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Here in, we presented a facile one-step method for the synthesis of Graphene oxide-silver (GO-Ag) nanocomposite and its applications as a sorbent for the elimination of some toxic pollutants from aqueous medium, as an efficient catalyst in the individual as well as simultaneous reduction reactions of multiple compounds, and as an antibacterial agent for the destruction of some harmful microorganisms existent in wastewater. GO was prepared using a modified Hummers method and Ag nanoparticles were integrated on GO sheets by chemical reduction of Ag + ions on the surfaces of GO sheets. The composition and morphology of the nanocomposite was extensively characterized with elemental dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The GO-Ag nanocomposite demonstrated remarkable adsorption capacities and recyclability for malachite green (MG) and ethyl violet (EV) dyes. Various experimental parameters affecting adsorptive behavior of nanocomposite like temperature, pH, time of contact between dye and adsorbent, and adsorbent dose were evaluated thoroughly. Experimental data was simulated with different adsorption isotherms and kinetic models to evaluate adsorption behavior of both dyes and results confirmed the adsorption of both the dyes to be followed by pseudo 2nd order kinetic model and Langmuir adsorption model. Moreover, adsorbent was regenerated in suitable media for both dyes without any loss in removal efficiency. The catalytic performance for the 2-nitroaniline (2-NA) reduction was investigated in detail. Most importantly, the prepared nanocomposite was found to have potential to adsorb multiple pollutants all together as well as to catalyze the simultaneous reduction of a mixture of dyes (MG, MO, and EV) and 2-NA. An additional advantage of the GO-Ag nanocomposite was its antibacterial activity acquired to the presence of Ag nanoparticles. Two bacterial strains (Gram-negative bacterium, E. coli and the Gram-positive bacterium, S. aureus) were used to test antibacterial activity of composite and the results confirmed the remarkable performance of the nanocomposite in destroying harmful pathogens., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study, As(III) oxidation kinetics by a poorly-crystalline phyllomanganate (δ-MnO2) in the presence and absence of dissolved Fe(II) was investigated using stirred-flow and batch experiments. Chemically synthetic δ-MnO2 was reacted with four influent solutions, containing the same As(III) concentration but different Fe(II) concentrations, at pH 6. The results show an initial rapid As(III) oxidation by δ-MnO2, which is followed by an appreciably slow reaction after 8h. In the presence of Fe(II), As(III) oxidation is inhibited due to the competitive oxidation of Fe(II) as well as the formation of Fe(III)-(hydr)oxides on the δ-MnO2 surface. However, the sorption of As(III), As(V) and Mn(II) are increased, for the newly formed Fe(III)-(hydr)oxides provide additional sorption sites. This study suggests that the competitive oxidation of Fe(II) and consequently the precipitation of Fe(III) compounds on the δ-MnO2 surface play an important role in As(III) oxidation and As sequestration. Understanding these processes would be helpful in developing in situ strategies for remediation of As-contaminated waters and soils., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A new process for the production of electrolytic amorphous nanomanganese oxides (EAMD) with uniform size and morphology is described. EAMD are produced for the first time by cathodic deposition from a basic aqueous solution of potassium permanganate at a constant temperature of 16°C. The synthesized materials are characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and HRTEM. The materials produced at 5.0 V at constant temperature are amorphous with homogeneous size and morphology with an average particle size around 20 nm, which appears to be much lesser than the previously reported anodic EAMD. A potentiostatic electrodeposition with much lesser deposition rate (with respect to previously reported anodic depositions) is considered to be the reason behind the very low and homogenous particle size distribution due to the lesser agglomeration of our as-synthesized nanoparticles., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Solution combustion using urea as a fuel was employed to synthesise Co oxide and Al(2)O(3)-, SiO(2)- and TiO(2)-supported Co oxide catalysts. The catalysts were characterised using several techniques such as N(2) adsorption/desorption, XRD, FTIR, UV-vis diffuse reflectance and SEM-EDX, and their catalytic activity was evaluated in phenol degradation in aqueous solution with sulphate radicals. Solution combustion is a simple and effective method in preparation of supported Co catalysts. Co(3)O(4) was the major Co crystal phase in the samples prepared via the combustion synthesis. Bulk Co(3)O(4) particles were not effective in reaction, but supported Co oxides showed higher activity than unsupported Co oxide. The supports influenced Co dispersion and catalytic activity. Co/TiO(2) exhibited the highest activity, but it deactivated much faster than other two supported catalysts. Co/SiO(2) showed a comparable activity to Co/Al(2)O(3) and the best stability among the three Al(2)O(3)-, SiO(2)- and TiO(2)-supported Co catalysts., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A simple hydrothermal method was developed for the synthesis of uniform single-crystal β-MnO(2) nanorods only using potassium permanganate and sodium nitrite in acidic solution, without any seed or template. The as-prepared β-MnO(2) nanorods have the average diameter of 300±20 nm and a length up to 1.2±0.2 μm. Moreover, the effects of pH, temperature, and reactant molar ratios on the morphology of the final product were studied in detail. In addition, the catalytic ability of the