Search

Waste recycling and reuse will result in significant material and energy savings. In this research, usage of hospital sludge as a biochar adsorbent for wastewater treatment plants was investigated. Microwave carbonization was used to carbonize the sludge and then chemically activated with ZnCl2to increase surface area and porosity. A newly designed iron metal doped sludge biochar carbon (SBC) has effective adsorption of inorganic arsenic (As(III), As2O3) in water. The findings clearly demonstrate the viability and utility of using hospital sludge as a source of carbon to generate SBC. The adsorption mechanism of As(III) on SBC’s iron-metal-modified surface has been studied using density functional theory (DFT) to understand the impact of functional complexes on adsorption As(III). Tests showed physical as well as chemical adsorption of As(III) on Fe-SBC surface. Fe’s involvement in functional complexes greatly fostered SBC surface activity and it’s As(III) adsorption ability. The physical adsorption energies of As(III) with Fe functional complexes on the SBC surface were −42.3 KJ mol−1. Other hand, the chemical adsorption energies of As(III) on Fe-SBC surface was −325.5 KJ mol−1. As(III) is capable of interacting in a bidentate fashion with the dopants through the protonated oxygen atoms and this conformation of the cyclic structure is higher in the adsorption energy than the others.

Co-catalyst free SrTiO3 was prepared by hydrothermal method and it’s calcinated by different temperatures such as 300, 500, 700, and 900 °C to improve the photocatalytic hydrogen production. The SrTiO3 exhibits a cubic crystal structure which was revealed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show the combination of nano spherical-needle morphology changed into nano-cubic morphology when the temperature varied from 300 to 900 °C. Further, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) result also confirms the nano-cubic crystal structure with well-resolved edges. The elemental mapping analysis shows the Sr, Ti, O elements were distributed uniformly in the prepared SrTiO3. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirms the presence of chemical compositions and valance state of Sr, Ti, O elements in SrTiO3. The self-trapped excitons recombination of SrTiO3 was analyzed by photoluminescence (PL) analysis. The Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) analysis of SrTiO3-900 °C shows the lowest electron transfer resistance which promotes effective charge separation. Among the different catalysts, SrTiO3-900 °C gives 6.8 mmol g−1 h−1 of hydrogen under Ultra-Violet irradiation.

Norfloxacin (NF) is an emerging antibiotic contaminant due to its significant accumulation in the environment. Photocatalytic degradation is an effective method for removing emerging contaminant compounds in aqueous solution; however, it is not commonly applied because of the poor solubility of contaminant compounds in water. In this study, a photocatalytic degradation experiment was carried out on NF using a self-made ceria catalyst. At an initial concentration of NF of 2.5 mg L−1, the dosage of CeO2 was 0.1 g L−1 photocatalyst in water, and the initial pH of the NF solution was 8.0. With a reaction time of 180 min, the total removal rate of NF could reach 95%. Additionally, the studies on hydrogen production show that the maximum hydrogen production with 2% Fe–CeO2 can reach 25,670 μmol h−1 g−1 under close to 8 W of 365 nm, a methanol concentration of 20%, and a catalyst dose of 0.1 g L−1 photocatalyst in water. Furthermore, the intensities of photoluminescence (PL) emission peaks decreased with increased Fe-doped amounts on CeO2, suggesting that the irradiative recombination seemed to be weakened.

Multilayer ZnO sheet-like flakes were synthesized by a simple method of precipitation and characterized by the techniques of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The findings are proven that the SEM images show the overall morphology of a single sheet-like ZnO nanostructure made from uniformly thick nano-sheets. In an aqueous environment, the acoustic ability of the prepared material was assessed using ultrasound (US) radiation to degrade oxytetracycline (OTC) and norfloxacin (NF). To increase the degradation efficiency, a US/ZnO/peroxodisulfate system was developed by introducing ammonium persulfate ((NH4)2S2O8) and sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8), exhibiting excellent synergistic effects. Result show the decomposition efficiency for NF removal with Na2S2O8 (64%) appeared to be slightly better than with (NH4)2S2O8 (56%). By contrast, the ultrasonic catalytic efficiency of Na2S2O8 (98%) was slightly better than that of (NH4)2S2O8 (94%) for OTC removal. The addition of scavengers to the US/ZnO/peroxodisulfate system through the NF and OTC results in the largest effect of holes. The degradation is considered to be often caused by holes. In this system, the Na2S2O8 can have two roles to increase the rate of degradation: (1) The SO4− formed by Na2S2O8 under ultrasonic irradiation directly degraded to norfloxacin on ZnO surface; and (2) S2O82- behaved as an electron acceptor, inhibiting recombination of electron hole pairs, enabling the development of more ·OH. Therefore, the synergistic effect significantly increases US/ZnO/peroxodisulfate sonocatalytic activity (Hu, S.B., et al., 2017. Aqueous norfloxacin sonocatalytic degradation with multilayer flower-like ZnO in the presence of peroxydisulfate. Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 38(1), pp.446–454).

Production of Copper (Cu) modified Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanomaterial, named as Cu–CdS, was successfully synthesized through hydrothermal and photo deposition method to degrade oxytetracycline (OTC) antibiotics in aqueous solution. Uniform surface loading of copper was observed on CdS using Scanning Electron Microscopy-mapping (SEM-mapping). The Cu induced improvement in the visible light absorption was observed using UV-vis absorption spectrum. Thus, this material can exhibit excellent oxytetracycline (OTC) degradation by photocatalysis. The best OTC degradation efficiency of 90% was be achieved under the optimal concentration of 4% Cu–CdS, with 0.1 g L−1 dosage (pH 5) under UV irradiation. 0.167 mg L−1 min−1 was observed as the reaction kL-H on the peripheral of the catalyst. In addition, OTC can also be degraded under visible light with removal efficiency approximately 90%. Moreover, the contribution of main reactive oxygen species (ROS), including hydroxyl radicals, superoxide radical and holes, is evaluated as 18%, 43% and 29%.

