One-step synthesis of monodispersed Pt nanoparticles anchored on 3D graphene foams and its application for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Although platinum-based materials are regarded as the state-of-the-art electro-catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER),high cost and quantity scarcity hamper their scale-up utilization in industrial deployment.Herein,a one-step strategy was developed to synthesize multi-walled carbon nanotubes and reduced graphene oxide supported Pt nanoparticle hydrogel(PtNP/rGO-MWCNT),in which only ascorbic acid was used as the reductant for one-pot reduction of both GO and chloroplatinic acid.The hydrogel can be directly used as a flexible binder-free catalytic electrode to achieve high performance of HER.Compared to conventional strategies,the current strategy not only significantly reduces the Pt loading to 3.48 wt%,simplifies the synthesis process,but also eliminates the use of any polymer binders,thus decreasing the series resistance and improving catalytic activity.An overpotential of only 11 mV was achieved on as-prepared PtNP/rGO-MWCNT to drive a geometrical current density of 10 mA/cm2 in0.5 mol/L H2 SO4,with its catalytic activity being kept over 15 h.In acidic medium,the HER activity of the PtNP/rGO-MWCNT catalyst exceeds most of the reported Pt-based electro-catalysts and is 3-fold higher than that obtained on commercial Pt/C electrode.     

Trends in the use of passive sampling for monitoring polar pesticides in water

The presence of polar pesticides in environmental waters is a growing problem. After application their migration into the aqueous phase is promoted by their high water solubility. Transport processes are usually complex and inputs are generally stochastic; this makes monitoring of this class of pesticides challenging using low volume spot samples of water. Recently there has been a trend to use passive samplers to monitor pesticides in river catchments as it is an in-situ time integrative sampling technique. The three main types of device used for this purpose are, Chemcatcher®, POCIS and o-DGT. This article reviews the fate and current state-of-the-art for monitoring polar pesticides in aqueous matrices. Principles and the theory of passive sampling and strategies for passive sampler design and operation are presented. Advances in the application of passive sampling devices for measuring polar pesticides are extensively critiqued; future trends in their use are also discussed.     

Electrochemical devices obtained from biochar: Advances in renewable and environmentally-friendly technologies applied to analytical chemistry

Biochar is the carbon-rich material produced from organic feedstock such as agricultural wastes and municipal solid waste in limited oxygen atmosphere and under certain thermal combustion. Due to its high carbon content, high cation exchange capacity, large surface and stability structure, it has been applied in different field of knowledge. In relation to environment analytical chemistry the studies about biochar majorly focus in degradation of contaminants and soil and water remediation. However, due to its excellent electrical conductivity, biochar has been also applied to the manufacture of sensitive, robust, efficient and inexpensive devices applied to supercapacitor-based energy storage and chemically modified electrodes or sensors. Therefore, this review describes about obtention, modification and characterization of biochar as well as the pertinent aspects of electrochemical devises based on biochar and a general discussion about the environmental concern of biochar, challenges and prospects.     

Trends in nanomaterial-based solid-phase microextraction with a focus on environmental applications - A review

Effective solid-phase microextraction (SPME) in environmental field represents a crucial step for the adequate extraction of several analytes. Several materials have been traditionally developed for SPME of several analytes from environmental samples, even though their several restrictions such as post-treatment required, elevate costs and limited efficiency. Recently, nanomaterials (NMs) have emerged as a promising substitute for SPME in environmental applications of traditional techniques, due to their small size and their high specific surface-area which enhances their high reactivity. In this present review different NMs which have recently been utilized as SPME sorbent for environmental applications are classified into eleven main groups, namely nanoparticles, nanofibers, nanoflakes, nanocomposites, nanorods, nanotubes, nanohorns, nanosheets, nanocubes, nanospheres and polymer-based NMs. Application of these NMs in SPME modes and configurations for environmental analysis has been reviewed. The study discusses not only the advantages but also the major limitations of using such NMs.     