as-prepared β-MnO(2) nanorods was tested for the electrooxidation of nitrite. The resulting sensor showed a wide linear range from 0.29 μM to 26.09 mM (R=0.9986), high sensitivity (1.21 μA mM(-1), S/N=3), low detection limit (0.29 μM), and fast response (less than 5 s)., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Magnetic manganese oxide nanostructures are fabricated at room temperature by mixing a KMnO(4) solution and oleic acid capped Fe(3)O(4) particles. Oleic acid molecules capped Fe(3)O(4) particles are oxidized by potassium permanganate (KMnO(4)) in an aqueous solution to produce porous magnetic manganese oxide nanostructures. The synthesis technique can be extended to other MnO(x) structures with composition of different nanocrystals, such as quantum dots, noble metal crystals which may have important applications as catalysts, adsorbents, electrodes and advanced materials in many scientific disciplines. Transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements are employed to characterize the structures. As an adsorbent in water treatment, the nanostructures possess a large adsorption capability and high organic pollutant removal rates due to the large surface area and pore volume. The nanostructures are recyclable as their adsorption capability can be recovered by combustion. Furthermore, the strong magnetism exhibited by the structures provides an easy and efficient separation means in wastewater treatment under an external magnetic field., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this work, a novel and facile method for covalent attachment of biomaterials to graphene oxide sheets (GOS) was developed. Four conjugates were obtained via the diimide-activated amidation reaction under ambient conditions. Final products were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Electrochemical characterization of the composite showed that the covalently bonded biomaterial retained its bioactivity. This method may provide a way for further preparation of graphene-based biodevices., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this work, hydrophilic and organophilic chemically modified graphene oxide (CMGO) sheets were prepared through a two-step diimide-activated amidation. The hydrophilic and organophilic products were characterized by atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The resulted dispersions are homogeneous and exhibit long-term stability, which will facilitate the combination of CMGO sheets with polymers to yield homogeneous composites., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A series of MnO(x)/TiO(2) composite nanoxides were prepared by deposition-precipitation (DP) method, and the sample with the Mn/Ti ratio of 0.3 showed a superior activity for NO catalytic oxidation to NO(2). The maximum NO conversion over MnO(x)(0.3)/TiO(2)(DP) could reach 89% at 250°C with a GHSV of 25,000h(-1), which was much higher than that over the catalyst prepared by conventional wet-impregnation (WI) method (69% at 330°C). Characterization results including XRD, HRTEM, FTIR, XPS, H(2)-TPR, NO-TPD and Nitrogen adsorption-desorption implied that the higher activity of MnO(x)(0.3)/TiO(2)(DP) could be attributed to the enrichment of well-dispersed MnO(x) on the surface and the abundance of Mn(3+) species. Furthermore, DRIFT investigations and long-time running test indicated that NO(2) came from the decomposition of adsorbed nitrogen-containing species., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Uniform sized silica and zirconia mixed titania samples were prepared in presence of a surfactant (CETAB) using controlled hydrolysis of corresponding metal alkoxides. Photocatalytic activity towards reduction of lead and cadmium metal in aqueous solution was evaluated both in UV and visible light in a 100 ml capacity reactor. In particular mixing of 10 wt% silica with titania not only increases the surface area of the material but also increases the photocatalytic activity in UV light. Whereas mixing of zirconia with titania proved to be beneficial for visible light reaction. However, addition of hole scavenger increases the activity many folds and complete removal of Pb(2+) and Cd(2+) was possible in 60 min of reaction using synthesized catalysts. Among all the organic hole scavengers used, sodium formate is found to be the most active one. Interestingly quite high metal removal (89%) is also observed in presence of visible light within 60 min of reaction. Thus the above study indicates that the presence of certain oxides in low quantity (10 wt%) with titania can facilitates the photocatalytic process selectively in UV as well as visible light.

Adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on nanosized magnetic particles (Fe(3)O(4)) was carried out in the presence of carbodiimide. The equilibrium and kinetics of the adsorption process were studied. Nanosized magnetic particles (Fe(3)O(4)) were prepared by the chemical precipitation method using Fe2+, Fe3+ salts, and ammonium hydroxide under a nitrogen atmosphere. Characterizations of magnetic particles were carried out using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to confirm the attachment of BSA on magnetic particles. Effects of pH and salt concentrations were investigated on the adsorption process. The experimental results show that the adsorption of BSA on magnetic particles was affected greatly by the pH, while the effect of salt concentrations was insignificant at a low concentration range. The adsorption equilibrium isotherm was fitted well by the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption of BSA on magnetic particles occurred at the isoelectric point of BSA. Adsorption kinetics was analyzed by a linear driving force mass-transfer model. BSA was desorbed from magnetic particles under alkaline conditions, which was confirmed by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and FTIR results.