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A hierarchical sea urchin-like hybrid metal oxide nanostructure of ZnO nanorods deposited on TiO2 porous hollow hemispheres with a thin zinc titanate interface layer is specifically designed and synthesized to form a combined type I straddling and type II staggered junctions. The HHSs, synthesized by electrospinning, facilitate light trapping and scattering. The ZnO nanorods offer a large surface area for improved surface oxidation kinetics. The interface layer of zinc titanate (ZnTiO3) between the TiO2 HHSs and ZnO nanorods regulates the charge separation in a closely coupled hierarchy structure of ZnO/ZnTiO3/TiO2. The synergistic effects of the improved light trapping, charge separation, and fast surface reaction kinetics result in a superior photoconversion efficiency of 1.07% for the photoelectrochemical water splitting with an outstanding photocurrent density of 2.8 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V versus RHE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water pollution by synthetic anionic dyes is one of the most critical ecological concerns and challenges. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find an efficient adsorbent and photocatalyst for dye removal. In the present study, we aimed to fabricate a hybrid mesoporous composite of spongy sphere-like SnO2 and three-dimensional (3D) cubic-like MgO (SnO2/MgO) as a promising adsorbent/photocatalyst to remove the anionic sunset yellow (SSY) dye from real wastewater at neutral pH conditions. The as-synthesized SnO2 and MgO composite was investigated using XRD, SEM, EDX, TEM, XPS, BET, and zeta potential. The experimental study of the SSY removal using SnO2/MgO composite was performed at different conditions, such as pH, stirring time, dose, and temperature. More than 99% of 10 mg/L SSY was effectively adsorbed from aqueous solution using 40 mg of SnO2/MgO composite at pH 7 and a stirring time of 60 min. The SSY adsorption behavior was well fitted by pseudo-second order and the Langmuir model, indicating that the SSY was chemisorbed to the composite-active sites as a monolayer. On the other hand, photocatalytic degradation process exhibited better results in terms of speed of removal and used quantity of photocatalyst, where 20 mg of SnO2/MgO composite can be used to remove > 99% of SSY dye within 30 min. Mechanism of SSY adsorption and photocatalytic degradation was discussed. In addition, elution experiments demonstrated that the SnO2/MgO composite as an SSY adsorbent could be reused for nine cycles without considerable reduction in the SSY adsorption efficiency. Therefore, this work exhibited that the mesoporous SnO2/MgO composite can be considered an effective adsorbent/photocatalyst to remove SSY dye from real industrial effluent water at neutral pH conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel(II) and cadmium(II) sulfides are a promising chemical material in various advanced research areas such as solar cells, supercapacitors, catalysts, and of significant interest for their practical implementations in up to photonics and electronics. Cadmium and nickel sulfides were synthesized with stoichiometries in aqueous media at elevated temperature from Ni(NO3)2.6H2O, NiCl2.6H2O, NiSO4.6H2O, CdCl2, Cd(NO3)2.4H2O, and tetrahedral geometries result from the reactions between different nickel(II), cadmium(II) and thiourea with the molecular formulas can be presented as [Ni(NH2CSNH2)6]X2 and [Cd(NH2CSNH2)4]X2 where X = Cl-, NO3 -, SO4 ². The novelty of our study is precipitated yellow cadmium sulfide and black nickel sulfide at elevated temperature ~80 °C through the molar ratio 1:10 (M2+: thiourea) in aqueous media. Infrared spectra, XRD, TEM including EDX, and elemental analysis were used for characterization the metal sulfides products. The average crystalline size of obtained CdS and NiS particles in range 20-25 nm. Different reaction conditions effects were evaluated on the size, morphology and particle size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic water splitting has recently received increasing attention as a green fuel source. The controlled nano-geometry of the photocatalytic material can improve light harvesting. In this study, as a proof of concept, hollow hemisphere (HHS)-based films of TiO2 material were created by a conventional electrospray method and subsequently applied for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. To preserve the morphology of the HHS structure, a hydrolysis precipitation phase separation method (HPPS) was developed. As a result, the TiO2 HHS-based thin films presented a maximum PEC water splitting efficiency of ca. 0.31%, almost two times that of the photoanode formed by TiO2 nanoparticle-based films (P25). The unique morphology and porous structure of the TiO2 HHSs with reduced charge recombination and improved light absorption are responsible for the enhanced PEC performance. Light scattering by the HHS was demonstrated with total reflection internal fluorescence microscopy (TRIFM), revealing the unique light trapping phenomenon within the HHS cavity. This work paves the way for the rational design of nanostructures for photocatalysis in fields including energy, environment, and organosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tailoring high-efficiency photocatalytic composites for various implementations is a major research topic. 