Ultrasonically assisted synthesis of barium stannate incorporated graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposite and its analytical performance in electrochemical sensing of 4-nitrophenol

We describe the ultrasonic assisted preparation of barium stannate-graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposite (BSO-gCN) by a simple method and its application in electrochemical detection of 4-nitrophenol via electro-oxidation. A bath type ultrasonic cleaner with ultrasonic power and ultrasonic frequency of 100 W and 50 Hz, respectively, was used for the synthesis of BSO-gCN nanocomposite material. The prepared BSO-gCN nanocomposite was characterized by employing several spectroscopic and microscopic techniques such as X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, fourier transform infra-red, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy, to unravel the structural and electronic features of the prepared nanocomposite. The BSO-gCN was drop-casted on a pre-treated glassy carbon electrode (GCE), and their sensor electrode was utilized for electrochemical sensing of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The BSO-gCN modified GCE exhibited better electrochemical sensing behavior than the bare GCE and other investigated electrodes. The electroanalytical parameters such as charge transfer coefficient (α = 0.5), the rate constant for electron transfer (k_s = 1.16 s⁻¹) and number of electron transferred were calculated. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) exhibited increase in peak current linearly with 4-NP concentration in the range between 1.6 and 50 μM. The lowest detection limit (LoD) was calculated to be 1 μM and sensitivity of 0.81 μA μM⁻¹ cm⁻²_. A 100-fold excess of various ions, such as Ca²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻, I⁻, CO₃²⁻, NO₃, NH₄⁺ and SO₄²⁻ did not able to interfere with the determination of 4-NP and high sensitivity for detecting 4-NP in real samples was achieved. This newly developed BSO-gCN could be a potential candidate for electrochemical sensor applications.     

Graphene and graphene like 2D graphitic carbon nitride: Electrochemical detection of food colorants and toxic substances in environment

Excessive consumption of substances such as food colorants, exposure to doses of metal ions, antibiotic residues and pesticides residues above maximum tolerance limit have a detrimental effect on human health. Hence in detecting these harmful substances, the development of sensitive, selective and convenient analytical tools is an essential step. Graphene and graphene like 2D graphitic carbon nitride have shown great promise in the development of electrochemical sensors for determining the levels of these substances in different samples. In this paper, graphene and graphene like 2D graphitic carbon nitride applications on the determination of various food colorants in foods and drinks such as azo dyes (tartrazine, allura red, amaranth, carmine and sunset yellow); metal ions contaminants, antibiotic and pesticide residues in the environment are reviewed.     

Fe掺杂g-C3N4的制备及其可见光催化性能

以硝酸铁和三聚氰胺为原料制备不同含铁量的Fe 掺杂石墨氮化碳（g-C₃N₄）. 采用X 射线衍射光谱（XRD）、紫外-可见（UV-Vis）光谱、傅里叶变换红外（FT-IR）光谱、电感耦合等离子体-原子发射光谱（ICP-AES）、荧光（PL）光谱、X光电子能谱（XPS）等分析手段对制备的催化剂进行了表征. 结果表明,铁以离子形式镶嵌在g-C₃N₄的结构单元中,影响了g-C₃N₄的能带结构,增加了g-C₃N₄对可见光的吸收,降低了光生电子-空穴对的复合几率. 以染料罗丹明B的降解为探针反应系统研究了不同含铁量对g-C₃N₄在可见光下催化性能的影响. 结果表明,m（Fe）/m（g-C₃N₄）=0.14%时,制备的Fe 掺杂g-C₃N₄表现出最佳的光催化性能,120 min 内罗丹明B的降解率高达99.7%,速率常数达到0.026 min^-1,是纯g-C₃N₄的3.2 倍. 以叔丁醇、对苯醌、乙二胺四乙酸二钠为自由基（·OH）、自由基（O₂^-·）和空穴（h_VB⁺）的捕获剂,研究了光催化反应机理.     

Molecularly engineered graphene surfaces for sensing applications: A review

Graphene is scientifically and commercially important because of its unique molecular structure which is monoatomic in thickness, rigorously two-dimensional and highly conjugated. Consequently, graphene exhibits exceptional electrical, optical, thermal and mechanical properties. Herein, we critically discuss the surface modification of graphene, the specific advantages that graphene-based materials can provide over other materials in sensor research and their related chemical and electrochemical properties. Furthermore, we describe the latest developments in the use of these materials for sensing technology, including chemical sensors and biosensors and their applications in security, environmental safety and diseases detection and diagnosis.     

