Innovative Anodic Treatment to Obtain Stable Metallic Silver Micropatches on TiO2 Nanotubes: Structural, Electrochemical, and Photochemical Properties.

Electrochemical modification of the Ti surface to obtain TiO2 nanotubes (NT-Ti) has been proposed to enhance osseointegration in medical applications. However, susceptibility to microbial adhesion, linked to biomaterial-associated infections, and the high TiO2 band gap energy, which allows light absorption almost exclusively in the ultraviolet (UV) region, limit its applications. Modifying the TiO2 semiconductor with metals such as Ag has been suggested both for antimicrobial purposes and for absorbing light in the visible region. The formation of NT-Ti with Ag micropatches (Ag-NT-Ti) is pursued with the objective of enhancing the stability of the deposits and preventing cytotoxic levels of Ag cellular uptake. The innovative process proposed here involves immersing NT-Ti in a AgNO3 solution as the initial step. Diverging from previously reported electrochemical methods, this process incorporates anodization within the TiO2 oxide formation region instead of cathodic reduction generally employed by other researchers. The final step encompasses an annealing treatment. The treatments result in the in situ Ag1+ reduction and formation of stable and active micropatches of metallic Ag on the NT-Ti surface. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), wettability assessment, and electrochemical characterizations were conducted to evaluate the modified surfaces. The well-known properties of NT-Ti surfaces were enhanced, leading to improved photocatalytic activity across both visible and UV regions, significant stability against detachment, and controlled release of Ag1+ for promising antimicrobial effects.

Silanization effect on the photoluminescence characteristics of crystalline and amorphous silicon nanoparticles.

Silicon nanoparticles synthesized by two different methods were surface modified with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane. The particles of ~2 nm size exhibit photoluminescence (PL) in the UV-Vis range of the spectrum. The most intense PL band at 430 nm with an emission lifetime of 1-2 ns is attributed to the presence of the surface defects Si-O-Si, generated after anchoring the organic molecule onto the interface. The excitation-emission matrix of this band is essentially independent of the technique of synthesis, crystalline structure, and size of the silicon nanoparticles.

Degradation of carbamazepine in surface water: performance of Pd-modified TiO2 and Ce-modified ZnO as photocatalysts.

Carbamazepine is a widely used antiepileptic drug to control and treat a variety of disorders that is frequently detected in surface water, and in municipal and urban wastewater. This recalcitrant pollutant could be removed by alternative advanced oxidation technology such as heterogeneous photocatalysis. Ce-modified ZnO and Pd-modified TiO2 were synthesized by a microwave-assisted sol-gel method. According to the characterizations (Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), a mixture of oxides was determined in both materials: CeO2/ZnO and PdO/TiO2. Photocatalytic degradation of carbamazepine in pure water under visible light (3 h) was assayed. The degradation percentage obtained with each catalyst was 80%, 53%, 20%, and 9% for ZnO, Ce-modified ZnO, TiO2, and Pd-modified TiO2, respectively. The leaching of Zn as a possible source of water contamination was tested, finding the lowest value for Ce-modified ZnO by adjusting the initial pH up to neutrality. Later, an environmentally relevant concentration of carbamazepine (228 µg L-1) was assayed, using local surface water (pH = 8.3). Despite the presence of other compounds in the real water matrix, after 5 h of photocatalysis, a 56% of degradation of the pharmaceutical and low leaching of Zn were achieved. The use of Ce-modified ZnO activated by visible light is a promising strategy for the abatement of pharmaceutical active compounds.

Electrostatic control of spin exchange between mobile spin-correlated radical pairs created in micellar solutions.