Chemical composition variations,allelopathic, and antioxidant activities of Symphyotrichum squamatum (Spreng.) Nesom essential oils growing in heterogeneous habitats

The present study aimed to analyze the chemical composition of Symphyotrichum squamatum EOs growing in two different habitats to explore the ecological implication on the EOs production and evaluate their antioxidant and allelopathic potentialities. The EOs from the aerial parts collected from coastal Mediterranean belt and inland abandoned habitats in the Nile Delta of Egypt, were extracted and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Sixty compounds were characterized as overall constituents of EOs from both samples. Sesquiterpenes were the main component and represented by 69.77% and 88.68% from coastal and inland sample, respectively. The coastal sample attained a relatively high content of monoterpenes compared to the inland sample. Major compounds from the EOs of the coastal habitat sample, were humulene epoxide, (-)-spathulenol, (-)-caryophyllene oxide, germacrene D, and α-humulene representing 59.72%. However, β-pinene, germacrene D, α-humulene, α-muurolene, humulene epoxide, (-)-caryophyllene oxide, and β-cadinene were the major compounds of EOs of the inland habitat sample, representing 63.70%. The correlation analysis revealed more correlation between the Egyptian inland S. squamatum and the Japanese ecospecies. However, the Egyptian coastal S. squamatum and Turkish ecospecies were more correlated to each other. The present data suggested that chemotypes of S. squamatum maintain their typical pattern despite ecological or climatic differences. The EOs of S. squamatum showed moderate antioxidant activity, wherein coastal and inland EOs have an IC₅₀ value of 382.53 and 559.63 μL L⁻¹, respectively. Also, the EOs from both habitats showed moderate allelopathic activity against the noxious weed Bidens pilosa. However, the activity of the coastal sample was more than inland one and could be attributed to the content of the major compounds, especially the oxygenated terpenes.     

环境水镉污染应急处理的药物及条件挑选

探讨了硫酸铝、聚铝、聚铁对环境水体中的镉的沉淀能力,实验证明当在实际环境水样品中调节pH在7-9之间,聚铁或聚铝能对环境水体中的镉很好的沉淀作用,短期作用比较明显,药剂能在30min左右达到2h的处理效果的70%-90%,而长期作用后(18h)能将水体中的镉降低到10μg/L以下,一立方水的用药量在100-400g之间就可以到达很好的处理效果,而且无二次污染,可为环境水中镉污染的应急处理药品.     

谷氨酸钠溶液514nm激光拉曼光谱受环境光影响的研究

探讨了环境光的存在对谷氨酸钠溶液的514 nm绿色激光激发的拉曼光谱的影响.研究表明不同的环境光、自然光和室内荧光灯光均会对514 nm激光拉曼光谱产生干扰,存在着特征干扰峰.自然阳光干扰较小;而荧光灯光表现为1127、2107 cm-1和2170 cm-1等3个明显尖锐的脉冲峰,不能忽略.建议在进行谷氨酸钠溶液514 nm绿色激光拉曼光谱检测时,须在暗室或暗罩中进行,以完全隔离环境光的影响.     

Ultratrace determination of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene in waste water by purge and trap/gas chromatography coupled to different detectors: Flame ionization (FID), electron capture (ECD), and multiple ion detection-mass spectrometry (MID-MS)

High resolution gas chromatography (HRGC) coupled to a “purge and trap” extraction-injection technique is described as a method of determining 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene in water at levels as low as parts-per-trillion (ppt). In order to investigate the interference from other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) several detection systems were compared: flame ionization, electron capture, and mass spectrometry-multiple ion detection. Concentrations ranging from 15 to 600 ng/L were analyzed in 20 ml standard aqueous solutions. The mean accuracy of the method varied from 89 to 103%, and its mean precision varied from ± 0.85 to ± 7.5 % for all detectors. The detection limits were 20 ng/L for FID, 2 ng/L for ECD and 0.5 ng/L for MID-MS detectors. The procedure was successfully applied to the analysis of industrial waste waters. The necessity of an appropriate internal standard to improve the quantitative determination and to determine possible losses or degradation of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene during handling or storage is discussed.     

环境光对谷氨酸钠溶液激光拉曼光谱的影响

探讨了环境光的存在,对谷氨酸钠溶液的激光拉曼光谱的影响。研究表明,不同的环境光,自然光和室内荧光灯光,会对拉曼光谱产生不同的干扰效应,存在着特征谱峰、负峰或尖锐正峰, 干扰的影响不能忽略。建议在进行溶液激光拉曼光谱检测时,需在暗室或暗罩中进行,以完全隔离环境光的影响。     

基于Raman激光雷达反演大气污染气体浓度几种方法

筊aman激光雷达是探测大气污染气体的一种重要方法,雷达回波反演是其中的重要步骤,反演的关键在于正确得到透过率指数因子。以消光系数为中心的三个方案,介绍了目前已普遍采用的方法、应用532 nm大气消光系数间接求取α(λ₁,z)和α(λ_２,z)。提出了两种新方法：(1) 采用拉曼波长与待测气体相近的参考气体,α(λ₁,z)＝α(λ_２,z);(2) 借助λ₁和λ₂的Mie-Rayleigh散射回波求取指数因子。