A novel approach is proposed in this study for degrading aqueous glyphosate (GLYP) efficiently via electro-oxidation (EO) using a novel copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)-dispersed activated carbon fiber (ACF) electrode. Green synthesis of the CuPc-ACF electrode was achieved by electro-sorption process through oxidation-reduction of the Cu species, using cyclic voltammetry, also for the first time. The prepared electrode was directly applied to degrade the aqueous recalcitrant pollutant without supplementation of an electrolyte and external source of oxidant. Operating parameters of the EO system were optimized via response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design using performance index of the area under the curve (AUC). A complete degradation of a synthetic GLYP solution at high concentration (1000 mg L−1) was indicated at the optimized pH and biased potential of 11 and 2.5 V (vs Ag/AgCl), respectively. Kinetic assessment of the experimental data revealed a threshold voltage between 1.5 and 2.0 V required to trigger an effective and irreversible degradation of the aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA) intermediate. The kinetics for degradation of GLYP was proposed via two pathways: a consecutive first-order reversible or an irreversible reaction forming the AMPA intermediate and a parallel reaction forming final transformed products. The study indicated a green route for the synthesis of the CuPc-ACF electrode for complete degradation of GLYP using EO as a green technology.

The study investigated the synergistic effects of rGO and Pt over TiO2 for the HER via artificial photosynthesis under UVB and visible light irradiation. The introduction of glycerol and industrial wastewater to the system as sacrificial reductants signifies that the major reaction pathway is photocatalytic partial water splitting. The material characterizations revealed successful heterojunction formation and provided insight into chemistry behind the activity of the photocatalysts. Amongst various combinations of rGO on TiO2, 1GNT exhibited an HER yield five times that of bare TiO2 under UVB light. Addition of Pt led to the formation of a strong Schottky barrier at the heterojunction and consequently boosted HER performance. 1P0.5 GT presented the highest of 28.5 mmol g−1 h−1 with glycerol and 9.6 mmol g−1 h−1 with wastewater under UVB light respectively. For both binary and ternary photocatalysts, the HER performances dwindled under visible light irradiation, accentuating the insufficient activation of the TiO2. In addition, 1PT outperformed all the other photocatalysts thereby elucidating the impression that rGO and Pt does not work well together in enhancing HER despite quenching the exciton recombination rate of TiO2 significantly. The role of pH in the synthesis and the experiments has been discussed. Finally, the underlying mechanisms in the photodeposition and photoreformation have been proposed.

As the characterizations of electrode are meaningful for electric catalytic efficiency and mechanism, the improvement of electrode have raised considerable public concern in recent decades. However, the metal electrode have the drawbacks of high price and easy for toxicity, nano electrode restricted by difficulties for electrode coating, possibility of agglomeration, and abscission during reactions. Focus on those defects, the proposed study is going to establish a useful technique for polymer combined nano-electrode preparation. The morphology, functional groups, and other characterization of the Pt/TiO2/graphene particles and organic composite nano Pt/TiO2/graphene sheets were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). To identify the stability of self-prepared electrodes, parameters such as catalysts dosage, current density and pH will be analyzed by using RBK5 as target pollutions. The results shows that after treatment for 50 min under optimized conditions (20 mA, 1 g/L NaCl), the degradation rate of acetaminophen almost reached 100%. After five times recycle, the self-prepared electrode could still maintained a high removal rate of 90%.

This study is the first to use a newly-developed material via hydrothermal method, cerium oxide nanowires doped with reduced graphene oxide (CNW-RGO) for reductive H2 production. The detailed characteristics of the CNW-RGO materials were investigated to explore the capabilities of reductive production. The mean diameter of the CNWs was uniform at 22 nm. Owing to RGO-doping, the energy gap between the valence and conduction bands tended to become narrower that demonstrated by the density functional theory calculation (DFT). Furthermore, the optimum hydrogen production was 7.14 mmol g−1 by the CNW-RGO with a RGO content of 4 wt.% under the visible-light irradiation. This result was consistent with the turnover frequency (TOF) predictions. The introduction of RGO sheets effectively mediated the transfer of photogenerated electrons from the CNW to the sheets. Therefore, it could act as an electron trap to stimulate charge separation, which was corroborated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. As indicated by comparative assessment, methanol was the most promising sacrificial agent in the system. Additionally, the formation of the methoxy group after the reaction was clearly demonstrated by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The number of hydroxyl groups on the alcohols directly determined their activity in reductive production.

This study explored a facile one-step hydrothermal method of preparing a high-performance photocatalyst, namely, graphene-TiO2, for oxytetracycline (OTC) removal. The nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The photocatalytic properties of different graphene loading types and various OTC initial concentrations, temperatures, and initial pH values were investigated. Results showed that the material with 10% graphene content exhibited the best performance and removal efficiency (beyond 99%) of OTC within 180 min at 35 °C and pH 5.5. The effects of different reactive oxygen species scavengers on photodegradation and the contributions were evaluated, and a possible reaction mechanism was proposed. Caenorhabditis elegans was used for toxicity testing during the entire degradation process and achieved a favorable result.

Composite electrodes with different graphene (GN)/TiO2 ratios and nano-activated carbon electrodes were prepared for electrocatalytic performance comparison. The electrodes were loaded with platinum (Pt) by use of chloroplatinic acid to promote their performance. Reactive Black 5 (RBk5) dye wastewater was treated as a challenging pollutant by use of advanced electrochemical oxidation technology. The composite materials were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), and Energy Disperse Spectroscopy (EDS). Results showed that the graphene electrode was prepared successfully and verified because all elements were uniformly loaded on the conductive carbon cloth. The effects of several operating parameters including material types, pH, initial concentration of RBk5, and current density on the removal performance of RBk5 were also assessed. The supporting electrolyte was NaCl solution of 1 g L−1. The concentration of RBk5 was detected using an ultraviolet spectrophotometer with a detection wavelength of 600 nm. The optimum parameters of the experiment were GN/TiO2 ratio of 1:4 and pH of 6.6. The removal efficiency of RBk5 could be higher than 95% under an initial concentration of RBk5 of 5 ppm and a current density of 2.5 mA·cm-2 when reaction time was 30 min.

