Design of Fe-MOF-bpdc deposited with cobalt oxide (CoOx) nanoparticles for enhanced visible-light-promoted water oxidation reaction

Research on Chemical Intermediates - This work spotlights the facile method to deposit cobalt oxide (CoOx) nanoparticles as a cocatalyst on Fe-MOF-bpdc to enhance its photocatalytic activity for...     

Synthesis of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> using different hydrolysis catalysts and doped with Zn for efficient degradation of aqueous phase pollutants under UV light

In this work, various TiO₂ and TiO₂ doped with 0.1, 1.0, and 5.0 mol% of Zn were prepared by the sol–gel method varying different hydrolysis catalysts (HNO₃, OHAc, H₃PO₄) in order to be used as photocatalysts for environmental applications. The X-ray diffraction results showed that the different TiO₂ samples have presented the anatase as main phase, However, the acid nature has played an important role in the superficial and optical properties. The N-physisortion analysis has revealed that the specific surface area of calcined TiO₂ samples prepared using H₃PO₄, HOAc, and HNO₃ was 245, 100, and 90 m² g⁻¹, respectively, while the spectroscopic UV analysis, the band gap energy has shifted by 3.3–3.0 eV. In order to improve the optical properties of TiO₂, the last preparation was doped with different zinc concentrations. The result showed that, as the Zn concentration increase by 0.1–5.0 mol%, the surface area increased from 90 to 120 m² g⁻¹. Nevertheless, the E _g returned from 3.0 to 3.32. The SEM analyses have not revealed important morphological changes between no doped and doped materials. The catalytic activity of the composite was studied on the photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and the activity results showed that small Zn concentrations decrease the t _1/2 in 28 min.     

Cobalt-doped BiVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> (Co-BiVO<Subscript>4</Subscript>) as a visible-light-driven photocatalyst for the degradation of malachite green and inactivation of harmful microorganisms in wastewater

Co-doped BiVO₄, a visible-light-responsive photocatalytic semiconductor, was synthesized using a microwave hydrothermal method. The doped sample exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity for malachite green degradation under visible light irradiation than undoped BiVO₄. Similarly, improved inactivation efficiency toward Escherichia coli and Chlamydomonas pulsatilla (green tide) were observed with Co-doped BiVO₄. The degradation of malachite green by Co-doped BiVO₄ reaches 99% within 90 min irradiation to visible light. Similarly, the inactivation of Escherichia coli reaches 81.3% in 5 h and Chlamydomonas pulsatilla reaches 65.6% in 1 h irradiation to visible light. The enhanced photoactivity is believed to be due to the increment of the visible light absorption range by narrowing the band gap energy. In addition, the highly exposed reactive (010) facets can efficiently capture the photoinduced electrons, promote charge separation, and reduce recombination probability. Thus, these findings provide mechanistic insight into the effectiveness of Co-doped BiVO₄ semiconductors for the treatment of wastewater that contains industrial effluents and microorganisms.     

Study of magnetic moments of nuclear excited states at Tristan

Facilities at the TRISTAN mass separator for measurement of magnetic moments of nuclear excited states are described and recent results for the N=82 isotones are presented.     

SOLUBILIZATION IN LYOTROPIC LIQUID CRYSTALS

Solubilization in non-aqeuous lyotropic liquid crystals was investigated by determination of the stability region of a lamellar liquid crystal in systems of triethanolamine (TEA), dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA) and a series of solvents.

The solubilization maximum was moved towards higher OBSA/TEA ratios for polar solvents and the reverse for non-polar ones. The solvents caused the maximum increase of interlayer spacing when added.     

Effect of heat treatment on ultrasonic synthesized bismuth ferrites: an effective visible light-driven photocatalyst

Even though it is a potential visible-light responsive photocatalyst, the application of BiFeO₃ (BFO) is restricted because of the presence of residual impurities in the synthesis process. To alleviate this problem, in this work, BiFeO₃ was synthesized by the sonochemical method and calcined at different temperatures. Morphologies and phases of the samples were evaluated by using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–Vis DRS) was used to analyze the absorption properties. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated via the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine-B (RhB) aqueous solution under simulated solar light irradiation. The results revealed that the phase transformation from amorphous to crystalline phase has occurred during heat treatment. The formation of pure BFO occurred only at about 600 °C, indicating the importance of heat treatment during the synthesis process. On the other hand, the decolorization of RhB solution was completed by pure BFO photocatalyst within 1 h of simulated solar light irradiation.     

Experimental indication of the onset of nuclear deformation in neutron-rich Sr isotopes at mass 98

A partial decay scheme for 0.1 sec ⁹⁸Rb has been deduced from γ-singles, γ-multispectra ana γγ coincidence measurements taken at the OSTIS mass-separator system at the Institut Laue-Langevin. The low-lying levels of ⁹⁸Sr follow the energy level systematics of the even-AN = 60 isotones. The onset of nuclear deformation in even-A neutron-rich Sr isotopes appears to occur at mass 98, as the first 2⁺ level energy drops from the nearly constant value of about 800 keV for masses 90–96 to 144 keV at mass 98. Energy level systematics indicate that a transition in the nuclear structures of the more neutron-rich nuclei near mass 100 occurs rather sharply at neutron number N = 60.