石榴状单质铋(Bi)球与g-C3N4复合材料表现出超强可见光氧化NO性能

采用一种原位合成工艺制备了具有类石榴结构的金属铋(Bi)单质修饰的g-C3N4复合材料(Bi-CN),并用于可见光氧化NO反应中.金属Bi单质镶嵌在CN层间形成的复合物,由于金属Bi单质显著的表面等离子体共振(SPR)作用可将光吸收范围由紫外光延展至近红外,极大地提高了复合物的光吸收.此外,由于Bi单质存在于复合物界面可产生内建莫特-肖特基效应,从而加快光生载流子的分离与转移.由此,Bi-CN复合物光催化剂展现出超强的光催化去除NO性能.我们提出了类石榴结构的形成以及相应的Bi-CN复合物光催化活性的提高机理.这不仅为高效的金属铋单质改性的g-C3N4基光催化剂提供了一种新的设计方案,也对g-C3N4基光催化的机制理解提出了新的见解.通过X射线衍射、红外光谱和X射线光电子能谱结果发现Bi是以金属单质的形式存在于Bi-CN复合物中,这得益于我们采用了二水合铋酸钠(NaBiO3·2H2O)作为铋前驱体,从而成功避免了氧化态铋的形成.Bi-CN复合物中金属铋单质的存在有诸多优点.首先,金属铋单质具有显著的表面SPR效应,它的引入可大大提高复合物的光吸收能力和太阳光利用率.有研究表明,直径为150–200 nm的铋球能够在紫外-可见漫反射图谱(UV-vis)在λ=500 nm处呈现出典型的SPR峰,但本样品在λ=200–800 nm区间内并未发现该SPR峰.由于铋单质的共振受限于其尺寸大小、颗粒形状和构造环境.本文中球形铋单质的直径约为1μm,其可能发生共振效应的峰位置应超过800 nm,因此未发现相应的SPR峰.其次,金属铋单质分散在CN层表面上构建的肖特基垫垒能够高效地阻止光生电子与空穴的复合,促进了光生载流子的分离与转移,从而提高光氧化NO进程.再者,金属铋单质的介入成功构造了Bi-CN异质结,在可见光照射下NO氧化反应中,Bi-CN复合物活性显著高于CN(22.2%)、CN-EG(36.4%)和Bi(14.1%),其中以10%Bi-CN活性最佳,NO去除率到70.4%,远远超过K插层的g-C3N4、Ag掺杂的g-C3N4和氧化石墨烯修饰的g-C3N4.当复合物中金属铋单质含量超过10%时,其活性明显下降.这是因为大量的金属铋单质积聚在Bi-CN复合物表面上而造成物理堵塞,妨碍了CN吸收可见光,从而降低了其可见光吸收能力;同时导致只会吸收更多的紫外光(λ<280 nm)而不是可见光,因而其可见光催化氧化NO能力下降.     

