CuNi sulphidation maximizes MOR activity by expanding the accessibility of active sites!

Sulphidation of a CuNi alloy of Cu : Ni ratio 81 : 19 led to an exponential activity enhancement in the alkaline methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) by four fold due to an order of magnitude increase in the number of active Cu and Ni sites and improved charge transfer properties.

Sonophotocatalytic water splitting by BaTiO3@SrTiO3 core shell nanowires.

Sonophotocatalysis has garnered significant attention due to its potential to enhance advanced oxidation processes, particularly water splitting, by employing materials with combined sonocatalytic and photocatalytic properties. In this study, we synthesized and investigated core-shell BaTiO3@SrTiO3 nanowires (BST NWs) with varying Sr/Ba molar ratios (2.5:7.5, 5.0:5.0, 7.5:2.5 mM, denoted as BST-1, BST-2, and BST-3, respectively) as catalysts for hydrogen production through water splitting. The piezoelectric nanowires demonstrated hydrogen evolution via both sonocatalysis and photocatalysis. In the sonophotocatalysis process, the ultrasonic vibration induced mechanical forces on the BST nanowires, thereby establishing a built-in electric field. This built-in electric field facilitated the effective separation of photo-generated charge carriers and prolonged their lifetimes, leading to a synergistic enhancement of hydrogen evolution. The pristine BaTiO3 and SrTiO3 nanowires exhibited relatively low hydrogen evolution rates (HER) of 7.0 and 6.0 µmol·g-1min-1, respectively. In contrast, the core-shell nanowires exhibited a substantial improvement in the hydrogen evolution rate. The HER increased with the addition of Sr, and BST-1, BST-2, and BST-3 achieved HERs of 12.0, 13.5, and 18.0 µmol·g-1min-1, respectively. The superior performance of BST-3 nanowires can be attributed to their highest piezoelectric potential and largest surface area. Additionally, BST-3 nanowires demonstrated remarkable stability over multiple cycles, validating their practical applicability as efficient photocatalysts.

Nanocubic copper cobaltite for methyl orange degradation through photocatalytic process.

In this study, cubic spinel structured CuCo2O4 (Copper cobaltite) nanospheres were fabricated by thermal decomposition method. The visible light degradation of organic contaminant methyl orange (MO) was focused in this study using the synthesized pure CuO, Co3O4 and CuCo2O4 with different weight ratios of raw materials (90:10, 75:25 and 50:50). It could be well realized that after the characterization techniques, the synthesized CuCo2O4 materials resembled cubic spinel structure as confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigation. Meanwhile, all the synthesized materials through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have showed cubic shaped particles and among the CuCo2O4 materials, CuCo2O4 (50:50) expressed not as much of crystallinity due to the agglomerated nanospheres. On the other hand, well crystalline CuCo2O4 (75:25) displayed higher surface area than the other materials when analysed through Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. The Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectrum has evinced the formation of CuCo2O4 nanostructures. In addition, the cubic spinel structured CuCo2O4 provided positive results over visible light irradiation. Finally, the CuCo2O4 (75:25) sample has scored high as much of 85% MO degradation compared with others. This sample was progressed with repetitive recycling tests and presented the best photocatalytic degradation efficiency. The upgraded results of CuCo2O4 sample have been linked with the developed synergistic effects during the formation of binary metal oxides. Also, the interfacial electron-hole formation leads to the migration and hindering of charge carriers for visible light activity.

Facile synthesis of broom stick like FeOCl/g-C3N5 nanocomposite as novel Z-scheme photocatalysts for rapid degradation of pollutants.