Sb-based materials have been considered one of the most promising anode electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries, whereas they were commonly synthesized through time-consuming and costly processes. Here, Sb@Sb2O3/reduced graphene oxide (Sb@Sb2O3/rGO) composite was successfully synthesized by a facile one-pot chemical method at ambient temperature. Based on the XRD and TGA analysis, the mass fractions of Sb and Sb2O3 in the Sb@Sb2O3/rGO composite are ca. 34.05% and 26.6%, respectively. When used as an alternative electrode for lithium ion batteries, a high reversible capacity of 790.9 mA∙h/g could be delivered after 200 cycles with the capacity retention of 93.8% at a current density of 200 mA/g. And a capacity of 260 mA∙h/g could be maintained even at 2000 mA/g. These excellent electrochemical properties can be attributed to its well-constructed nanostructure. The Sb and Sb2O3 particles with size of 10 nm were tightly anchored on rGO sheets through electronic coupling, which could not only alleviate the stress induced by the volume expansion, suppress the aggregation of Sb and Sb2O3 particles, but also improve the electron transfer ability during cycling

The utilization of sludge from Far Eastern Memorial hospital (New Taipei city, Taiwan) wastewater treatment plants as biochar adsorbent was investigated. The sludge was carbonized using microwave carbonization and then chemically activated at high temperatures by using ZnCl₂ to enhance porosity and surface area. A newly designed Zndoped amino-functionalized sludge biochar (Zn-SBC-DETA) presents effective As adsorption in water. The adsorbent was characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis. Results show that the surface area and average pore volume of Zn-SBC-DETA are 525 m² g-1 and 0.35 cm³ g-1, respectively. SEM results reveal that Zn-SBC-DETA has uniform pore size. The highest adsorption efficiency of As(III) is 79% at pH 3 with an adsorption capacity of 0.84 mg g-1. In addition, the adsorption efficiency of As(V) is 98% at pH 3 with an adsorption capacity of 1.43 mg g-1. The adsorption data can be described well by the Langmuir model rather than by the Freundlich model The data show good compliance with the pseudo second-order equation, and the correlation coefficient for the linear plots is higher than 0.97. Combined with the As species after reacting with Zn-SBC-DETA, the As transformation and adsorption mechanism are also discussed.

MNP-GO-TNT (Magnetic Nano Particle- Graphite Oxides- Titanium Nano Tubes) was synthesized with hydrothermal method. As(III) adsorption in solution was investigated. Lastly, the mechanisms of As(III) adsorption by MNP-GO-TNT at different pH was deciphered with FTIR and XPS. Besides, the infect factor for As(III) removal such as pH, initial concentration and temperature, etc. were discussed. At the same time, kinetic analysis and thermodynamic analysis has been analyzed. As(III) adsorption are benefit under acidic environment with higher temperature. As(III) adsorption with MNP-GO-TNT was followed in monolayer on surface of MNP-GO-TNT obtained from kinetic analysis. Furthermore, it a spontaneous reaction and endothermic reaction. In addition, the Ti–OH and Fe–OH groups of adsorbent are reacted during adsorption, and OH− is replaced by As(III). Therefore, the main reaction in this adsorption mechanism is chemical adsorption.

T-Ag/ZnO nanoflowers were successfully fabricated via two steps methods on zinc foil. The chemical composition of norfloxacin was investigated by FTIR spectroscopy. The morphology, composition, and structural and optical properties of the as-synthesized materials were characterized. The results show that triangular silver nanoplates exhibit unique surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption spectra, and the absorption spectrum range of ZnO nanoflowers are effectively expanded by coating triangular silver nanoplates. The photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin activity can be obviously improved because of a synergetic effect and unique SPR of triangular silver nanoplates in the T-Ag/ZnO nanoflowers under visible light. In addition, the possible mechanism for T-Ag/ZnO nanoflowers for the photodegradation of norfloxacin are discussed. The stability of T-Ag/ZnO nanoflowers are also studied.

The Pt and graphene (GN) were used to modify TiO2 nanoparticles. GN/TiO2, Pt-TiO2, Pt-GN/TiO2 were successfully synthesized by modified Hummers' method, alcohol thermal and photodeposition method, respectively. The characterizations of the synthesized catalysts by different characterization techniques, including N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technique and element analyzer (EA), respectively. In addition, different sacrificial agents (methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, i-propanol, n-butanol, ethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol and glycerol) have been investigated. There is clearly a linear relationship between hydrogen production rate and the polarity of monohydric alcohols. According to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood results, the surface pseudo-first order rate constant k = 15.06 mmol h-1 g-1 and the adsorption coefficient k = 0.50 mol L-1 were obtained. The feasibility of hydrogen production from wastewater obtained from terephthalic acid industry was studied. After reusing the catalyst under the same experimental conditions, the hydrogen production rate has only slightly decreased for 3 more cycles, which indicated the stability of the synthesized catalysts.

A large amount of calcium fluoride sludge is generated by the semiconductor industry every year. It also requires a high amount of fuel consumption using rotor concentrators and thermal oxidizers to treat VOCs. The mesoporous adsorbent prepared by calcium fluoride sludge was used for VOCs treatment. The semiconductor industry employs HMDS to promote the adhesion of photo-resistant material to oxide(s) due to the formation of silicon dioxide, which blocks porous adsorbents. The adsorption of HMDS (Hexamethyldisiloxane) was tested with mesoporous silica materials synthesized from calcium fluoride (CF-MCM). The resulting samples were characterized by XRD, XRF, FTIR, N2-adsorption-desorption techniques. The prepared samples possessed high specific surface area, large pore volume and large pore diameter. The crystal patterns of CF-MCM were similar with Mobil composite matter (MCM-41) from TEM image. The adsorption capacity of HMDS with CF-MCM was 40 and 80 mg g-1, respectively, under 100 and 500 ppm HMDS. The effects of operation parameters, such as contact time and mixture concentration, on the performance of CF-MCM were also discussed in this study.

It’s the first time to modify cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanostructures using copper (Cu), yielding Cu-CdS, for oxytetracycline (OTC) removal and highly efficient hydrogen formation at the same time with dual cell. Cu-CdS composites were synthesized through photodeposition method. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) results reveal that Cu is uniformly loaded on the surface of CdS. Corresponding results show that the best Cu loading content for hydrogen production of 24.88 mmol h−1 g−1 is 1%. In addition, 4% Cu-CdS shows the best OTC removal efficiency of 81.4%. Moreover, H2 formation and OTC degradation is majorly induced by h+ and OH based on the results of scavenging experiment and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis.