A series of photoinduced H-atom abstraction reactions between anthraquinone-2,6,-disulfonate, disodium salt (AQDS) and differently charged micellar substrates is presented. After a 248 nm excimer laser flash, the first excited triplet state of AQDS is rapidly formed and then quenched by abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the alkyl chain of the micelle surfactant, leading to a spin-correlated radical pair (SCRP). The SCRP is detected 500 ns after the laser flash using time-resolved (direct detection) electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy at X-band (9.5 GHz). By changing the charge on the surfactant headgroup from negative (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) to positive (dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride, DTAC), TREPR spectra with different degrees of antiphase structure (APS) in their line shape were observed. The first derivative-like APS line shape is the signature of an SCRP experiencing an electron spin exchange interaction between the radical centers, which was clearly observable in DTAC micelles and absent in SDS micellar solutions. Solutions with surfactant concentrations well below the critical micelle concentration (cmc) or solutions where micellar formation had been disrupted (1:1 v/v CH(3)CN/H(2)O) also showed no APS line shapes in their TREPR spectra. These results support the conclusion that electrostatic forces between the sensitizer (AQDS) charge and the substrate (surfactant) headgroup charge are responsible for the observed effects. The results represent a new example of electrostatic control of a spin exchange interaction in mobile radical pairs.

Reaction kinetics and mechanisms of organosilicon fungicide flusilazole with sulfate and hydroxyl radicals.

Flusilazole is an organosilane fungicide used for treatments in agriculture and horticulture for control of diseases. The reaction kinetics and mechanism of flusilazole with sulfate and hydroxyl radicals were studied. The rate constant of the radicals with the fungicide were determined by laser flash photolysis of peroxodisulfate and hydrogen peroxide. The results were 2.0 × 109 s-1M-1 for the reaction of the fungicide with HO and 4.6 × 108 s-1 M-1 for the same reaction with SO4- radicals. The absorption spectra of organic intermediates detected by laser flash photolysis of S2O82- with flusilazole, were identified as α-aminoalkyl and siloxyl radicals and agree very well with those estimated employing the time-dependent density functional theory with explicit account for bulk solvent effects. In the continuous photolysis experiments, performed by photo-Fenton reaction of the fungicide, the main degradation products were: (bis(4-fluorophenyl)-hydroxy-methylsilane) and the non-toxic silicic acid, diethyl bis(trimethylsilyl) ester, in ten and twenty minutes of reaction, respectively.

Reactions of Cl*/Cl2*- radicals with the nanoparticle silica surface and with humic acids: model reactions for the aqueous phase chemistry of the atmosphere.

Reactions of chlorine radicals might play a role in aqueous aerosols where a core of inorganic components containing insulators such as SiO2 and dissolved HUmic-LIke Substances (HULIS) are present. Herein, we report conventional flash photolysis experiments performed to investigate the aqueous phase reactions of silica nanoparticles (NP) and humic acid (HA) with chlorine atoms, Cl*, and dichloride radical anions, Cl2*-. Silica NP and HA may be taken as rough models for the inorganic core and HULIS contained in atmospheric particles, respectively. Both Cl* and Cl2*- were observed to react with the deprotonated silanols on the NP surface with reaction rate constants, k +/- sigma, of (9 +/- 6) x 10(7) M(-1) s(-1) and (7 +/- 4) x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. The reaction of Cl* with the surface deprotonated silanols leads to the formation of SiO* defects. HA are also observed to react with Cl* and Cl2*- radicals, with reaction rate constants at pH 4 of (3 +/- 2) x 10(10) M(-1) s(-1) and (1.2 +/- 0.3) x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. The high values observed for these constants were discussed in terms of the multifunctional heterogeneous mixture of organic molecules conforming HA.

Water/silica nanoparticle interfacial kinetics of sulfate, hydrogen phosphate, and dithiocyanate radicals.

