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Fossil fuels are the most substantial & extensively used sources of energy for today’s world. Simultaneously, the unconscious exposure of toxic pollutants and green-house gases allied with fossil energy is not viable with contexture. Solar energy were treated as an auspicious source of energy from ancient age because of its richness & cleanness. But problem arises in its capture, storage, transformation, and distribution. That’s why scholars are trying to convert this renewable light energy to a user friendly and viable form of energy. By analyzing recent studies on H2 fuel it is considered as most lucrative choice for clean and sustainable fuel with high calorific value & zero pollution. This review offers an overview of most recent advancement in development of photo-catalyst for solar water splitting which is treated as a promising Green-Harvesting technique among all H2 generation techniques. Here we discussed about various catalyst development techniques especially about doping techniques, reactor design and light scattering/trapping systems.We found that among all doping is a promising technique and a lots of study have been done on this technique than others like as Hetero junction, Dye sensitization, modification of surface or nanostructure formation. Hence we concluded with the decision that, more research are needed on hetero junction and nanostructure formation along with elemental doping.

Silica has become a popular material due to its high abundance and many advantages in various fields. This material can be produced synthetically and extracted from nature with resultant advantages in the application of green production. Therefore, this article deals with the form of silica extracted from quartz sand, leaves, and agricultural wastes found in nature. The extraction process from various sources would be described using thermal, biological, and chemical methods. This review also highlights the potential application of silica as a photo catalytic antibacterial-supporting material and discusses its role in increasing the effectiveness of the process. The discussion was continued with research on this procedure, where synthetic auxiliary materials were compared to the extracted silica. Furthermore, results obtained indicated that the extracted material had very good potential as a photocatalyst adjunct in its application in the antibacterial field.

This study was designed to develop UV/ZnO/SO3 (UZS) reactor for degradation and defluorination of the ciprofloxacin (CFX) antibiotic content of wastewater. Ciprofloxacin degradation efficiencies (1...

This study reports the fabrication of Fe2O3, Bi2O3, and BiFeO3, characterization and evaluation of the photocatalytic performances for methylene blue dye degradation. The materials were synthesized by precipitation method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-rays analyses, and Fourier transform infrared analyses. The photocatalytic activities of Fe2O3, Bi2O3, and BiFeO3 were compared by performing degradation experiments with 50 mL of 100 mg/L methylene blue solution. The as-prepared BiFeO3 was found as 2.4 times and 1.7 times more effective than Fe2O3 and Bi2O3, with a 79, 47, and 57% catalytic activity, respectively. The degradation of methylene blue over the BiFeO3 catalyst was optimized in terms of pH, catalyst dosage, temperature, and methylene blue concentration. The Eley–Rideal mechanism was proposed to describe the reaction kinetics in terms of the first order and second order kinetics model. Activation energy E (kJ/mol), enthalpy ΔH (kJ/mol), entropy ΔS (J/mol) and free energy ΔG (kJ/mol) were calculated as 20.8, 18.2, 197.5 and −45.3 respectively. The negative value of free energy shows that photodegradation is favored in present conditions.

Synthesis of a novel chlorocobaloxime with rhodol dye as an axial ligand which is linked to the cobalt metal through the base pyridine has been reported. X-ray quality single crystal of 3-(diethyla...

