Atrazine degradation through a heterogeneous dual-effect process using Fe-TiO2-allophane catalysts under sunlight.

This study investigated the novel application of Fe-TiO2-allophane catalysts with 6.0 % w/w of iron oxide and two TiO2 proportions (10 % and 30 % w/w) for degrading atrazine (ATZ) using the heterogeneous dual-effect (HDE) process under sunlight. Comparative analyses with Fe-allophane and TiO2-allophane catalysts were conducted in both photocatalysis (PC) and HDE processes. FTIR spectra reveal the unique hydrous feldspathoids structure of allophane, showing evidence of new bond formation between Si-O groups of allophane clays and iron hydroxyl species, as well as Si-O-Ti bonds that intensified with higher TiO2 content. The catalysts exhibited an anatase structure. In Fe-TiO2-allophane catalysts, iron oxide was incorporated through the substitution of Ti4+ by Fe3+ in the anatase crystal lattice and precipitation on the surface of allophane clays, forming small iron oxide particles. Allophane clays reduced the agglomeration and particle size of TiO2, resulting in an enhanced specific surface area and pore volume for all catalysts. Iron oxide incorporation decreased the band gap, broadening the photoresponse to visible light. In the PC process, TiO2-allophane achieves 90 % ATZ degradation, attributed to radical species from the UV component of sunlight. In the HDE process, Fe-TiO2-allophane catalysts exhibit synergistic effects, particularly with 30 % w/w TiO2, achieving 100 % ATZ degradation and 85 % COD removal, with shorter reaction time as TiO2 percentage increased. The HDE process was performed under less acidic conditions, achieving complete ATZ degradation after 6 h without iron leaching. Consequently, Fe-TiO2-allophane catalysts are proposed as a promising alternative for degrading emerging pollutants under environmentally friendly conditions.

Study by XPS and UV-visible and DRIFT spectroscopies of electropolymerized films of substituted Ni(II)-p-phenylporphyrins and -phthalocyanines.

Films of nickel tetrasulfophthalocyanine and - p-phenylporphyrin (NiTSPc and NiTSPP, respectively) were obtained by repetitive cyclic voltammetry (RCV) of the 1 mM complex in aqueous solution, while films of the water-insoluble nickel tetraaminophthalocyanine and - p-phenylporphyrin (NiTAPc and NiTAPP, respectively) had to be obtained by RCV of the 1 mM complex in organic solvents. Glassy carbon (GC), ITO, or platinum electrodes were used as substrates. The modified electrodes were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and UV-visible, infrared, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. The CVs of the sulfo films showed the characteristic peaks of the Ni(II)/Ni(III) process, whereas the CVs of the amino films did not, very small Ni(II)/Ni(III) peaks appearing only after activation by RCV. Upon oxidation to Ni(III) both sulfo films changed from transparent to dark violet. The IR spectra of the polyNiTSPP and the polyNiTSPc films showed bands at 3628 cm (-1) and 3500 cm (-1), respectively, which could be due to interstitial water molecules occluded during the polymerization. The Ni 2p XP spectra indicate that the magnetic character of the Ni(II) ions in NiTSPP is dramatically changed by the polymerization, from diamagnetic in the monomer to paramagnetic in the polymeric film, indicating the formation of Ni-O-Ni bridges or of clusters of Ni(OH) 2. On the contrary, the Ni 2p XP spectra of the unactivated NiTAPP film, in which the Ni(II)/Ni(III) process was absent, showed only diamagnetic Ni(II). Therefore, it is concluded that only paramagnetic Ni(II) ions can be electrooxidized to Ni(III).

Theoretical and spectroscopic study of nickel(II) porphyrin derivatives.

A set of substituted (sulfonate, amino) nickel porphyrin derivatives such as phthalocyanine and phenylporphyrin was studied by spectroscopic (UV-vis, FTIR, XPS) and quantum-chemical methods. The Q and Soret bands were identified in the UV-vis spectra of aquo solutions of the tetrasulfo-substituted complexes and in DMF and ACN solutions of the amino-substituted phenylporphyrin and phthalocyanine Ni(II) complexes, respectively. In all the complexes the frontier molecular orbitals predict that the oxidation and reduction sites are localized on the ligand rather than in the metal atom. A natural bonding orbital (NBO) analysis of all the complexes showed that a two-center bond NBO between the pyrrolic nitrogens (Npyrr) and the nickel atom does not exist, the Npyrr...Ni interaction occurring instead by a delocalization from one lone pair of each Npyrr toward one lone pair of the nickel atom, as estimated by second-order perturbation theory. The calculated values of electronic transitions between the frontier molecular orbitals are in good agreeement with the UV-vis data. At the theoretical level, we found that while the ligand effect is more important in the Q-band (approximately 16 kcal/mol), the substituent effect is more significant in the Soret band (approximately 9 kcal/mol). A good agreement was also found between the experimental and calculated infrared spectra, which allowed the assignment of many experimental bands. The XPS results indicate that the Ni(II) present in the phenylporphyrin structure is not affected by a change of the substituent (sulfonate or amino).