Au − Pd/mesoporous Fe2O3: Highly active photocatalysts for the visible-light-driven degradation of acetone

Three-dimensionally ordered mesoporous Fe_2O_3(meso-Fe_2O_3) and its supported Au, Pd,and Au-Pd alloy(xA uP dy/meso-Fe_2O_3; x = 0.08–0.72 wt.%; Pd/Au molar ratio(y) = 1.48–1.85)photocatalysts have been prepared via the KIT-6-templating and polyvinyl alcohol-protected reduction routes, respectively. Physical properties of the samples were characterized, and their photocatalytic activities were evaluated for the photocatalytic oxidation of acetone in the presence of a small amount of H_2O_2 under visible-light illumination. It was found that the meso-Fe_2O_3 was rhombohedral in crystal structure. The as-obtained samples displayed a high surface area of 111.0–140.8 m~2/g and a bandgap energy of 1.98–2.12 eV. The Au, Pd and/or Au–Pd alloy nanoparticles(NPs) with a size of 3–4 nm were uniformly dispersed on the surface of the meso-Fe_2O_3 support. The 0.72 wt.% AuP d1.48/meso-Fe_2O_3 sample performed the best in the presence of 0.06 mol/L H_2O_2 aqueous solution, showing a 100% acetone conversion within4 hr of visible-light illumination. It was concluded that the good performance of 0.72 wt.%AuPd_(1.48)/meso-Fe_2O_3 for photocatalytic acetone oxidation was associated with its ordered mesoporous structure, high adsorbed oxygen species concentration, plasmonic resonance effect between AuPd_(1.48) NPs and meso-Fe_2O_3, and effective separation of the photogenerated charge carriers. In addition, the introduction of H_2O_2 and the involvement of the photo-Fenton process also played important roles in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of 0.72 wt.%AuPd_(1.48)/meso-Fe_2O_3.     

Novel Ag-bridged dual Z-scheme g-C3N4/BiOI/AgI plasmonic heterojunction:Exceptional photocatalytic activity towards tetracycline and the mechanism insight

Rational design and synthesis of highly efficient and robust photocatalysts with positive exciton splitting and interfacial charge transfer for environmental applications is critical.Herein, aiming at overcoming the common shortcomings of traditional photocatalysts such as weak photoresponsivity, rapid combination of photo-generated carriers and unstable structure, a novel Ag-bridged dual Z-scheme g-C₃N₄/BiOI/AgI plasmonic heterojunction was successfully synthesized using a...     

High CO2 permeation using a new Ce0.85Gd0.15O2-δ-LaNiO3 composite ceramic–carbonate dual-phase membrane

This work shows the synthesis,characterization and evaluation of dense-ceramic membranes made of Ce_0.85Gd_0.15O_2-δ-LaNiO₃(CG-LN) composites,where the fluorite-perovskite ratio (CG:LN) was varied as follows:75:25,80:20 and 85:15 wt.%.Supports were initially characterized by XRD,SEM and electrical conductivity (using vacuum and oxygen atmospheres),to determine the composition,microstructural and ionic-electronic conductivity properties.Later,supports were...     

Enhanced dechlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenol by recoverable Ni/Fe–Fe3O4 nanocomposites

Ni/Fe-Fe_3O_4 nanocomposites were synthesized for dechlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenol(2,4-DCP). The effects of the Ni content in Ni/Fe-Fe_3O_4 nanocomposites, solution pH, and common dissolved ions on the dechlorination efficiency were investigated, in addition to the reusability of the nanocomposites. The results showed that increasing content of Ni in Ni/Fe–Fe_3O_4 nanocomposites, from 1 to 5 wt.%, greatly increased the dechlorination efficiency; the Ni/Fe–Fe_3O_4 nanocomposites had much higher dechlorination efficiency than bare Ni/Fe nanoparticles. Ni content of 5 wt.% and initial p H below 6.0 was found to be the optimal conditions for the catalytic dechlorination of 2,4-DCP. Both 2,4-DCP and the intermediate product 2-chlorophenol(2-CP) were completely removed, and the concentration of the final product phenol was close to the theoretical phenol production from complete dechlorination of 20 mg/L of 2,4-DCP, after 3 hr reaction at initial p H value of 6.0,3 g/L Ni/Fe-Fe_3O_4 , 5 wt.% Ni content in the composite, and temperature of 22℃. 2,4-DCP dechlorination was enhanced by Cl-and inhibited by NO3-and SO_4~(2-). The nanocomposites were easily separated from the solution by an applied magnetic field. When the catalyst was reused, the removal efficiency of 2,4-DCP was almost 100% for the first seven uses, and gradually decreased to 75% in cycles 8–10. Therefore, the Ni/Fe–Fe_3O_4 nanocomposites can be considered as a potentially effective tool for remediation of pollution by 2,4-DCP.     