Growing incidents of foodborne disease outbreaks linked to fruits and vegetables have drawn concern on efficient cleaning of leafy vegetables. A photocatalytic reaction under UV radiation with titanium dioxide (TiO2) gives a good disinfection efficiency. Our aims were to set up a photocatalytic system for fresh cabbage. In addition, we evaluated the cleaning disinfection efficacy of Titanium-dioxide (TiO2) illuminated with UV-C for 20 mins on fresh-cut white cabbage against surface microbes. The photocatalytic experiments were compared with tap water washing for 2 mins which is a common practice for home. The effects UV-C lights (20 mins) and TiO2 photocatalyst (5 min) alone were also studied. The overall quality parameters were compared before and after treatments. Photocatalyst TiO2 illuminated under UV-C showed significant reduction in total aerobic bacteria (2.67 log cfu/g) and yeast mold count (2.93 log cfu/g) followed by UV-C (TAC-2.25 log cfu/g; TYC-2.23 log cfu/g). The effects of TiO2 alone and tap water exhibited same effect as control. The pH of fresh cut cabbage remained same when treated with UV-C with or without photocatalysts. However, Vitamin-C and phenolic content of fresh cut cabbage were reduced when treated with UV-C without photocatalysts by 18.42 mg/100g. TiO2 with UV-C retained the health components like ascorbic acid (28.63±0.77 mg/100g) and TPC(128.54±0.63 mg GAE/100g) showed better disinfection efficacy against natural surface pathogens on cabbage than UV-C alone, can be established as better washing alternative at home and in industry.

Gold nanoparticles are one of the widely used metallic nanoparticle having unique surface plasmon characteristic, offers major utility in biomedical and therapeutic fields. However, chemically synthesized nanoparticle creates toxicity in the living organisms and contradicts the eco-friendly and cost-effective nature. So, developing greener synthetic route for synthesis of gold nanoparticle using natural materials is an enthralling field of research for its effectiveness in synthesizing eco-friendly, non-toxic materials. Moreover, biological components attached as stabilizing agent can exert its own effect along with the advantages of nanoparticle conjugation. In this work, we used for the first time methanolic leaf extract of Moringa oleifera as this fraction of M. oleifera exerts a neuroactive modulation against seizure as evidenced by earlier literature. The green gold nanoparticles synthesized were characterized by different characterization tools, dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy techniques etc. Prepared nanoparticles were biologically (antioxidant, antimicrobial and blood cytotoxicity) characterized to screen their further utility in therapeutic strategies. Characteristics and activities of green gold nanoparticles were compared with conventional citrate stabilized gold nanoparticles. It was observed that green gold nanoparticles prepared using M. oleifera show less cytotoxicity and helps in regeneration of neuronal cells in animal model study. It establishes the fact that conjugation of different plant extract fraction for stabilization of gold nanoparticle may be responsible factor for enhancement of bioactive nature of green gold nanoparticle. In addition, the green gold nanoparticle show efficient photo-catalytic efficiency. Development of such bioactive gold nanoparticles will lead to functional materials for biomedical and therapeutic applications.

In view of their unique characteristics and properties, silver nanomaterials (Ag NMs) have been used not only in the field of nanomedicine but also for diverse advanced catalytic technologies. In this comprehensive review, light is shed on general synthetic approaches encompassing chemical reduction, sonochemical, microwave, and thermal treatment among the preparative methods for the syntheses of Ag-based NMs and their catalytic applications. Additionally, some of the latest innovative approaches such as continuous flow integrated with MW and other benign approaches have been emphasized that ultimately pave the way for sustainability. Moreover, the potential applications of emerging Ag NMs, including sub nanomaterials and single atoms, in the field of liquid-phase catalysis, photocatalysis, and electrocatalysis as well as a positive role of Ag NMs in catalytic reactions are meticulously summarized. The scientific interest in the synthesis and applications of Ag NMs lies in the integrated benefits of their catalytic activity, selectivity, stability, and recovery. Therefore, the rise and journey of Ag NM-based catalysts will inspire a new generation of chemists to tailor and design robust catalysts that can effectively tackle major environmental challenges and help to replace noble metals in advanced catalytic applications. This overview concludes by providing future perspectives on the research into Ag NMs in the arena of electrocatalysis and photocatalysis.

Objective: ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using wet impregnation method, and activated carbon from rice straw (RS) prepared through chemical route. Methods: The nano-composites ZnO-AC series were prepared with different ZnO:AC ratio of 10, 20, 50, and 70% to optimize the zinc oxide nanoparticles used. The obtained composites were characterized by FE-SEM, XRD, SBET, and optical techniques then used for the photo-degradation of Malachite green dye (MG) under visible light. Results: It was found that 10ZnO-AC exhibited excellent visible light photo-catalytic performance. The ·OH radicals’ formation is matching with photo-activity of the prepared composites. The photo-degradation efficiency of MG increased from 63% to 93%, when the 10ZnO-AC photocatalyst amount was increased from 0.5 to 6 g/L. Conclusion: The GC-MS technique was used to analyze the intermediates formed; up to 15 kinds of chemicals were identified as the degradation products.