Response surface methodology was adopted to obtain ternary mixed catalysts of TiO2-loaded ZSM-5 zeolite and graphene. Oxytetracycline was used as challenged toxicant to evaluate the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the composites. The optimal weight ratio of graphene, TiO2, and ZSM-5 was 1:8:1. The composites were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, and transmission electron microscope with an energy-dispersive spectroscopy system, etc. Synthesized samples showed high stability and strong visible-light absorption efficiency. The optimal operating conditions of oxytetracycline photocatalytic degradation were achieved over a wide range of pH and temperature. With 0.1 g/L of optimal ternary mixed composite, the photocatalytic degradation of oxytetracycline was nearly reached completion within 150 min at all treatment temperatures at pH 7. Toxicity of degraded oxytetracycline solution was assayed by a boar sperm quality model using fluorescent staining and flow cytometry. During 180 min of photocatalytic treatment, the degraded oxytetracycline solution showed increasing biotoxicity and changed the morphology and function of boar sperm, despite not killing them.

Hydrogen is considered as a promising energy source with its high energy yield, renewable, environment friendly properties. TiO2 modified with noble metal and nonmetal is widely used. In this study, Pt and graphene (GN) were used to modify TiO2 nanoparticles. GN/TiO2 (TG), Pt-TiO2 (PT), Pt-GN/TiO2 (PTG) was successfully synthesized by modified Hummers' method, alcohol thermal and photodeposition method, respectively. The characterizations of the synthesized catalysts by UV-vis/DRS, components analysis, XRD and TEM analysis were conducted. Results showed the maximum hydrogen production rate was approximately 4.71 mmol h-1 g-1 when the Pt content was 1.0 wt.%. Higher and lower than 1.0 wt.% of Pt loading content both result in low efficiency of hydrogen production. The situation of graphene is similar to Pt. The optimal ratio for grapheme is 10 wt.%. The highest hydrogen production rate is 6.58 mmol h-1 g-1 by 1.5 wt.% Pt-5 wt.% GN/TiO2 (1.5PTG5), which is about 1.4 and 2.2 times higher than that of Pt-TiO2 and GN/TiO2 binary composites, respectively. The utilization of low-cost graphene can reduce the use of noble metal Pt in photocatalytic hydrogen production. The mechanism of Pt-GN/TiO2 for the improved photocatalytic activity is proposed. 0.1 g L-1 is found to be the optimum catalyst concentration for optimal hydrogen production.

This study explored a new facile one-step method of preparing magnetically modified biochar (NMBC) with easy separation characteristics for the improvement of Cr (VI) removal. The prepared NMBC was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and superconducting quantum interference device. Results showed that NMBC processed a rough and uneven surface with high N and amine contents, as well as magnetization for the separation. The kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamic analysis of Cr (VI) adsorbed on the prepared materials were also investigated, as well as the effect of initial pH. NMBC showed a high Cr (VI) adsorption capacity of 48 mg g −1 , which is twice higher than that of traditional magnetic biochar (MBC, 19 mg g −1 ). The different mechanisms of MBC and NMBC were also discussed.

Ti-doped MCM-41 with different Si/Ti molar ratios was prepared at room temperature to degrade tetracycline antibiotics in aqueous solution. The Ti was doped into the skeleton structure of MCM-41. The photocatalytic activity of Ti-doped MCM-41 was investigated. The optimal catalyst had Si/Ti molar ratio of 25 and over 99% removal of oxytetracycline in 150 min, and the removal could maintain 98% after 5 reuses. Ions and soluble organic matters in natural water affected the degradation reaction when Ti-doped MCM-41 was used to treat simulated wastewater of chicken farms. The degradation products of oxytetracycline, tetracycline and chlortetracycline were detected by Escherichia coli DH5α and HPLC–MS/MS. No intermediate product with higher toxicity was detected.

Multilayer ZnO nanoflowers were synthesized through a simple precipitation method and characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and nitrogen absorption-desorption techniques. The FE-SEM images show the integrated morphology of an individual flower-like ZnO nanostructure, which is made of nano-platelets with uniform thickness (20–30 nm). The average pore size and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) surface area of the as-synthesized ZnO were 27.25 nm and 13.53 m 2 /g. The sonocatalytic ability of the prepared samples was evaluated through norfloxacin (NF) degradation in an aqueous system using ultrasound (US) irradiation. To improve degradation efficiency, peroxydisulfate (Na 2 S 2 O 8 ) was introduced to develop a US/ZnO/peroxydisulfate system, which exhibited an excellent synergistic effect. The effects of ZnO dosage, Na 2 S 2 O 8 concentration, pH, and initial NF concentration were studied to determine the performances of the US/ZnO/peroxydisulfate process. Corresponding results showed that NF degradation rate increased with the increase of ZnO dosage but decreased with the increase of initial NF concentration. Under the optimal Na 2 S 2 O 8 concentration of 0.1 g L −1 at pH 9, the best degradation efficiency can be achieved. Moreover, based on the scavenging experiment results and literatures, NF degradation through US/ZnO/peroxydisulfate system is majorly induced by OH and SO 4 − radicals.

