，该吸附的主要过程为单层化学吸附。     

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of La and Zr-codoped AgNbO3 for rhodamine B and methylene blue degradation

In this study, AgNbO₃, 1%, 5%, and 10% La, Zr-codoped AgNbO₃ photocatalyst were synthesized by the solid state method. The synthesized AgNbO₃ was codoped with La and Zr to enhance its effectiveness in photocatalytic dye degradation. The as-synthesized materials were also characterized via XRD and SEM analysis to determine their structural and morphological properties. The vibrational bands of the photocatalysts observed in FT-IR spectroscopy confirmed the presence of NbO₆ octahedra which can be found in AgNbO₃. Furthermore, all the photocatalysts showed high crystallinity and are single-phase materials with an orthorhombic crystal structure. It was observed that the particle size decreased with the increasing concentration of La and Zr codopants. The calculated lattice parameters showed that codoping AgNbO₃ with 10% La and Zr had caused its unit cell volume to expand. The UV–Vis absorption spectra showed a slight band gap widening and a decrease in surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) effect with increasing La, Zr-codoping. The photocatalytic RhB and MB degradation results of undoped AgNbO₃ and La, Zr-codoped AgNbO₃ were compared and they showed that there are improvements in the photocatalytic performance. The highest degradation (98.1%) of RhB was achieved by 5% La, Zr-codoped AgNbO₃ while the highest MB degradation (48.3%) was achieved by 1% La, Zr-codoped AgNbO₃. Last but not least, La, Zr-codoped AgNbO₃ is a promising material for water remediation application as it showed enhanced performance for photocatalytic dye degradation under visible light irradiation.     

三维Cu-MOF对亚甲蓝的吸附和光催化降解及其机理

本文报道了[Cu₃(ppda)₃(tib)₂(H₂O)₄]·6H₂O(Cu-MOF)的合成、结构、吸附和光催化降解性能。在Cu-MOF中,1,4-苯二乙酸(H₂ppda)和1,3,5-三(1-咪唑基)苯(tib)配体交替连接Cu离子形成二维层,层与层之间通过trans-ppda^2-相互穿插形成稳定的三维结构。Cu-MOF对亚甲蓝(MB)的催化效率为97%,最高反应速率常数为0.019 7 min^-1。光催化降解机理：在光的激发下,催化剂表面的光生电子和空穴对发生分离,并与O₂、H₂O、H₂O₂反应生成活性物质,将染料降解为CO₂和H₂O。在MB溶液中加入NaCl(200 g·L^-1)后,Cu-MOF的吸附量有所提升(87.23 mg·g     

磁性光催化剂BiVO_4/Fe_3O_4降解亚甲基蓝的研究

本文用超声法将磁基体Fe3O4与BiVO4复合,制备了易于固液分离的磁性可见光催化剂BiVO4/Fe3O4,采用X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)等手段对样品的结构和形貌进行表征。以亚甲基蓝为降解对象,考察了BiVO4/Fe3O4的可见光催化活性,并研究了光催化体系中光催化剂用量、亚甲基蓝初始浓度、溶液的pH值、电子受体的存在对光催化过程的影响。结果表明,催化剂的最佳用量为2.0g/L,亚甲基蓝最佳初始浓度为10mg/L,溶液的最佳pH值为11,加入电子受体K2S2O8时,亚甲基蓝几乎完全降解。催化剂回收后连续使用3次,降解率仍然大于80%。     