One-pot molten salt method for constructing CdS/C3N4 nanojunctions with highly enhanced photocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction

The construction of heterojunction photocatalysts for efficiently utilizing solar energy has attracted considerable attention to solve the energy crisis and reduce environmental pollution. In this study, we use the energy released from an easily-occurred exothermic chemical reaction to serve as the drive force to trigger the formation of Cd S and C₃N₄ nanocomposites which are successfully fabricated with cadmium nitrate and thiourea without addition of any solvents and prot...     

Highly selective catalytic reduction of NOxby MnOx–CeO2–Al2O3 catalysts prepared by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis

We first present preparation of MnOx–CeO_2–Al_2O_3 catalysts with varying Mn contents through a self-propagating high-temperature synthesis(SHS) method, and studied the application of these catalysts to the selective catalytic reduction of NOxwith NH3(NH_3-SCR).Using the catalyst with 18 wt.% Mn(18 MnCe1Al2), 100% NO conversion was achieved at 200°C and a gas hourly space velocity of 15384 hr-1, and the high-efficiency SCR temperature window, where NO conversion is greater than 90%, was widened to a temperature range of 150–300°C. 18 MnCe1Al2 showed great resistance to SO_2(100 ppm)and H_2O(5%) at 200°C. The catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller(BET) analysis, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and H_2 temperature programmed reduction. The characterization results showed that the surface atomic concentration of Mn increased with increasing Mn content, which led to synergism between Mn and Ce and improved the activity in the SCR reaction. 18 MnCe1Al2 has an extensive pore structure,with a BET surface area of approximately 135.4 m~2/g, a pore volume of approximately 0.16 cm~3/g, and an average pore diameter of approximately 4.6 nm. The SCR reaction on 18 MnCe1Al2 mainly followed the Eley-Rideal mechanism. The performances of the MnOx–CeO_2–Al_2O_3 catalysts were good, and because of the simplicity of the preparation process,the SHS method is applicable to their industrial-scale manufacture.     

Synthesis of novel CeO2-BiVO4/FAC composites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic properties

To utilize visible light more effectively in photocatalytic reactions, a fly ash cenosphere （FAC）-supported CeO2-BiV04 （CeO2-BiVO4/FAC） composite photocatalyst was prepared by modified metalorganic decomposition and impregnation methods. The physical and photophysical properties of the composite have been characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscope （SEM） and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDX）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, and UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectra. The XRD patterns exhibited characteristic diffraction peaks of both BiVO4 and Ce02 crystalline phases. The XPS results showed that Ce was present as both Ce4＋ and Ce3＋ oxidation states in Ce02 and dispersed on the surface of BiV04 to constitute a p-n heterojunction composite. The absorption threshold of the CeO2-BiVO4/FAC composite shifted to a longer wavelength in the UV-Vis absorption spectrum compared to the pure Ce02 and pure BiV04. The composites exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity for Methylene Blue （MB） degradation under visible light irradiation. It was found that the 7.5 wt.% CeO2-BiVO4/FAC composite showed the highest photocatalytic activity for MB dye wastewater treatment.     