A simple and cost-effective route has been utilized for the preparation of a novel lamellar structured FeOCl/g-C3N5 nanocomposite as Z-scheme photocatalyst. The preparation method was performed under the ambient temperature conditions without any hazardous chemicals. Various characterization techniques, namely XRD, FESEM, TEM, FT-IR, UV-Vis, DRS, and PL were carried out to analyse the nanocomposite for confirmation of FeOCl/g-C3N5 nanocomposite. To evaluate its and visible light degradation performances tetracycline (T-C) was used as target pollutant. Among the optimum loading for the g-C3N5 incorporated FeOCl binary nanocomposites, the g-C3N5/FeOCl exhibited a superlative degradation performance toward the T-C antibiotic pollutant. The results confirmed that 95% of T-C was degraded within 40 min under photodegradation mechanism. The improved photodegradation performance in degradation of T-C was mainly due to the reduction in electron-hole recombination, broadening in the light absorption by g-C3N5 incorporation, which leads to shortening the degradation time. Furthermore, the hydroxyl and superoxide radicals played a major role in the photodegradation process and the possible mechanism was elucidated and proposed. The present work implies a novel, sustainable, and efficient Z-scheme system that may deliver a convenient method for environment remediation.

Heavy metal remediation from wastewater using microalgae: Recent advances and future trends.

Microalgae-based wastewater treatment has previously been carried out in huge waste stabilization ponds. Microalgae, which can absorb carbon dioxide while reusing nutrients from sewage, has recently emerged as a new trend in the wastewater treatment business. Microalgae farming is thought to be a potential match for the modern world's energy strategy, which emphasizes low-cost and environmentally benign alternatives. Microalgae are being used to treat wastewater and make useful products. Microalgae, for example, is a promising renewable resource for producing biomass from wastewater nutrients because of its quick growth rate, short life span, and high carbon dioxide utilization efficacy. Microalgae-based bioremediation has grown in importance in the treatment of numerous types of wastewater in recent years. This solar-powered wastewater treatment technology has huge potential. However, there are still issues to be resolved in terms of land requirements, as well as the process's ecological feasibility and long-term viability, before these systems can be widely adopted. Due to cost and the need for a faultless downstream process, it is difficult to deploy this technology on a large scale. Other recent breakthroughs in wastewater microalgae farming have been investigated, such as how varied pressures affect microalgae growth and quality, as well as the number of high-value components produced. In this review, the future of this biotechnology has also been examined.

Novel S-scheme 2D/2D Bi4O5Br2 nanoplatelets/g-C3N5 heterojunctions with enhanced photocatalytic activity towards organic pollutants removal.

Removal of organic pollutants and pharma products in waste water using semiconductor photocatalysts has gained huge interest among recent days. However, low visible light absorption, recombination rate of charge carriers and less availability of reaction sites are still major obstacles for the photocatalysis process. Herein, an in situ-forming Bi4O5Br2 nanosheets decorated on the surface g-C3N5 were prepared via simple hydrothermal method under ambient temperature. The basic pH condition plays a vital role in growing for Bi4O5Br2 nanosheets. Various characterization studies such as TEM, SEM, PL and UV-DRS studies confirmed the formation of close contact between the Bi4O5Br2 and g-C3N5 nanosheets. The construction of Bi4O5Br2 nanoplatelets/g-C3N5 nanocomposite increases the surface-active sites and improving the separation efficiencies of excitons, which is greatly influenced in the degradation of ciprofloxacin and bisphenol-A pollutants. Meanwhile, the flow of electrons from the layered structured graphite carbon of g-C3N5 which enables excellent electrical contact in the heterojunction. Besides, the main free radicals were determined as e- and •O2-, and production level of free radicals were confirmed by radical trapping experiments. The possible degradation mechanism was proposed and discussed. Finally, this work provides a unique approach to in-situ preparation of heterojunction photocatalysts and demonstrates the prepared Bi4O5Br2 nanoplatelets/g-C3N5 photocatalysts have great potential in the waste water management.

Removal of harmful algae in natural water by semiconductor photocatalysis- A critical review.