A novel category of improved performance membrane consisting of a hydrophobic mat and a hydrophilic electrospun layer for membrane distillation (MD) application has been presented. The nanofibrous non-woven layer was fabricated by electrospinning of polyvinylalcohol (PVA) incorporated with Triton X-100 directly onto the polypropylene (PP) mat. To render the membrane distillation process effective in terms of high permeate flux and salt rejection %, the concept of dual layer membrane is utilized with hydrophobic PP mat on top and hydrophilic PVA layer on bottom. In this study, PVA nanofibrous layer has been fabricated by incorporating non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 for uniformity and homogeneity in fiber diameter. Additionally, the PP mat acts as a top support layer and PVA-TX nanofiber acts as base layer which absorb the water molecules (condensed vapour), that enhances the vapour flux across the membrane. The modified bilayer PP/PVA-TX membranes were characterized by the pore size distribution, permeate flux, and rejection %, then compared with original PP mat. The salt rejection of the dual layered PP/PVA-TX membrane showed > 99% and still maintained 2 times higher permeate flux compared to PP membrane for long term operation of 15 h.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) resulting from the burning of organic carbons has aroused serious concern because of increasing concentrations in the atmosphere and its effect on global warming. Therefore, finding an efficient method for CO2 utilization is important. In this research, CO2 underwent efficient reduction when graphene (GN)-TiO2 was used as a catalyst under visible light irradiation. The radicals involved in the reaction as intermediates were observed by ESR to identify the reduction pathways. Furthermore, the hypothetical pathways were verified by the steady-state approximation model. The calculated rate constants of the final products and intermediates (including radicals) indicated that the formation of CH3OH was mainly derived from ·CO– rather than from HCOOH. Furthermore, the effects of GN loading, catalyst loading, and light source were also discussed. Optimal performance was achieved at 0.4 g L−1of 40% GN-TiO2 loading under visible light irradiation.

This study synthesizes colloidal silver triangular nanoprisms via dual-reduction method. The particle morphology is controlled by changing the silver nitrate and polyvinylpyrrolidone concentrations. The triangular silver and spherical silver colloids are combined with TiO2 powder for methylene blue (MB) photodegradation in visible light. Comparisons between the spherical Ag (S-Ag) and experimental results show that the triangular silver (T-Ag) significantly promotes MB degradation under visible light, which contributes to the surface plasmon resonance effect on the Ag triangular nanoprisms.

In this study, a new type of molecular sieve/polyacrylonitrile fiber (M-PAN) was prepared by electrospinning to adsorb atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The suitable content of molecular sieve in nanocomposites was also determined for achieving maximum VOCs adsorption capacity. SEM, TEM and N2 adsorption/desorption analyzer were performed for characterization of the surface morphology, structural properties, surface area and pore size. A part of molecular sieve is exposed on the fiber surface where VOCs can be adsorbed efficiently in a short time. Acetone was used as a challenge pollutant to evaluate the adsorption of VOCs at different recycling times and types of electrospinning nanofibers. The adsorption capacity of 6M-PAN (60% weight of molecular sieve) nanofiber reached 58.2 μg g−1 and the reused nanofibers nearly had the same adsorption capacity as the newly prepared nanofibers after several times of recirculation.

The objective of this paper is to study the removal of Cr(VI) in aqueous solution by using a new graphene oxide-coated rice husk biochar composite (GO-RHB). GO-RHB is a synthetic material having a porous structure with lots of oxygen-containing functional groups and a large surface area that provide effective adsorption sites. Experiments showed that GO-RHB had higher adsorption capacity under acidic than under alkaline conditions. At pH of 2, GO-RHB has the maximum adsorption capacity(48.8 mg g−1). Equilibrium data obtained by fitting with the Langmuir and Freundlich models indicate that the reaction process was monolayer adsorption. The adsorption of Cr(VI) followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model that illustrates chemical adsorption. Intraparticlediffusion studies further revealed that film diffusion was taking place. Moreover, the results of thermodynamics showed that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous in nature. The removal mechanism of Cr(VI) was also explained in detail. The prepared adsorbent is highly efficient and might be useful than many other conventional adsorbent used for the removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater.

This first attempt study explored newly prepared materials for promising As(III) treatment with easily recycling characteristics for sustainable uses. Regarding layered GOs they had appropriate capabilities for practicability; significantly increased large GO layers could be served as precursor and stabilizer of other materials due to excellent electron transfer capacities. Titanium nano tube (TNT) catalysts were prepared to augment surface areas for maximal adsorption capacities. TNT-doped graphene (GN-TNT) was then prepared by hydrothermal method. In addition, GN-TNT was coated with magnetic nano particles (MNP) to yield mesoporous composites to be easily recycled under a magnet. Ternary mixture design of experiments was implemented to determine optimal ratios of GN-MNP-TNT to remove As(III) in solutions. To have detailed characteristics of the morphology and composition, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were implemented. Resuability of GN-MNP-TNT composites had also been tested for 4 serial cycles of adsorption/desorption of As(III). Compared to graphene-based materials, the most appropriate rate of As(III) adsorption rate was 0.057 min −1 . In addition, treatment efficiency of As(III) after 4 cycle of regeneration still remained at 83%, significantly higher than literature for promising practicability.

Over the recent years, the continued increase in the number of particles in air has become a public concern. This problem can be addressed by using nanofibers to filter fine particles. However, nanofibers possess complex characteristics. As such, the effects of surface charge require further studies. In this study, the surface voltages of nanofibers were analyzed with an electrometer after these fibers were charged through corona discharge to investigate the mechanism of filtration. Results indicated that the surface voltage of 2.0% TiO2 polyacrylonitrile fibers (TPFs) can reach up to 0.97 kV and then decrease to 0.60 kV after 96 h. Particles were optimally removed by charged polyacrylonitrile fibers (PFs) and TPFs. Particle penetration decreased by 71% of TPF and 36% of PF. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms revealed that increasing the surface area and roughness of these materials are more favorable for charge maintenance to promote particle removal. Our research could provide an in-depth understanding of the effects of surface charge on particle removal and show how systems can be optimized for further applications.

Microporous ZSM-5 and mesoporous MCM-41 loaded with TiO 2 were synthesized to remove oxytetracycline in aqueous solutions. The adsorption of oxytetracycline showed that MCM-41 had higher adsorption capacity than ZSM-5 and that this capacity changed little after TiO 2 loading. Four factors affecting photocatalytic degradation were investigated by uniform design; these factors included the initial pH of oxytetracycline solution, reaction temperature, dosage of catalysts, and TiO 2 content of catalysts. Single-factor experiment confirmed that experimental values agreed with predicted ones by the regression formula of the uniform design. After recycling and reuse for five cycles, the composites retained their degradation performance. Both adsorption and photocatalytic degradation experiments indicated that MCM-41 was more suitable than ZSM-5 for loading TiO 2 to remove oxytetracycline because of the former’s better absorption properties. The biomass at the stationary growth phase and the maximum specific growth rate of Escherichia coli were used to assess toxicity during photocatalytic degradation, which linearly decreased with increased oxytetracycline degradation efficiency.