Environmental pollution produced due to direct and untreated release of toxic organic pollutants such as dyes from the textile industries is not only effect the human life but also contaminates the ecosystem through different transferal modes. Green nanomaterials synthesized by using biological reducing agents offer sustainable, economically viable, facile, rapid and eco-friendly approach with photocatalytic degradation efficiencies >90% for organic dyes over the other traditional technologies. Current review has for the first time comprehensively abridged the suitability of green nanoparticles over chemogenic nanoparticles, the remediative role of these biogenic nanoparticles with major emphasis on the recent progressions in the photocatalysis of different toxic dyes and pollutants. Unlike physicochemically processed nanoparticles, biogenic nanoparticles has profound contribution to the sustainable development goals due to their cleaner and economical synthesis in addition to their detoxifying role. Meticulous review of the publications are strongly suggestive of the adoptability of biogenic nanoparticles at an implementation scale for their auspicious remediative role in addition to facile fabrication, natural reducing agents based synthetic mode, toxicity free and sustainable nature. However, the studies are also indicative of the need for utilization of biogenic synthesis at practical scale to derive maximum sustainability and ecological benefits.

Using heteropoly tungstate β2-K8SiW11O39•xH2O as the active component, the tungstate was loaded on PANI/TiO2 by the dipping method to prepare a composite photo-catalyst β2-SiW11/PANI/TiO2. The new ...

Graphene takes concerned noteworthy consideration payable its distinctive thermal, optical as well as mechanical characteristics. There are several chemical methods are available for reduce graphene oxide (r-GO) towards graphene use by many reducing agent’s alike hydrazine hydrate and its derivatives. Nevertheless, they are highly explosive and emit harmful gases. Reduction of graphene oxide (GO) employing green approaches by way of plants consumes fascinated much devotion by reason of its competence, sustainable structures, and relatively low in price. Though, the crucial constituents in green extracts and their biological degradation determinations regarding GO continue quiet not well unstated. Now present work, the GO was reduced by capsicum annuum (CA) extract. The ideal circumstances for bio reduction existed at volume proportion of chili extract (10 g L−1) and GO (0.5 g L−1) solution aimed at 8 h at 80°C. The r-GO was considered with Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X- Ray diffraction (XRD), Thermo gravimetric analysis/Differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and zeta potential. Outcomes inveterate the oxygen-holding clusters in GO were well detached, development of topping coat on the exterior of r-GO, besides virtuous diffusion of r-GO in aquatic medium. The photo catalytic degradation of GO nano composite was 96% for methyl violet (MV) in 60 minutes.

In the present study, the decolourization efficiency of Reactive Red 183 using the solar catalytic ozonation process has been studied using γ-alumina for the first time. To explicate the mechanism of catalytic ozonation, experiments were performed with different combinations like O3, O3/UV, O3/Al2O3, Al2O3, and O3/UV/Al2O3. Moreover, the effect of pH, hydroxyl radical scavenger, and phosphates on Reactive Red 183 removal, were also investigated. The synergic process (O3/UV/Al2O3) was found to be the best as compared with other processes at all studied pH values. The decolourization efficiencies were found to follow order as: O3/UV/Al2O3 > O3/UV > O3/Al2O3 > O3 > Al2O3. The results indicated that the adsorption of dye played a significant role in overall removal efficiency in the synergic process. The synergic process involved radical mechanism and surface hydroxyl groups of alumina were important active sites. Furthermore, solar radiation could impart a key role in the decomposition of formed hydrogen peroxide to accelerate the overall decolourization efficiency of the synergic process. In the end, it was deduced that the synergic process was highly efficient for the decolourization of dyes from wastewater.