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) have turned out to be a global occurrence owing to the detrimental phenomenon like eutrophication and global climate change caused by human activities. This newly emergent threat imposes a severe hazardous to public health, ecosystems and fishery-based economies. Rapid and exponential growth of certain delirious and toxic algal species shall be held causative to the formation of HABs. The potential disadvantages they pose, make it necessary the identification of efficient treatment methodologies. Photocatalysis has been identified as the most promising solution amongst all the identified and investigated methods, for the environmental and economic benefits beheld. Different treatment methodologies were evaluated and light has been thrown on the advantages beheld by photocatalysis over the other methods. Focus has been given to the different photocatalysts that have been so far put to use towards photocatalytic disinfection of HABs and algal toxins. This present study provides useful information on the application of the traditional and photocatalysis process for removal of HABs in water bodies. Moreover, the results revealed that photocatalysis method could cause potent inhibitory effect on growth of algae species and disrupted algal cells membranes to some extent. Finally, the conventional treatment techniques have been recognized to be insufficient for removal of HABs. However, the photocatalyst technology have been utilized mostly for the mineralization and neutralization of the algal pollutants without any harmful secondary pollutants.

Highly efficient visible light photocatalysis of Nix Zn1-x Fe2O4 (x= 0, 0.3, 0.7) nanoparticles: Diclofenac degradation mechanism and eco-toxicity.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products occupy a predominant position with respect to both utility and release into the ecosystem, thereby contributing to environmental pollution at alarming rates. Of the several methods identified to minimize the concentration of PPCPs, nanomaterial based photocatalysis seems to be a potential alternative for it being highly economical and eco-friendly. In this study, we synthesized Nickel zinc ferrite (Ni-ZF) [Nix Zn1-x Fe2O4 (x = 0, 0.3, 0.7)] nanoparticles with an average diameter of ∼400 nm by a co-precipitation method towards diclofenac degradation. The composite showed greater degrees of crystallinity devoid of any impurities. Nearly complete DCF degradation (∼99%) was achieved after 50 min reaction time with the nanoparticles at pH 7 for an initial DCF concentration of 50 mg/L. The degradation process followed a pseudo first-order rate law with the rate constant of 0.1657 min- 1. Microbial toxicity and phytotoxicity studies demonstrated negligible toxicity imposed by the contaminated water treated with the prepared composite, suggesting it as a promising photocatalyst benefitting in all aspects.

Advances in preparation, mechanism and applications of various carbon materials in environmental applications: A review.

Carbon-related materials are now widely investigated in a various industrial field due to their excellent and unique qualities. It must be tailored to the application in such a way that it fits the application. At the same time, it needs to be generated in sufficient quantities for commercial use, and the synthesis method is the major sticking point here. Because most new materials are discovered by chance, the synthesis process described here may not be the most effective way to create them. The research is merely a steppingstone to discovering a different approach, and it will continue until the substance is no longer being used. If you're developing materials for any purpose, synthesis processes are essential. Fullerene, carbon nanotubes (CNT), graphene, and MXene are only a few of the carbon-based compounds discussed in this overview study, which also gives a brief prognosis on the materials future. Furthermore, the environmental application of these carbon materials was discussed and commented.

Improved visible-light-driven photocatalytic removal of Bisphenol A using V2O5/WO3 decorated over Zeolite: Degradation mechanism and toxicity.

WO3/Zeolite/V2O5 (TZV) composite synthesized through co-precipitation was used for the degradation of Bisphenol-A (BpA). XRD and Raman spectra were employed to ascertain the crystallinity of the composite. The pristine nature of the compound without any free particles over the zeolite surface was established through FESEM, thus, substantiating the composite character of the material. The enhancement in activity after doping with WO3 was ascertained by DRS-UV. Photocatalytic degradation studies clearly established the superiority of TZV 10 over bare V2O5. Complete BpA degradation (100%) was attained at 50 min of incubation with 0.75 g/L TZV-10 in acidic medium (pH 3) for an initial BpA concentration of 100 mg/L. HPLC-MS/MS analysis was used to decipher the degradation pathway. The catalyst was stable even after 9 cycles. Phytotoxicity studies and lake water treatment results proved the environmental efficiency of the synthesized material.