Chemical characteristics of haze particles in Xi'an during Chinese Spring Festival: Impact of fireworks burning

Fireworks burning releases massive fine particles and gaseous pollutants, significantly deteriorating air quality during Chinese Lunar New Year(LNY) period. To investigate the impact of the fireworks burning on the atmospheric aerosol chemistry, 1-hr time resolution of PM_(2.5) samples in Xi'an during the winter of 2016 including the LNY were collected and detected for inorganic ions, acidity and liquid water content(LWC) of the fine aerosols. PM_(2.5) during the LNY was 167 ± 87 μg/m~3, two times higher than the China National Ambient Air Quality Standard(75 μg/m~3). K~+(28 wt.% of the total ion mass) was the most abundant ion in the LNY period, followed by SO_4~(2-)(25 wt.%) and Cl-(18 wt.%). In contrast, NO_3~-(34 wt.%) was the most abundant species in the haze periods(hourly PM32-2.5 75 μg/m), followed by SO_4(29.2 wt.%) and NH_4~+(16.3 wt.%), while SO_4~(2-)(35 wt.%) was the most abundant species in the clean periods(hourly PM_(2.5) 75 μg/m~3), followed by NO_3~-(23.1 wt.%) and NH_4~+(11 wt.%). Being different from the acidic nature in the non-LNY periods, aerosol in the LNY period presented an alkaline nature with a pH value of 7.8 ± 1.3. LWC during the LNY period showed a robust linear correlation with K_2SO_4 and KCl, suggesting that aerosol hygroscopicity was dominated by inorganic salts derived from fireworks burning. Analysis of correlations between the ratios of NO--3/SO_4~(2-) and NH_4~+/SO_4~(2-) indicated that heterogeneous reaction of HNO_3 with NH_3 was an important formation pathway of particulate nitrate and ammonium during the LNY period.     

Investigations on removal of SO2 from flue gas by aerosol formation in pulsed corona discharge process

The removal of SO₂ from flue gas by pulsed corona discharge in presence of ammonia was experimentally investigated. The results showed that the SO₂ removal mainly depends on thermal reaction of SO₂ with NH₃ and enhancements of 0%—25% by pulsed corona discharge in the range of the specific energy 0—5 Wh/Nm³. The aerosol mass concentration, mainly composed of ammonium sulfate, increased with specific energy dissipated into the reactor. With an initial concentration of 2000—2100 ppmv SO₂ and energy consumption of 3 Wh/Nm³, when a stoichiometric amount of ammonia is injected, the removal efficiency of SO₂ and percentage of ammonium sulfates in reaction products are all ≥80%. The collection efficiency of the reactor for aerosol is about 74% at a flue gas temperature of 60 to 65℃ and a water vapor content of 9% to 11% volume.     

Removing lignin model pollutants with BiFeO3–g-C3N4 compound as an efficient visible-light-heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst

BiFeO_3–g-C_3N_4 nanoscaled composite was prepared with a hydrothermal method and evaluated as a highly efficient photo-Fenton like catalyst under visible light irradiation. The BiFeO_3–g-C_3N_4 composite exhibited much stronger adsorption ability to lignin model pollutant(guaiacol) than that of BiFeO_3, which may be due to the higher specific surface area(BiFeO_3–g-C_3N_4: 35.59 m~2/g BiFeO_3: 7.42 m~2/g) and the adsorption form of π–π stack between g-C_3N_4 and guaiacol. The composite exhibited excellent visible light-Fenton like catalysis activity, being influenced by the solution pH value and the proportions of BiFeO_3 and g-C_3N_4 nanosheets. Under optimal conditions with visible light irradiation, the BiFeO_3–g-C_3N_4 composite yielded fast degradation of guaiacol with an apparent rate constant of 0.0452 min~(-1), which were 5.21 and 6.80 folds of that achieved by using BiFeO_3 and the mixture of BiFeO_3 and g-C_3N_4 nanosheets, respectively. The significantly enhanced visible light-Fenton like catalytic properties of the BiFeO_3–g-C_3N_4 composite in comparison with that of BiFeO_3 was attributed to a large surface area, much increased adsorption capacity and the semiconductor coupling effect between BiFeO_3 and g-C_3N_4 in the composite.     

Simultaneous removal of NO and dichloromethane（CH2Cl2） over Nb-loaded cerium nanotubes catalyst

Herein, a series of niobium oxide supported cerium nanotubes（Ce NTs） catalysts with different loading amount of Nb₂O₅（0–10 wt.%） were prepared and used for selective catalytic reduction of NOxwith NH₃（NH₃-SCR） in the presence of CH₂Cl₂. Commercial V₂O₅-WO₃-TiO₂ catalyst was also prepared for comparison. The physcial properties and chemical properties of the Nb₂O₅ lo...     