In this study, a one-step solid dispersion method was used to synthesize titanium dioxide (TiO 2 )/Zeolite Socony Mobil-5 (ZSM-5) composites with substantially reduced time and energy consumption. A degradation efficiency of more than 95% was achieved within 10 min using 50% PTZ (synthesized TiO 2 /ZSM-5 composites with TiO 2 contents of 50 wt% loaded on ZSM-5) at pH 7 and 25 °C. The possible degradation pathway of azo-dye Reactive Black 5 (RB5) was investigated using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and ion chromatography (IC). The bonds between the N atoms and naphthalene groups are likely attacked first and cleaved by hydroxyl radicals, ultimately resulting in the decolorization and mineralization of the azo dye. A comparative assessment of the characteristics of abiotic and biotic dye decolorization was completed. In addition, the toxicity effects of the degradation intermediates of azo-dye RB5 on cellular respiratory activity were analyzed. The bio-toxicity results showed that the decay rate constants of CO 2 production from the azo-dye RB5 samples at different degradation times increased initially and subsequently decreased, indicating that intermediates of higher toxicity could adhere to the catalyst surface and gradually destroyed by further photocatalytic oxidation. Additionally, EDTA (hole scavengers) and t -BuOH (radical scavengers) were used to detect the main active oxidative species in the system. The results showed that the hydroxyl radicals are the main oxidation species in the photocatalytic process.

In this study, we found a novel property of graphene and KBrO 3 as double and enhanced collaborative catalysts to degrade amoxicillin (AMX) on the photocatalytic behavior of TiO 2 nanotubes under UVA light irradiation. The synthesis of graphene-TiO 2 nanotubes (GN-TNT) is a necessary first step. AMX can be photo-degraded with GN-TNT, but its degradation rate reaches nearly 100% with the addition of KBrO 3 , which has two roles in photo-degradation. Its first and more important function is the prevention of electron-hole recombination by acting as electron acceptor. Its second function is its direct participation as oxidant in the degradation of AMX. The effects of GN loading, KBrO 3 initial concentration, and AMX concentration on photocatalytic activity are explored in this study. Results of the kinetic study also show that degradation can be expressed by a first-order reaction kinetic model. The degradation mechanism of photocatalytic activity and the role of KBrO 3 are also discussed.

Triangular silver nanoplate-coated flower-like ZnO nanostructures were successfully fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method combined with a dual reduction method. The morphology, composition, and structural and optical properties of the as-synthesized materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis absorption spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. Results show that the morphology of ZnO and Ag were flower-like and triangular nanoplate, respectively. Triangular silver nanoplates exhibit unique surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption spectra, and the PL intensity of flower-like ZnO decreased by coating triangular silver nanoplates. In addition, the growth process and possible mechanism of flower-like ZnO and triangular silver nanoplates are discussed in certain detail.

Polyimide/carbon black (PI/CB) nanocomposite films were fabricated via the direct ball-milling method with poly(amic acid) (PAA), the precursor of PI, as an in situ formed impurity-free dispersant. FTIR and Raman spectral results reveal that, besides physical adsorption, chemical grafting of PAA chains onto the CB surface occurs during the ball-milling process. Comparative studies show that introduction of various commercial dispersants improves the dispersion of CB. However, the mixtures exhibit poor reproducibility, unstable electrical properties, and decreased tensile strength; these issues may be attributed to interfacial pollution brought about by differences in the chemical structures of the dispersant and the matrix. The impurity-free dispersant is effective not only in ensuring the uniform dispersion of CB particles but also in enhancing filler-matrix interfacial adhesion. High-molecular weight PAA chains are effective reagents for impurity-free modification and can therefore be used to improve the electrical and mechanical properties of the resultant composite.

Large amount of calcium fluoride sludge was generated by semiconductor industry every year. It also needs high requirement of fuel consumption using rotor concentrator and thermal oxidizer to treat VOCs. The mesoporous catalyst prepared by calcium fluoride sludge was used for VOCs treatment in this study. Acetone is a kind of solvent and used in a large number of laboratories and factories. The serious problems will be caused when it exposed to the environmental. Economic and practical technology is needed to eliminate this kind of hazardous air pollutant. In this research, the adsorption of acetone was tested with CF-MCM (mesoporous silica materials synthesized from calcium fluoride). The raw material was mixed with cationic cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactants, firstly. The prepared mesoporous silica materials were characterized by nitrogen adsorption and desorption analysis, transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffractometer (XRPD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that the surface area, large pore volume and pore diameter could be up to 862 m2 g(-1), 0.57 cm3 g(-1) and 2.9 nm, respectively. The crystal patterns of CF-MCM were similar with MCM-41 from TEM image. The adsorption capacity of acetone with CF-MCM was 118, 190, 194 and 201 mg g(-1), respectively, under 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 ppm. Furthermore, the adsorption capacity of MCM-41 and CF-MCM was almost the same. The effects of operation parameters, such as contact time and mixture concentration, on the performance of CF-MCM were also discussed in this study.

This study was the first used to explore the characteristics of prepared phosphorene materials as a promising As(III) treatment. Investigations on monolayer and few-layer black phosphorous, which is transformed to “phosphorene” have grown in number in the recent years. Similar to graphene, single-layer phosphorene is flexible and can be mechanically exfoliated. In this study, phosphorene catalysts were prepared by exfoliation method. Moreover, four levels of arsenic concentration, namely, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 ppm, were tested. The morphology and elastic strain of the composites were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. When graphene and phosphorene materials are compared, the most appropriate adsorption rate for As(III) was achieved at 0.0329 min−1. The sorption capacity were 4.67 mg g−1 for As(III) at pH 7.