The values of the rate constants for the reactions of the sulfate (2.5 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1)) and hydrogen phosphate (2.2 x 10(8) M(-1) s(-1)) radicals with silica nanoparticles are obtained by flash photolysis experiments with silica suspensions containing S(2)O(8)(2-) or P(2)O(8)(4-), respectively. The interaction of these radicals with the silica nanoparticles leads to formation of transients, probably adsorbed sulfate and hydrogen phosphate radicals, with absorption maxima at around 320 and 350 nm, respectively. A different mechanism takes place for the interaction of the less oxidizing dithiocyanate radicals with the silica nanoparticles. These radicals selectively react with the dissociated silanol groups of the nanoparticles with a rate constant at 298.2K of 7 x 10(7) M(-1) s(-1) (per mol of SiO(-) groups), and there is no evidence for their adsorption at the surface. All the results are discussed in terms of the Smoluchowski equation and redox potential of the inorganic radicals.

Chloride anion effect on the advanced oxidation processes of methidathion and dimethoate: role of Cl2(·-) radical.

The reaction of phosphor-containing pesticides such as methidathion (MT) and dimethoate (DM) with dichloride radical anions (Cl(2)(·-)) was investigated. The second order rate constants (1.3 ± 0.4) × 10(8) and (1.1 ± 0.4) × 10(8) M(-1) s(-1) were determined for the reaction of Cl(2)(·-) with MT and DM, respectively. A reaction mechanism involving an initial charge transfer from the sulfide groups of the insecticides to Cl(2)(·-) is proposed and supported by the identified transient intermediates and reaction products. The formation of chlorinated byproducts was determined. The unexpected consequences of an efficient Cl(2)(·-) reactivity towards MT and DM on the degradation capacity by Advanced Oxidation Procedures applied to polluted waters containing the insecticides and Cl(-) anions is discussed.

Theoretical and experimental investigation on the oxidation of gallic acid by sulfate radical anions.

By monitoring the decay of SO4*- after flash photolysis of aqueous solutions of S2O82- at different pH values, the kinetics of the reaction of SO4*- radicals with gallic acid and the gallate ion was investigated. The bimolecular rate constants for the reactions of the sulfate radicals with gallic acid and the gallate ion were found to be (6.3 +/- 0.7) x 10(8) and (2.9 +/- 0.2) x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. On the basis of the oxygen-independent second-order decay kinetics and on their absorption spectra, the organic radicals formed as intermediates of these reactions were assigned to the corresponding phenoxyl radicals. DFT calculations in the gas phase and aqueous solution support formation of the phenoxyl radicals by H abstraction from the phenols to the sulfate radical anion. The observed recombination of the phenoxyl radicals of gallic acid to yield substituted biphenyls and quinones is also supported by the calculations. HPLC/MS product analysis showed formation of one of the predicted quinones.

Kinetic studies on the sulfate radical-initiated polymerization of vinyl acetate and 4-vinyl pyridine in the presence of silica nanoparticles.

The photolysis of silica suspensions of pH approximately 8 containing peroxodisulfate ions leads to the generation of two "surface transients" with a distinct spectrum and reactivity. Time-resolved and continuous irradiation experiments of similar dispersions also containing variable concentrations of vinyl acetate (VA) or 4-vinyl pyridine (4-VP) allowed the evaluation of the contribution of silica/water interfacial reactions to the kinetics and structural pattern of polymers synthesized using sulfate radicals as initiators. The rate constants measured for the reactions of the surface transients with 4-VP are 1 order of magnitude higher than those of VA, despite the fact that both species show similar reactivity in homogeneous solution toward sulfate radicals. It is suggested that both the sorption capacity and the different specific interactions with the silica surface of 4-VP and VA contribute to the observed reaction rates. Micrometer-sized latex particles of 4-VP and VP showed higher stability and more homogeneous size distributions when obtained in the presence of silica nanoparticles. Under the experimental conditions required for obtaining polymer particles, both the contribution of the described interfacial reactions and the effect of silica adsorbed monomer on the initiation steps of the polymerization may be neglected. The importance of in situ adsorption of the oligomer/polymer chains to silica NP during the polymerization propagation steps in determining the particle morphology is discussed.