Computational and experimental assessment of pH and specific ions on the solute solvent interactions of clay-biochar composites towards tetracycline adsorption: Implications on wastewater treatment.

Experimental and computational investigations have been conducted in this study to assess the influence of municipal waste pyrolyzed biochar impregnated clay composites on antibiotic removal as a material for wastewater treatment and simultaneous value-addition for waste. The surface potential (zeta potential) of the pristine biochar and composite samples are found to be within the range ~10 to ~ -40 mV in the pH range 2-10. The presence of different inorganic salt solutions influences the electrophoretic mobility of the dispersed phase in a suspension, as well as its zeta potential. In addition of Na+ salt solutions, the Na+ ions undergo electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged biochar samples and form a double layer at the interface of biochar and ionic salt solution. Molecular dynamics simulations have been employed to understand experimental findings, ions adsorption and solute-solvent interactions at the molecular level of two biochar B7 (seven benzene rings, one methoxy, one aldehyde and two hydroxyls groups) and B17 (seventeen benzene rings, one methoxy, two hydroxyls and two carboxylic acid groups) in salts aqueous solutions. The results confirm that hydroxyls and carboxylate groups of biochar are responsible for solute-solvent interactions. Successful removal of tetracycline antibiotics is observed with 26 mg/g maximum adsorption capacity with montmorillonite biochar composite. This study confirms that interactions between amide and hydroxyl groups of tetracycline with hydroxyl and carboxylate groups of biochar play the key role in the adsorption process. The solution pH and presence of different background electrolytes effectively influence the process of solute-solvent interactions as well as adsorption efficacy towards tetracycline adsorption.

Hydrothermal assisted decoration of NiS2 and CoS nanoparticles on the reduced graphene oxide nanosheets for sunlight driven photocatalytic degradation of azo dye: Effect of background electrolyte and surface charge.

The semiconductor NiS2 nanoparticles with an average size of 10 ±â€¯0.317 nm were successfully deposited on the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets by simple hydrothermal method. The synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by various instrumental techniques like XRD, FTIR, FESEM, EDX, HRTEM, fluorescence spectrophotometer analysis. In this study we mainly focus on the determination of the surface potential values of NiS2-rGO and CoS-rGO nanocomposite under different experimental conditions and evaluated the photodegradation efficiency towards azo dye Congo Red (CR) molecule under natural sunlight irradiation. We found that the surface charge (zeta potential) of the both nanocomposite materials in presence of different inorganic ions salt solutions like NaCl, NaNO3, Na2SO4, MgCl2, CaCl2 etc. is varied based on the polarizability of the ions as well as pH of the suspension. Different inorganic ions present in the catalyst suspension can alter the surface charge of the catalyst by forming a double layer around the molecule and thus change the electrostatic interaction between the dye molecule and the catalyst surface which change the degradation efficiency of the photocatalyst towards CR molecule. The photocatalytic efficiency of NiS2-rGO and CoS-rGO nanocomposite towards CR degradation was found to be 97.03% and 88.03% in 40 min, respectively under same experimental condition whereas NiS2 and CoS nanoparticles without support exhibited photodegradation efficiency 57.89% and 50.52%, respectively. The observed improved photocatalytic activity of the metal sulfide-rGO nanocomposite results the presence of synergistic effect between the metal sulfide nanoparticles and the rGO sheets of the photocatalysts which inhibits the recombination rate of photogenerated electrons and holes. The mechanism of the degradation process was investigated by photoluminescence study in presence of terephthalic acid and also quenching experiment in presence of isopropanol and benzoquinone. The photocatalyst was characterized after degradation process and found that the crystallinity and the morphology of the nanocomposite remained unchanged. The ion-chromatography experiment confirms the formation of non-toxic products after degradation. The present study focuses on the importance of the use of metal sulphide-rGO nanocomposite towards environment remediation process and study of the influence of inorganic salts on the surface charge of the photocatalyst as well as on the degradation process.

Correction: Reduced graphene oxide nanosheets decorated with Au-Pd bimetallic alloy nanoparticles towards efficient photocatalytic degradation of phenolic compounds in water.

Correction for 'Reduced graphene oxide nanosheets decorated with Au-Pd bimetallic alloy nanoparticles towards efficient photocatalytic degradation of phenolic compounds in water' by Gitashree Darabdhara, et al., Nanoscale, 2016, 8, 8276-8287.

Reduced graphene oxide nanosheets decorated with Au-Pd bimetallic alloy nanoparticles towards efficient photocatalytic degradation of phenolic compounds in water.

Reduced graphene oxide nanosheets decorated with Au-Pd bimetallic alloy nanoparticles are successfully prepared via a chemical approach consisting of reducing the metal precursors using ascorbic acid as reductant at an elevated temperature. The prepared nanocomposite is employed as a photocatalyst for the degradation of organic contaminants such as phenol, 2-chlorophenol (2-CP), and 2-nitrophenol (2-NP). The complete degradation of phenol is achieved after 300 min under natural sunlight irradiation whereas the degradation of 2-CP and 2-NP is completed after 180 min. The activity of the photocatalyst is evaluated considering several parameters such as the initial phenol concentration, the photocatalyst loading, and the pH of the solution. The degradation kinetics of all the compounds is carefully studied and found to follow a linear Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. Furthermore, the reusability of the photocatalyst is successfully achieved up to five cycles and the catalyst exhibits an excellent stability.