ABSTRACT
More recently, the biological colonization of stone heritage and consequently its biodeterioration has become the focus of numerous studies. Among all microorganisms, fungi are considered to be one of the most important colonizers and biodegraders on stone materials. This is why the development of new antifungal materials requires immediate action. ZnMgO nanoparticles (NPs) have several exciting applications in different areas, highlighting as an efficient antimicrobial agent for medical application. In this research, the application of Zn-doped MgO (Mg1-xZnxO, x = 0.096) NPs obtained by sol-gel method as antifungal coatings on dolomitic and calcitic stones has been explored as a means to develop effective protective coatings for stone heritage. Moreover, the photocatalytic and antifungal activity of Mg1-xZnxO NPs were comparatively studied with single ZnO and MgO NPs. Thus, compared to the MgO and ZnO nanomaterials, the Mg1-xZnxO NPs exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic activity. After UV irradiation for 60 min, 87% methylene blue was degraded over Zn-doped MgO NPs, whereas only 58% and 38% of MB was degraded over ZnO and MgO NPs, respectively. These nanoparticles also displayed a better antifungal activity than that of single pure MgO or ZnO NPs, inhibiting the growth of fungi Aspergillus niger, Penicillium oxalicum, Paraconiothyrium sp., and Pestalotiopsis maculans, which are especially active in the bioweathering of stone. The improved photocatalytic and antifungal properties detected in the Mg1-xZnxO NPs was attributed to the formation of crystal defects by the incorporation of Zn into MgO. The application of the MgO- and Zn-doped MgO NPs as protective coatings on calcareous stones showed important antifungal properties, inhibiting successfully the epilithic and endolithic colonization of A. niger and P. oxalicum in both lithotypes, and indicating a greater antifungal effectiveness on Zn-doped MgO NPs. The use of Zn-doped MgO NPs may thus represent a highly efficient antifungal protection for calcareous stone heritage.
ABSTRACT
We demonstrate a spray pyrolysis method to grow carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with high degree of crystallinity, aspect ratio and degree of alignment on a variety of different substrates, such as conventional steel, carbon fibres (CF) and ceramics. The process consists in the chemical vapour deposition of both a thin SiO2 layer and CNTs that subsequently grow on this thin layer. After CNT growth, increases in specific surface by factors of 1000 and 30 for the steel and CF samples, respectively, are observed. CNTs growth on ceramic surfaces results in a surface resistance of 37.5 Ohm/sq. When using conventional steel as a rector tube, we observed CNTs growth rates of 0.6 g/min. Details of nanotube morphology and the growth mechanism are discussed. Since the method discussed here is highly versatile, it opens up a wide variety of applications in which specific substrates could be used in combination with CNTs.