MoS2 is a promising photo-catalyst for the degradation of organic pollution due to its large surface area, low cost, easy preparation, and earth abundance. However, their limited quantity of active...

Hierarchical nanostructures of the novel In–SnO2 were prepared beneficially by method of precipitation. XRD, SEM-EDX, PL, DRS, XPS and TEM were characterized for the morphology and composition of the material. Variation of physiochemical and photo catalytic efficiency was studied on bare SnO2 as a feature of co-doping metal ions. Results obtained that improvement of the photo catalytic performance of reactive red 120 dye in UV light illumination as a function of Indium metal co-doping on SnO2 due to improved charging separation and lower band gap energy. In–SnO2 recyclable property has been tested and shows strong recyclable property which has been useful for its practical application.

The spinel structure Mn3O4 and the spinel Mn3O4/ZrO2 nano-composites particles were synthesized successfully as photocatalysts by employing the co-precipitation process and ultrasonic technique, respectively. The morphology of the top mention prepared photocatalysts was distinguished using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technology and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and indicated that the mean crystal sizes and particle sizes for all studied samples were nanometric. In addition, the optical properties of the obtained photocatalysts were investigated using a UV-Visible spectrophotometer with Labsphere diffuse reflectance accessory to measure the bandgaps of them. Based on the Tauc equation, the bandgaps (Bg) for the studied photocatalysts were determined. The bandgaps are indirect for all samples, and it is increased in values for the nanocomposites with the increasing the ratio of ZrO2. So, the sequence of bandgaps values is: Bg spinel Mn3O4 Bg Comp.1 Bg Comp.2 Bg Comp.3 Bg ZrO2, and equal to 2.21 eV 3.15 eV 4.51 eV 4.26 eV 5.29 eV. The research revealed that the spinel Mn3O4 and the spinel Mn3O4 ZrO2 nano-composites particles were quasispherical and spherical particles respectively. Moreover, the incorporation of spinel Mn3O4 particle with ZrO2 particle was successfully carried out that was proved by XRD and AFM analyses. This work discovered that the photocatalytic reaction response via employing Fe(II)-(4,5-Diazafluoren-9-one 11) complex as model material under UV-A lamp with the use of the studied photocatalysts. The primary photo experiments for these photocatalysts found that the decolorization of Fe(II)-(4,5-Diazafluoren-9-one 11) complex is not active without addition of H2O2, that attitude is due to the very high stability of these complex with having an octahedral structure, which was proved with using mole ratio method. Whereas, after the addition of H2O2 to the aqueous solution of these complex, the activity with using the spinel Mn3O4 ZrO2 nanocomposite 3 was found to be the double active than that using the spinel Mn3O4 alone, and the sequence of phootdecolorization efficiency (E%) is being: E% composite 3 E% composite 2 E% composite 1 E% spinel Mn3O4.

Green synthesis is a simple, non-toxic, economical and eco-friendly approach for the synthesis of nanoparticles. In the present work, nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2 NPs) were synthesized using an aqueous solution of Syzygium cumini leaf extract as a capping agent. These green synthesized TiO2 NPs were further evaluated for photo catalytic removal of lead from industrial wastewater. Obtained nanoparticles were characterized using: high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). Obtained results revealed that synthesized TiO2 NPs possess spherical morphology with anatase phase with a large BET surface area of 105 m2/g. Photo catalytic studies of TiO2 NPs for lead removal from explosive wastewater were performed in a self-designed reactor. Inductive coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP) was used to determine the lead concentration. Obtained results witnessed 75.5% removal in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 82.53% removal in lead (Pb2+). This application of green TiO2 NPs is being explored for the first time.

In the present investigation, degradation of 2-nitrophenol (2-NP) in water was studied in laboratory-scale photo-reactor using different photocatalytic advanced oxidation processes (viz·H2O2/UV, Fe2+/H2O2/UV, Fe3+/H2O2/UV and TiO2/H2O2/UV). Parametric studies on these systems were carried out to determine the most favorable pH and stoichiometric oxidant/substrate ratio. This study revealed that the Fe3+/H2O2/UV photo-Fenton process is more competent and 100% COD could be removed within 75 min. of the reaction time. The substrate and oxidant (H2O2) concentration decay profiles signifies first order reaction.