可见光光催化降解抗生素研究进展

随着抗生素废水在水体和陆地生态系统的肆意排放,抗生素污染已成为当今世界重要的环境问题。由于抗生素废水具有生物毒性大、含有抑菌物质等特点,传统的物理吸附法、生物处理法在处理这类难降解有毒有机废水,尤其是含残留微量抗生素的废水时效果较差。为了解决抗生素废水所引起的环境危机,人们尝试了许多方法。近年来,光催化技术作为一种适用范围广、反应速率快、氧化能力强、无污染或少污染的处理抗生素废水的方法受到人们广泛关注。半导体材料在太阳光照射下,可产生具有较强氧化作用的羟基或超氧自由基,从而起到降解抗生素分子的作用。然而,传统的光催化处理抗生素废水光催化剂主要局限于 TiO2半导体,它存在太阳光谱吸收范围窄、光生电荷复合率高等问题,严重制约其工业化应用。因此,人们一直致力于开发高效、稳定的可见光响应型光催化剂。本文根据光催化技术的基本原理,综述了目前几种基于不同策略设计开发可见光光催化降解抗生素废水的新型光催化剂的方法。
　　离子掺杂改性宽带隙半导体是开发高效可见光光催化剂的常用方法。通过过渡金属离子或非金属离子掺杂改性,可以使传统的 TiO2和SrTiO3等紫外光催化剂吸收带边发生红移,响应可见光,从而显著提高可见光下光催化剂降解抗生素的效率。然而必须注意的是,掺杂的金属离子本身会成为电子-空穴复合点位,因此,过量的掺杂金属或非金属离子可能会降低其光催化活性。考虑到单一半导体材料在光催化反应中存在的光生载流子容易复合、可见光利用率低等问题,构建异质结构复合光催化体系,通过不同半导体之间的协同作用,促进光生电荷的分离与转移,是获得高效光催化体系的重要策略之一。典型的 II型异质结光催化剂,当不同的半导体紧密接触时,由于异质结两侧能带等性质的不同会形成空间电势差,从而有利于光生载流子的分离,光催化效率提高。作为一种复合光催化体系,表面等离子体共振增强型光催化体系近年来引起了国内外学者的广泛关注。 Ag, Au和Pd金属纳米粒子在吸收光后其表面发生等离共振,随后等离子体发生衰减,把聚集的能量转移到半导体材料的导带。这个过程产生的高能电子(热电子),逃离贵金属纳米粒子而被与其接触的半导体收集,从而形成金属-半导体肖特基接触。形成的肖特基结可以显著提高光催化的光生电荷分离效率,从而提高光催化降解抗生素活性。
　　目前,与传统物化法/生化法相比,光催化技术用于处理抗生素废水具有十分明显的技术优势,在水处理方面有着很好的应用前景。针对目前光催化体系存在的光生载流子容易复合的巨大挑战,今后,构筑高效复合光催化体系(例如石墨烯基二维复合光催化剂在光生电荷分离、太阳光利用率等方面已展现出较好的综合性能)将成为高效光催化降解抗生素催化剂研发的重要方向之一。     

Synthesis and characterisation of mesoporous hybrid silica-polyoxometalate aerogels for photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B and methylene blue

ABSTRACT

Mesoporous silica aerogel/polyoxometalate hybrids were successfully synthesised under mild conditions, and were investigated towards photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue dye models in aqueous media under ultraviolet irradiation. The materials were characterised, in the solid state, by various tools such as FTIR, TGA, and powder XRD, in order to gather information about their chemical and structural properties. Moreover, UV-Vis, AAS, BET, SEM, and EDX techniques were used to confirm the polyoxometalates’ loading and their distribution onto the silica aerogels’ surface. The most important analytical technique was the Nitrogen adsorption-desorption, which revealed a significant increase in the specific surface area and pore volume of the hybrid catalysts after immobilisation. The synthesised hybrid catalysts, TEOS/PW₁₂ and TEOS/SiW₁₂, have shown efficient photocatalytic activity towards Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B degradation within 120 min under ultraviolet illumination, thus reaching a degradation percentage of 81–98% and 55–90%, respectively. UV-Vis analysis was employed to scrutinise the formation of intermediate species and revealed that the photocatalytic degradation process proceeded to completion within a surprisingly short time of ~5 min.     

氧氮共掺杂石墨烯光催化降解高浓度亚甲基蓝性能研究

本文采用原位合成法及混酸氧化法制备氧氮共掺杂石墨烯(ONG).通过透射电子显微镜分析(TEM)、X射线能谱分析(XPS)、紫外可见光漫反射(UV-vis DRS)、光致发光光谱(PL)等测试方法对所制得催化剂进行了表征,并以亚甲基蓝为目标降解物探究了材料的光催化活性及降解机理.结果表明:混酸氧化法制备的氧氮共掺杂石墨烯...     

Porous F-doped BiVO4: Synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of phenol under visible-light illumination

Fluoride-doped BiVO₄ with the F/Bi molar ratios of 0, 0.09, 0.13, and 0.29 (denoted as BiVO₄–F0, BiVO₄–F0.09, BiVO₄–F0.13, and BiVO₄–F0.29, respectively) were synthesized using the hydrothermal strategy with the hydrothermally derived BiVO₄ as the precursor and NH₄F as the fluoride source. Physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized by means of a number of analytical techniques. Photocatalytic activities of the fluoride-doped BiVO₄ samples were evaluated for the degradation of phenol under visible-light irradiation. It is shown that compared to the undoped BiVO₄–F0 sample, the fluoride-doped BiVO₄ samples retained the monoclinic structure, but possessed higher surface areas and oxygen adspecies concentration, better light-absorbing performance, and lower bandgap energies. Among the four samples, the porous spherical BiVO₄–F0.29 sample exhibited the best photocatalytic activity for the degradation of phenol in the presence of a small amount of H₂O₂ under visible-light illumination. It is concluded that the higher surface area and oxygen adspecies concentration, stronger optical absorbance performance, and lower bandgap energy were responsible for the excellent photocatalytic performance of BiVO₄–F0.29 for the photocatalytic degradation of phenol.