原位制备具有增强光催化活性的S型Bi2Se3/g-C3N4光催化剂

光催化氧化是一种应用前景良好的环境治理技术.与絮凝、物理吸附和化学氧化等常见的方法相比,光催化氧化具有环境友好、氧化完全、方便和廉价等优势.特别是可见光光催化氧化,可利用太阳能中占比最高的可见光,在应用中更具优势.因而,探索可见光响应性能优异的光催化剂一直是光催化氧化领域的一个重要研究内容.硒化铋(Bi₂Se₃)是一种带隙(带隙宽度在0.3~1.3 e V)非常窄的半导体,能吸收全部波长范围的可见光和近红外光.此外,Bi₂Se₃还具有独特的金属表面态,其表面具有良好的导电性.这些特性使其在可见光光催化氧化领域具有很大的应用潜力.然而,由于Bi₂Se₃价带位置高,氧化能力很弱,其价带上的空穴在光催化反应中难以被消耗,导致空穴大量累积,并迅速与光生电子复合,大幅降低了Bi₂Se₃的光催化性能.因此,一直以来,Bi₂Se₃很少被用于光催化反应.如何充分利用Bi₂Se₃的光响应优势,制备出性能优异的光催化剂,仍是具有挑战性和吸引力的研究方向.本文采用预先制备的Bi2O3/g-C₃N₄复合物作为前驱体,通过原位转化的方法,将前驱体置于热的Se蒸汽中,使前驱体上的Bi2O3与Se蒸汽反应,完全转化为Bi₂Se₃纳米颗粒,从而制得Bi₂Se₃/g-C₃N₄复合光催化剂(Bi₂Se₃含量约为4 wt%).透射电镜结果表明,所形成的Bi₂Se₃纳米颗粒较均匀地分布在g-C₃N₄表面.表面功函数分析发现,Bi₂Se₃与g-C₃N₄结合后,它们的费米能级分别由原来的-0.55和-0.18 e V变为平衡时的-0.22 e V,可形成指向g-C₃N₄的内建电场,有利于形成梯型(S型)异质结.在此基础上,能级位移、荧光分析、结构计算和反应自由基测试等结果表明,Bi₂Se₃和g-C₃N₄之间形成了S型异质结.在可见光光催化降解苯酚的实验中,所制备的Bi₂Se₃/g-C₃N₄复合物的光催化活性明显优于单一的Bi₂Se₃和g-C₃N₄.结合比表面、孔结构、光吸收和荧光等对比分析,认为Bi₂Se₃/g-C₃N₄的这种S型异质结构在其光催化活性增强中起到了关键作用.在光照条件下,其g-C₃N₄导带中光生电子向Bi₂Se₃的价带迁移,并与光生空穴复合,从而使Bi₂Se₃导带上可保留更多的高活性光生电子参与光催化反应,由此Bi₂Se₃/g-C₃N₄的光催化活性增强.循环性能测试和光还原实验结果表明,所制备的Bi₂Se₃/g-C₃N₄复合光催化剂具有良好的稳定性.本文工作为高可见光吸收的光催化剂制备和性能增强提供了新途径和新视野.     

Solid deformation induced by the adsorption of methane and methanol under sub- and supercritical conditions

Carbonaceous materials with some degree of flexibility in their physical structure can expand or contract under the influence of the forces exerted by adsorbed molecules. To gain insight into how adsorption of non-polar and polar fluids could deform a carbon solid, we present GCMC simulations of sub- and supercritical adsorption of methane and methanol in slit-shaped pores whose walls are made of graphene layers. Our extensive simulation study shows that there is a strong correlation between solvation pressure and solid deformation, and that the expansion or contraction of the pore strongly depends on adsorbate loading, temperature and pore size.     

Local electronic and electrical properties of functionalized graphene nano flakes

Based on experimental findings models of amorphous graphene related carbon materials were generated using graphene nano flakes. On the optimized structures detailed local electronic properties were investigated using density functional theory. The electrical conductivities of all these models were also estimated using an in-house program based on tight-binding method. The calculated electrical conductivity values of all the models agreed well with the trend of calculated energy gap and graphitic character.     

Polymorphism of Amino Acid‐Based Dendrons: From Organogels to Microcrystals

There is a delicate balance for a low‐weight molecule to behave as a gelator or crystal. The synthesis of two novel amino acid‐based naphthalene‐dendrons, Nap ‐ G1 and Nap ‐ G2 is described. Both dendrons display polymorphic properties in organic solvents. Nap ‐ G1 developed a fibrous network with β‐sheet architecture in cyclohexane but exhibited a spherulitic network in mixed solvents (chloroform/petroleum ether 1:5, v/v). On the other hand, Nap ‐ G2 acted as an efficient organogelator in chloroform but formed crystalline fibers in relatively high polarity solvents (such as acetone and methanol). Combinations of characterizations have been employed to study the polymorphism.     

Auger electron spectroscopic study of CO2 adsorption on Zircaloy-4 surfaces

We investigate the adsorption of CO₂ onto Zircaloy-4 (Zry-4) surfaces at 150, 300 and 600 K using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Following CO₂ adsorption at 150 K the graphitic form of carbon is detected, whereas upon chemisorption at 300 and 600 K we detect the carbidic phase. As the adsorption temperature is increased, the carbon Auger signal increases, whereas the oxygen signal decreases. Adsorption at all three temperatures results in a shift of the Zr Auger features, indicating surface oxidation. The effect of adsorbed CO₂ on the Zr(MVV) and Zr(MNV) transitions depends on adsorption temperature and is less pronounced at higher temperatures. On the other hand, changes in the Zr(MNN) feature are similar for all three adsorption temperatures. The changes in the Zr Auger peak shapes and positions are attributed to oxygen from dissociated CO₂, with the differences observed at various temperatures indicative of the diffusion of oxygen into the subsurface region.