The present study focuses on the synthesis and characterization of a ternary photo-catalyst: rGO–Sb4O5Cl2–Sb2S3. A series of rGO–Sb4O5Cl2–Sb2S3 samples were synthesized by the ultrasonic-assisted chemical co-precipitation method and the photo-catalytic capability was evaluated by the photo-degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. The photo-catalysis rate of rGO–Sb4O5Cl2–Sb2S3 was higher than those of Sb2S3, 10rGO–Sb2S3, Sb4O5Cl2 and Sb4O5Cl2–Sb2S3. The as-prepared material (30rGO–Sb4O5Cl2–Sb2S3, 5 mg) had the highest photo-degradation effect on MO (50 mL, 20 mg L−1), and 87.4% MO degraded within 16 min. The cycling test has proven that the produced rGO–Sb4O5Cl2–Sb2S3 has anti-photoerosion ability. The morphology, structure and opto-electronic properties have been characterized as well. Thus, the mechanism has been discussed: the extraordinary photo-degradation effect on MO results from the synergetic effect of ultrathin rGO sheets and Sb4O5Cl2 grains. Sb4O5Cl2 was the photo-generated charge carrier migration medium and rGO would enhance the catalytic efficiency because of the ultra-large specific surface area and numerous surface active sites.

Centella asiatica (CA) is a valuable crop for herbal, cosmetic, and medicinal industries due to its rich triterpenoids, and saponins in leaves. The CA petioles, stem, and runners (CAP) are considered as crop residue and in this study for the first time CAP extract was used for Photo-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles (SNPs). Further, the synthesis process was optimized using response surface methodology. Synthesized SNPs were highly stable (-30.8 eV), spherical, and cube shape with a crystallite size of 22.83 nm. Phytochemical screening, FTIR, and Raman studies confirmed the presence of bioactive functional groups on CAP SNPs. The CAP extract and its SNPs confirmed higher antioxidant activity compared to standard (Ascorbic acid). The results of hazardous dye degradation studies showed that percentage dye degradation was higher in methyl orange (1 min; 97.54%) followed by Congo red (4 min; 90.86%), methyl red (10 min; 97.66%), and Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 (30 min; 93.28%) with rate constant of 0.062/sec, 0.00062/sec, 0.0099/sec, and 0.0015/sec respectively.

Cheap, scalable, and efficient solar energy conversion technology is a promising alternative to the existing ammonia production industry. In the inaugural issue of Chem Catalysis, Zheng and co-workers address this by reporting the efficient production of ammonia from nitrogen by using a nature-inspired iron-molybdenum disulfide photocatalyst at elevated temperatures.

Increasing the photocatalytic efficiency of earth-abundant wide-bandgap semiconductors is of high interest for the development of cheap but effective light-driven chemical conversion processes. In this study, the coupling of ZnO and TiO2 with low contents of the rare-earth Ce species aimed to assess the photo-catalytic performance of the two semiconductors (SC). Structural and optical characterizations were performed to estimate the effect of the different interactions between Zn2+, Ti4+ and Ce4+ ions, and how the photo-responsive behaviour of Ce-Ti and Ce-Zn composites was affected. Therefore, photo-catalytic tests were performed for all Ce-modified SC to assess both their photo-oxidative and photo-reductive properties. Amongst all the tested materials, only Zn-based samples resulted in being suitable for the photo-oxidation of the methylene blue (MB) organic pollutant in a synthetic-dependent fashion.