1D TNTs-based nanomaterials show promise as a photocatalyst for the remediation of organic pigments in an aqueous solution. Despite this, TiO2 (TNTs) is only photoactive in the UV range due to its inherent restriction on absorption of light in the UV range. Herein, we provide a facile recipe to tailor the optical characteristics and photocatalytic activity of TNTs by incorporating Zn (II) ionic species via an ion-exchange approach in an aqueous solution. The inclusion of Zn (II) ions into the TNTs framework expands its absorption of light toward the visible light range, therefore TiO2 nanotubes shows the visible-light photo-performance. Activity performance on photocatalytic decontamination of RhB at ambient temperature demonstrates that Zn-TNTs offer considerable boosted catalytic performance compared with untreated tubular TiO2 during the illumination of visible light. RhB (10 mg L−1) degradation of around 95% was achieved at 120 min. Radical scavenger experiment demonstrated that when electron (e−) or holes (h+) scavengers are introduced to the photodegradation process, the assessment of decontamination efficacy decreased by 45% and 76%, respectively. This demonstrates a more efficient engagement of the photoexcited electrons over photogenerated holes in the photodegradation mechanism. Furthermore, there seems to be no significant decrease in the activity of the Zn-TNTs after five consecutive runs. As a result, the fabricated Zn-TNTs composite has a high economic potential in the energy and environmental domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The layered double hydroxide (MgAl-LDH) was modified by manganese for obtaining Mn/MgAl- LDH. The obtained material was characterized by inductively coupled plasma, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The as-synthesized Mn/MgAl-LDH was investigated for the decomposition and removal of hydrazine in a batch system. Factors affecting the decomposition and removal of hydrazine such as pH, time, initial hydrazine concentration and temperature were optimized. At the optimal pH 8, Mn/MgAl-LDH dose (100 mg), time of 90 min and temperature of 293 K, the hydrazine decomposition and removal percentage was 100% for initial concentrations of 5, 10 and 15 mg L-1. Where, the pure MgAl-LDH showed 14% removal at 90 min for 10 mg L-1 of hydrazine compared to Mn/MgAl-LDH. The decomposition of hydrazine increased when the temperature was increased from 293 to 318 K and the time of complete decomposition reduced from 90 to 45 min, respectively. The decomposition process of hydrazine on Mn/MgAl-LDH depended on the formed ions of manganese(II) and (III) as well as Mn3O4 on the surface. The existence of Mn3+ as a strong oxidant could decompose hydrazine to nitrogen and hydrogen. The catalytic decomposition of hydrazine was best followed by the first-order rate law and the calculated Ea value was found to be 24.841 kJ mol-1. The simple methodology regarding the material preparation and the method used as well as its effectiveness may provide a promising future for the decomposition and removal of hydrazine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hierarchical sea urchin-like hybrid metal oxide nanostructure of ZnO nanorods deposited on TiO 2 porous hollow hemispheres with a thin zinc titanate interface layer is specifically designed and synthesized to form a combined type I straddling and type II staggered junctions. The HHSs, synthesized by electrospinning, facilitate light trapping and scattering. The ZnO nanorods offer a large surface area for improved surface oxidation kinetics. The interface layer of zinc titanate (ZnTiO 3 ) between the TiO 2 HHSs and ZnO nanorods regulates the charge separation in a closely coupled hierarchy structure of ZnO/ZnTiO 3 /TiO 2 . The synergistic effects of the improved light trapping, charge separation, and fast surface reaction kinetics result in a superior photoconversion efficiency of 1.07% for the photoelectrochemical water splitting with an outstanding photocurrent density of 2.8 mA cm -2 at 1.23 V versus RHE., (Creative Commons Attribution license.)

Photocatalytic water splitting has recently received increasing attention as a green fuel source. The controlled nano-geometry of the photocatalytic material can improve light harvesting. In this study, as a proof of concept, hollow hemisphere (HHS)-based films of TiO 2 material were created by a conventional electrospray method and subsequently applied for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. To preserve the morphology of the HHS structure, a hydrolysis precipitation phase separation method (HPPS) was developed. As a result, the TiO 2 HHS-based thin films presented a maximum PEC water splitting efficiency of ca. 0.31%, almost two times that of the photoanode formed by TiO 2 nanoparticle-based films (P25). The unique morphology and porous structure of the TiO 2 HHSs with reduced charge recombination and improved light absorption are responsible for the enhanced PEC performance. Light scattering by the HHS was demonstrated with total reflection internal fluorescence microscopy (TRIFM), revealing the unique light trapping phenomenon within the HHS cavity. This work paves the way for the rational design of nanostructures for photocatalysis in fields including energy, environment, and organosynthesis.

In this work, a biogenic-mediated approach is successfully used to synthesize a novel heterogeneous Cs 2 O-MgO/MPC basic nanocomposite. For the first time, the established technicality employs pomegranate seed extract that gives a green capping fuel and reducing mediators during an aqueous solution combustion process of metal ion precursors. The synthesized nanocomposites were identified by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, N 2 isotherms, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and CO 2 -TPD analyses. The transesterification process of olive oil was used to evaluate the catalytic performance. The nanocomposite displayed outstanding catalytic efficiency stemming from the boosting of the reactant and product diffusion. The transesterification activity and the optimization design were assessed by applying the response surface methodology. Based on the experimental tests, the finest experimental conditions with a biodiesel yield of 96.1% are 4 h, 4% catalyst amount, an oil/methanol ratio of 1:15, and a temperature of 65 °C. The predicted optimal conditions based on the statistical model are 6 h contact time, 5.2 % catalyst dose, 65 °C reaction temperature, and 1:15 oil/methanol molar ratio, attaining a biodiesel yield of 95.18%. The catalyst reusability has been performed almost continuously up to four cycles, with no loss of the active constituents. The obtained biodiesel demonstrated characteristics close to those of international standards of biodiesel. Besides, the process employed in this study demonstrated significant potential for further development and commercialization and is cheaper than the refined vegetable oil used in traditional approaches of biodiesel manufacturing., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2020 American Chemical Society.)