Photocatalytic remediation of γ-HCH contaminated soil induced by α-Fe2O3 and TiO2

Heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of γ-HCH on soil surfaces was carded out to evaluate the photocatalytic effectiveness of α-Fe2O3 and TiO2 toward degrading γ-HCH on soil surfaces. After being spiked with γ-HCH, soil samples were loaded with α-Fe2O3 or TiO2 and exposed to UV-light irradiation. Different catalyst loads, 0%, 2%, 5%, 7%, and 10% (wt.)α-Fe2O3 ; 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 2:(Wt.)TiO2, were tested for up to 7 d irradiation. The effects of soil thickness, acidity, and humic substances were also investigated. The obtained results indicated that the γ-HCH photodegradation follows the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The addition of α-Fe2O3 or TiO2 accelerates the photodegradation of γ-HCH, while the photodegradation rate decreases when the content of α-Fe2O3 exceeds 7% (wt.).The degradation rate increases with the soil pH value. Humic substances inhibit the photocatalytic degradation of γ-HCH., and trichlorobenzene are detected as photodegradation intermediates, which are gradually degraded with the photodegradation evolution.     

Newly developed Fe3O4–Cr2O3 magnetic nanocomposite for photocatalytic decomposition of 4-chlorophenol in water

Chlorophenols, typically 4-chlorophenols are highly toxic and non-biodegradable organic contaminants which pose serious threat to the environment, particularly when released into aqueous medium. The removal of these pollutants by efficient method has received worldwide concern in recent past. A new Fe_3O_4–Cr_2O_3 magnetic nanocomposite was synthesized by wet chemical method under ultrasonic irradiation. Microstructure and morphology of the nanocomposite were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction(XRD),Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR), and a transmission electron microscope(TEM). Magnetic and optical properties were studied by a vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM) and an ultraviolet–visible(UV–Vis) spectrophotometer respectively. The magnetic nanocomposite(MNC) was used as photocatalyst for effective decomposition of 4-chlorophenol in water under ultraviolet(UV) irradiation.     

Iron and lead ion adsorption by microbial flocculants in synthetic wastewater and their related carbonate formation

Although microbial treatments of heavy metal ions in wastewater have been studied, the removal of these metals through incorporation into carbonate minerals has rarely been reported. To investigate the removal of Fe^3＋ and Pb^2＋, two representative metals in wastewater, through the precipitation of carbonate minerals by a microbial flocculant （MBF） produced by Bacillus mucilaginosus. MBF was added to synthetic wastewater containing different Fe^3＋ and Pb^2＋ concentrations, and the extent of flocculation was analyzed. CO2 was bubbled into the mixture of MBF and Fe^3＋/Pb^2＋ to initiate the reaction. The solid substrates were analyzed via X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The results showed that the removal efficiency decreased and the MBF adsorption capacity for metals increased with increasing heavy metal concentration. In the system containing MBF, metals （Fe^3＋ and Pb^2＋）, and CO2, the concentrated metals adsorbed onto the MBF combined with the dissolved CO2, resulting in oversaturation of metal carbonate minerals to form iron carbonate and lead carbonates. These results may be used in designing a method in which microbes can be utilized to combine CO2 with wastewater heavy metals to form carbonates, with the aim of mitigating environmental problems.     

Effects of adsorption interferents on removal of reactive red 195 dye in wastewater by chitosan

Reactive Red 195, which is an azoic anionic dye characterized by the presence of five sulfonic groups and one azoic group, is efficiently removed using chitosan. The increasing chitosan dose had a dramatic positive impact on the achieved color removal, there was approximately a linear relationship between chitosan dose and color removal of dye before color removal reach maximum. Also, the increase of dye concentration led to the increase of chitosan dosage in order to get the same color remova l.92 mg/L of chitosan dosage was sufficient to achieve complete remove of dye at initial concentration of dye at 200 mg/L. For the higher concentrations of dye, high dosages were necessary to reach complete color removal. On the other hand, the use of adsorption interferents（Fe^2＋ , Na^＋ , HCO3^- and others） can be interesting, addition of ions had effect on the color removal of Reactive Red 195. Comparing with blank, addition of chemical species approximately decreased the color removal except Na^＋ and combination of Fe^2＋ ＋ HCO3^- . However, comparing with Fe^2＋ alone and HCO3^- alone, combination of Fe^2＋ ＋ HCO3^- increased the color removal.     