Pure and “Fe ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]wt.%)-doped” WO[Formula: see text] nanoparticles were prepared by facile microwave irradiation method and that was investigated for strong photo catalytic and antibacterial activity applications for the first time. The primary aim of this work is to reveal the great importance of oxygen vacancies ([Formula: see text] due to dopant (Fe[Formula: see text] for photo catalytic and antibacterial activity applications. This work also discusses the contribution of oxygen vacancies and their dependence on surface area and phase formation which are of great research interest for water purification and biological sciences. Herein, pure and “Fe ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]wt.%)-doped” WO[Formula: see text] nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by facile microwave irradiation (MWI) method (2.45 GHz/240W/10min) in ambient atmosphere. The phase formation and the crystalline nature of the prepared products were evaluated using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). It confirmed the phase formation of orthorhombic and monoclinic phase formations for the pure (WO[Formula: see text]H2O) and annealed samples (W[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] and WO[Formula: see text], respectively. Optical behavior of the samples from UV-Vis diffuse reflectance analysis revealed that W[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] has remarkable bandgap values (1.96[Formula: see text]eV) that clearly emphasizes the transfer of oxygen ions which helps in the movement of oxygen vacancies inside the crystalline domain. The morphological nature of the prepared products was observed by FE-SEM analysis and the average dimension was found to be 0.2–3.2[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m and 2–4[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m for the pure and annealed products, respectively. The specific surface area from BET analysis explored that W[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] having 55.16[Formula: see text]m2g[Formula: see text] was found to be higher than that of commercially available WO3. The photocatalytic behavior of the prepared compounds morphologies was investigated via Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under visible light irradiation. These results showed “Fe-doped” annealed WO3 nanoparticles have degradation efficiency of 86.9% along with high stable nature. On the other hand, to identify the suitability of the prepared products for antibacterial activity, the microbial strains of Gram-positive Bacillus sp. and Gram-negative strains of Pseudomonassp. and Salmonellasp. were used for the antimicrobial assay[Formula: see text] The results indicated that W[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] showed enhanced antibacterial nature when compared to that of Stoichiometry tungsten oxide (WO[Formula: see text] nanomaterials. From these observations, this work emphasizes the importance of oxygen vacancies for antibacterial activity applications.

In the present time where our renewable energy sources are depleting, and sooth from industries and coal burning is making air poisonous to breathe, the need for a switch into a sustainable energy system has become a necessity. One fruitful solution to the problem is photo-electrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Implementing PEC for the power generation reduces the burden on fossil fuels for solar energy storage. The Sun being a natural and the most abundant energy source, a dilemma is how to most effectively capture that energy and store it but at the lowest cost; we would try to discuss this in the present chapter. Designing photo-electrocatalyst is one of the main challenge, keeping all the perspective of PEC in mind. Fabricating heterojunction using different functional and suitable material for PEC in a single catalyst enables to enlarge the area of light harvesting properties and enhancing water splitting efficiency by improving the photo-excited charge separation and increasing the chemical stability of the catalyst to make it viable. The chapter gives an overview on the designing of heterojunctions for enhancing PEC water splitting performance. Along with the heterojunction synthesis, recent progress in the heterojunction-based PEC system and the working mechanism behind the charge separation is also discussed in the chapter. The chapter also provides the future directions for PEC water splitting.

ZnO has been progressively perceived as an appropriate option to TiO2 for synergist applications because of its higher proficiency in creating electrons and isolating and openings and its band gap vitality tantamount to that of TiO2. The photograph synergist debasement component of ZnO has been demonstrated to be like that of TiO2. However, rather than TiO2, ZnO has moderately progressively rich, cheap, biocompatible and unequivocally oxidative material and it is simpler to develop either as powders or as layers over different substrates. The greatest bit of leeway of ZnO is that it assimilates over a huge portion of the sunlight based range than TiO2. That is, contrasted with TiO2, ZnO nanostructures have countless natural dynamic imperfection destinations superficially, which makes ZnO equipped for engrossing a bigger portion of the sun powered range and shows a higher quantum and photo catalytic efficiencies than TiO2, as a result of its adequacy in age and detachment of photon-incited electron-opening sets. Truth is told ZnO has been accounted for to be more successful than TiO2 in numerous different applications, for example, in the propelled oxidation of mash plant blanching wastewater. SEM study with EDAX reveals the internal representation and atomic elements present in the ZnO np and PC, AD, AB activities also measured and reported.