This manuscript will provide the successful application of polyurethane-guided solid particles to core-sheath electrospun fibers prepared on the surface of polyacrylonitrile fibers and their application in removing acetone from indoor air pollution. The difference between single-fluid electrospinning and coaxial electrospinning was compared using a coaxial electrospinning process. Through the transmission electron microscope image, the polyurethane-bonded non-spun solid MCM-41 can be well wrapped on the outside of the polyacrylonitrile fiber. By using the functional groups in MCM-41 and PU and the high specific surface area of the fibers, it is used to treat low concentrations of acetone in the chamber. The adsorption results showed that acetone with an initial concentration of 10 ppm achieved effective adsorption using PU@10MCM/PAN, and the maximum adsorption amount was 10.32 μg/g. The Langmuir and Freundlich model can be used to describe the p88rocess. The Experimental value is in good agreement with the Langmuir model. The desorption results show that the adsorption capacity can be even after 5 cycles of reuse. The mechanism of preparation and application of polyurethane/polyacrylonitrile core-sheath electrospun fibers was proposed. This work shows that our new structure of fiber provides a theoretical basis for the adsorption system of air purifiers, effectively preventing the harmful organic gases from invading the human body.

In the process of water treatment adsorption has been proved to be the best, because of its significant advantages. It is recognized that recycling and reuse of waste can result in significant savings in materials cost. In this research, the adsorption of organic and inorganic arsenic using sludge biochar (SBC) made from urban sludge were analyzed. The sludge was carbonized using calciner carbonization and then chemically activated at high temperatures and a newly designed Fe-doped sludge biochar (Fe-SBC) presents effective As adsorption in water. Results show that the surface area and average pore volume of Fe-SBC are 498 m² g-1 and 0.33 cm³ g-1, respectively. The adsorption capacity of p-ASA, As(V) and As(III) on Fe-SBC was calculated as 5.47, 3.83 and 3.24 mg L-1, respectively. The adsorption capacity of As were obviously decreased in presence of PO3-₄. After six times recycles of adsorption-desorption processes, the adsorption capacity of p-ASA, As(V) and As(III) on Fe-SBC obvious reduction.

This study explored a new facile method of preparing ordered porous electrospun honeycomb fibers to obtain the most promising composites for maximal adsorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The self-assembly ordered porous material (OPM) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were formulated into a blend solution to prepare honeycomb fibers. SEM and TEM images showed that OPM was effectively bonded in PAN fibers because of the composite’s structure. Acetone was used as a model to assess the VOC adsorption performances of electrospun honeycomb fibers with different OPM contents. Experimental results revealed that the adsorption capacity of honeycomb fibers increased with the increase of loaded OPM within the PAN fibers. The highest adsorption capacity was 58.2 μg g−1 by the fibers containing with 60% OPM in weight. After several recycling times, the adsorption capacities of the reused honeycomb fibers were almost the same with the fresh fibers. This finding indicated that the electrospun honeycomb fibers have potential application in removing VOCs in the workplace, and promote the performance of masks for odor removal.

The Fe-CF-MCM catalyst prepared from calcium fluoride sludge (CF) was used for acetone treatment in this study. The resultant samples were characterized by X-Ray Fluorescence analysis (XRF), nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms (BET, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller), Scanning Electron Microscope/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The prepared samples had high specific surface areas (763 m2g−1), large pore volumes (0.74 cm3g−1) and large pore diameters (3.97 nm). The crystal patterns of 2% Fe-CF-MCM were similar to those of the Mobil Composition of Matter (MCM-41) from the TEM image. By adding iron (Fe) as a catalyst, the conversion rate increased as the operating temperature increased. Efficiency reached 70% with 2% Fe-CF-MCM under a temperature of 400 °C. Performance assessment of the catalytic reaction in the field test, it can maintain efficiency above 95% for three days. This article will discuss the effects of operational parameters, such as contact time and mixture concentration, on the performance of Fe-CF-MCM.

Recycling and reuse waste can result in significant savings in materials and energy. In this study, the adsorption of Cr(VI) was analyzed using activated carbon (AC) and biochar (BSC) made from sewage sludge. BSC materials were synthesized using zinc chloride as an activator coupled with carbonized sewage sludge. Specific surface area, pore size distribution, and pore volume were determined by measuring nitrogen adsorption-desorption (BET). BSC morphology was measured using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Results showed that the surface area and average pore volume of the BSC were 490 m2 g-1 and 0.8 cm3 g-1, respectively. SEM results revealed that BSC had uniform pore size. Effects of varying the initial Cr(VI) concentrations, pH values, and dosages of BSC on adsorption performance were also determined. Results showed that the maximum removal efficiency of Cr(VI) was above 99%, and adsorption capacity of 50% ZnCl2-BSC was 677 mg g-1.

TiO₂ has been studied most commonly because it has high stability, non-toxicity, high catalytic activity, and highly conductivity. Many studies have shown that TiO₂ would generate electron-hole pairs illuminated with UV and surround more energy than that before being illuminated. However, the surface area of TiO₂ is not large enough and the adsorption capacity is small. In this study, the titanium nano tube (TNT) catalysts were prepared to increase the surface area and adsorption capacity. The Fe-TNT was also prepared from slag iron since many slag iron cause waste treatment problems. In this study, the effect of Fe loading, including 0.77%, 1.13%, 2.24% and 4.50%, on acetone removal was also assessed since TNT doped with transitional or precious metals can be used to improve catalytic reaction efficiency. Furthermore, four kinds of VOCs concentration, including 250, 500, 1000 and 1500 ppm were tested. Four kinds of retention time, including 0.4, 0.8, 4.0 and 6.0 sec, and four kinds of dosage, including 0.15, 0.25, 0.30 and 0.45 g cm⁻³, were also assessed. In this study, the adsorption capacity of Fe-TNT was 18.8, 23.3, 28.9 and 32.6 mg g⁻¹ for acetone of 250, 500, 1000 and 1500 ppm, respectively. Four kinds of temperature, including 150, 200, 250 and 300 °C were tested in catalytic reaction system. The results showed removal efficiency increased with increasing temperature. The efficiency can be reached 95% under the conditions with the dosage higher than 0.3 g cm⁻³, temperature higher than 270 °C and retention time higher than 270 °C. Reaction efficiency was 20, 31, 41 and 96% at the temperature of 150, 200, 250 and 300 °C, respectively.