Iron-containing metal-ceramic composites based on nitrogen and sialon nitrides, obtained by the method of self-propagated synthesis were studied in the process of photocatalytic oxidative destruction of eosin. The phase composition of the samples was established by the X-ray diffraction method. It was shown that, along with the main phases, the ceramic matrix of materials contains the phases of semiconductors: (SiC, TiN). The indicator method of Hammet and Tanabe assessed the surface acid-base centers of the composites. It was established that a large sorption of the dye is characteristic of samples based on silicon nitride and sialon and is associated with the participation of active Brensted acid sites. The photocatalytic activity of iron-containing composites was studied in the presence of H2O2 (photo-Fenton system), H2O2 and EDTA (peroxide-ferriccomplexon system), H2O2 and tartaric acid (peroxide-ferritartrate system). It was shown that the degree of oxidative destruction of eosin is significantly higher with the participation of Fe(II, III) complexes with EDTA and tartaric acid, than Fe(II, III) aquacomplexes in the photo-Feton system. The high activity of composites containing the semiconductor phase of titanium nitride (TiN) is due to the combination of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis with the participation of the ceramic matrix. The introduction of complexing agents shifts the optimal acidity (pH 2-4) for a homogeneous system of photo-Fenton with the participation of iron(II, III) aqua complexes in the weakly acidic region (pH 4-7) and leads to almost complete destruction of the dye in the peroxide-tartrate system.

Here in, we report the synthesis and characterization of ZnO–TiO2 composite as a potential photo catalyst for photo degradation of methyl orange under UV irradiation. ZnO–TiO2 with 1:1 ratio was synthesized via wet incipient impregnation method using TiO2 and Zn(NO3)2 ⋅ 6H2O as precursor material and the prepared composite was characterized by XRD, EDX and SEM. The synthesized composite was employed as photo catalyst for photo degradation of methyl orange. The photo degradation results showed that ZnO–TiO2 exhibited better catalytic performance than ZnO and TiO2 alone. The methyl orange photo degradation efficiency was determined to be 98, 75 and 60% over ZnO–TiO2, ZnO and TiO2 respectively using 50 mL solution of 100 mg/L at 40 °C for 120 min. The ZnO–TiO2 catalyzed photo degradation of methyl orange followed pseudo-first-order kinetic in terms of Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism.

The presence of arsenic in potable water is a serious problem for human. Arsenic-containing water has irreparable effects on the consumer. So, the total objective of this work was to provide a phot...

Transforming biological waste into high value-added materials is of significant importance to environmental protection and sustainable development of economy. Eggshell as a type of naturally occurr...

With the rapid development of industry, the tribological properties of liquid paraffin (LP), a common lubricating oil, has not been able to satisfy the requirement of the engineer. And the post-processing of the LP after the friction also attracts the attention of people. Herein, based on the production requirements, a novel hierarchical structure of hollow SiO2@TiO2 sphere is designed and synthesized which is used to improve the tribological performance of LP and the photo-degradation properties of waste LP. It can be observed that the addition of SiO2@TiO2 can indeed reduce the friction coefficient, enhance the wear resistance of LP and effectively degrade the waste LP into harmless inorganics. Especially, with the incorporation of 1.5 wt% SiO2@TiO2, the friction coefficient and wear area of the LP system are reduced by 41.39% and 59.68%, respectively. Besides 51.10% of waste LP was degraded into CO2 and H2O within 80 min with the inclusion of 1.5 wt% SiO2@TiO2. The possible mechanisms of hollow SiO2@TiO2 sphere in heightening the frictional and photo-degradation performance were proposed. So, the designed SiO2@TiO2 plays different roles at different stages in the application of LP which is according with the pursuit of high performance and environmentally-friendly lubricating composites.

Thermo-photo catalytic water splitting, where the introduction of thermal energy increases the oxidation driving force for narrow-band-gap photocatalysts (with a low valence band potential), exhibi...

The role of surface dimensionality in photo-electrochemical water oxidation was studied for different-sized SrTiO3 nanocubes. The band gap illumination of strontium titanate electrodes results in a...