In this study, A novel adsorbent material of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/ferrous chloride (FeCl2) composite nanofibers is prepared by electrospinning, a simple and effective method. The obtained composite nanofibers have a non-uniform morphology and structure and a large specific surface area of 13.8 m2 g-1. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that Fe2+ was successful introduced into the composite nanofibers. Furthermore, the PAN/FeC12 composite nanofibers exhibited excellent performance in Cr removal, especially when reacted with reduction from a Cr(VI) standard containing solution, which has much faster removal efficiency than the previous report of Lin et al. (2011). The results of the adsorption isotherm show that the data fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption of chromium ions composite nanofibers is 108 mgCr/gFeCl2. An attempted model prediction of the transient dynamics of adsorption-desorption elucidated the feasible kinetic analysis of Cr6+ from the PAN/FeCl2 composite nanofibers. This kinetic modeling can be used both for adsorption of heavy metals wastewater and for organic-adsorption and biosorption of diverse wastewaters. The PAN/FeCl2 composite nanofibers producted in this study exhibit high efficiency in Cr(VI) removal from wastewater, and may be used as a reference for future investigation.

TiO2 photocatalytic reactions not only remove a variety of organic pollutants via complete mineralization, but also destroy the bacterial cell wall and cell membrane, thus playing an important bactericidal role. However, the post-filtration procedures to separate nanometer-levels of TiO2 and the gradual inactivity of photocatalyst during continuous use are defects that limit its application. In this case, we propose loading TiO2 on zeolite for easy separation and 13X is considered as a promising one. In our study, 13X-zeolite was prepared by a hydrothermal method and the source of Si was extracted from waste quartz sand. For comparison, commercial zeolite with different microporous and mesoporous diameters (ZSM-5 and Y-zeolites) were also used as TiO2 supports. The pore size of the three kinds of zeolites are as follows: Y-zeolite > 13X > ZSM-5. Different TiO2 loading content over ZSM-5, 13X and Y-zeolite were prepared by the sol-gel method. XRD, FTIR, BET, UV-vis, TGA and SEM were used for investigation of material characteristics. In addition, the efficiencies of mineralization and photodegradation were studied in this paper. The effects of the loading ratio of TiO2 over zeolites, initial pH, and concentration on photocatalytic performance are investigated. The relationship between best loading content of TiO2 and pore size of the zeolite was studied. The possible roles of the ZSM-5, 13X-zeolites and Y-zeolites support on the reactions and the possible mechanisms of effects were also explored. The best loading content of TiO2 over ZSM-5, 13X and Y-zeolite was found to be 50 wt%, 12.5 wt% and 7 wt%, respectively. The optimum pH condition is 3 with TiO2 over ZSM-5, 13X-zeolites and Y-zeolites. The results showed that the degradation and mineralization efficiency of 12.5 wt%GT13X (TiO2 over 13X) after 90 min irradiation reached 57.9% and 22.0%, which was better than that of 7 wt%GTYZ (TiO2 over Y-zeolites) while much lower than that of 50 wt%GTZ (TiO2 over ZSM-5). The materials were recycled four times while the degradation was remained at a higher level.

In this study, a novel titanium dioxide nanotubes and graphene (GR-TNT) nano-composite was synthesized through a hydrothermal method. The introduction of GR was aimed to reduce the rapid electron-hole recombination of TiO2 thus improving their phtotcatalytic behavior in real application. The catalysts were characterized by using FT-IR, UV-Vis, XRD, TEM. The degradation results showed that the combined GR and TNT composite could obviously increase the photocatalysis efficiency for Reactive Black 5. The RBk5 removal can reach up to 90% under the near visible light irradiation for 3 h with the irradiation intensity less than 1.0 mW cm(-2) and the 10% GR-TNT dosage of 0.1 g L(-1) at original pH (about 5.8). Further experiments were done to probe the mechanism of the photocatalytic reaction catalyzed by GR-TNT composite. EDTA and t-BuOH, which were used as holes and radical scavengers, was used to determine the active oxidative species in the system and the results suggested a holes-driven oxidation mechanism. This study provides a new prospect of using.

Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) is a type of phthalate ester, and has been classified as an environmental endocrine disruptor. It causes serious harm to the environment and humans and it is found widely in air, waste water, rivers and soil. In recent years, an increasing number of studies examined the removal of DBP. Photocatalytic degradation has been of particular interest because of its efficient and thorough advantages and is the focus of this study. Here we use a composite material of N-Ti/13X/MCM-41, synthesized, using 13X and tetraethyl orthosilicate as raw material, CTAB as structural template, tetrabutyl titanate and urea under hydrothermal conditions. The optimized experimental conditions, such as, Si/Al (molar ratio), pH value, crystallization time, calcination temperature and N/Ti (molar ratio), were tested using photodegradation experiments of DBP. The samples were characterized by XRD, TEM, FT-IR, N2 adsorption-desorption. Experimental results reveal the surface area of the N-Ti/13X/MCM-41 to be 664 m2 g(-1) and the average pore sizes to be 2.79 nm. TEM micrographs showed the N-Ti/13X/MCM-41 consists of aggregates of spherical particles, similar to the shapes associated with standard MCM-41 synthesized under basic conditions. Photocatalytic degradation experimental results revealed that optimal synthesis of the composite material occurs when Si/Al = 15, pH = 9.0, crystallization time is 48 hours, calcination temperature is 350 °C and the N/Ti ratios is 2.0. Under such conditions, the degradation efficiency of DBP more was found to be more than 90%.

Photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen (Ace) in water was studied using Zeolite Socony Mobil-5 (ZSM-5) supported TiO 2 materials, which were synthesized using a sol–gel method. The structural features of the photocatalysts were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and surface area (BET) measurements. The best loading content of TiO 2 over ZSM-5 was 40 wt% and the initial concentration of Ace was controlled at 15 mg L −1 with low intensity irradiations of 0.97 mW cm −2 , the degradation rate can reach to 96.6% after 180 min irradiation. Hydroxylation and photolysis were proposed as the initial step for Ace degradation. Main reaction intermediates and products were identified by GC–MS analysis. Additionally, the material was regenerated four times, while the degradation of Ace remained at a higher level of approximately 90%.