Pure and Mg-doped self-assembled ZnO nano-particles for the enhanced photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol

A novel self-assembled pure and Mg doped ZnO nano-particles （NPs） were successfully synthesized by a simple low temperature co-precipitation method. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, high resolution scanning electron mi- croscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence （PL） spectroscopy. The results indicated that the prepared photocatalysts showed high crystallinity with a uniform size distribution of the NPs. The degradation of cholorphenols is highly mandatory in today＇s scenario as they are affecting the environment adversely. Thus, the photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol （4-CP）, a potent endocrine disrupting chemical in aqueous medium was investigated by both pure and Mg-doped ZnO NPs under UV-light irradiation in the present study. The influence of the Mg content on the structure, morphology, PL character and photocatalytic activity of ZnO NPs were investigated systematically. Furthermore,the effect of different parameters such as 4-CP concentration, photocatalyst amount, pH and UV-light wavelength on the resulting photocatalytic activity was investigated.     

Effect of chromium oxide as active site over TiO2-PILC for selective catalytic oxidation of NO

This study introduced TiO2-pillared clays （TiO2-PILC） as a support for the catalytic oxidation of NO and analyzed the performance of chromium oxides as the active site of the oxidation process. Cr-based catalysts were prepared by a wet impregnation method. It was found that the 10 wt.% chromium doping on the support achieved the best catalytic activity. At 350℃, the NO conversion was 61% under conditions of GHSV = 23600 hr^-l. The BET data showed that the support particles had a mesoporous structure. Hz-TPR showed that Cr（10）TiP （10 wt.% Cr doping on TiO2-PILC） clearly exhibited a smooth single peak. EPR and XPS were used to elucidate the oxidation process. During the NO ＋ O2 adsorption, the intensity of evolution of superoxide ions （O2^-） increased. The content of Cr^3＋ on the surface of the used catalyst was 40.37%, but when the used catalyst continued adsorbing NO, the Cr^3＋ increased to 50.28%. Additionally, Oα/Oβ increased markedly through the oxidation process. The NO conversion decreased when SO2 was added into the system, but when the SO2 was removed, the catalytic activity recovered almost up to the initial level. FT-IR spectra did not show a distinct characteristic peak of SO4^2-.     

Effects of SO2 and H2O on low-temperature NO conversion over F-V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts

F-V_2 O_5-WO3/Ti02 catalysts were prepared by the impregnation method.As the content of F ions increased from 0.00 to 0.35 wt.%,the NO conversion of F-V_2 O_5-WO_3/TiO_2 catalysts initially increased and then decreased.The 0.2 F-V_2 O_5-WO_3/TiO_2 catalyst(0.2 wt.% F ion)exhibited the best denitration(De-NOx) performance,with more than 95% NO conversion in the temperature range 160-360℃,and 99.0% N2 selectivity between 110 and 280℃.The addition of an appropriate amount of F ions eroded the surface morphology of the catalyst and reduced its grain size,thus enhancing the NO conversion at low temperature as well as the sulfur and water resistance of the V_2 O_5-WO3/Ti02 catalyst.After selective catalytic reduction(SCR) reaction in a gas flow containing SO_2 and H_2 O,the number of NH3 adsorption sites,active component content,specific surface area and pore volume decreased to different degrees.Ammonium sulfate species deposited on the catalyst surface,which blocked part of the active sites and reduced the NO conversion performance of the catalyst.On-line thermal regeneration could not completely recover the catalyst activity,although it prolonged the cumulative life of the catalyst.In addition,a mechanism for the effects of S02 and H_2 O on catalyst NO conversion was proposed.     

Catalytic liquid-phase oxidation of acetaldehyde to acetic acid over a Pt/CeO2–ZrO2–SnO2/γ-alumina catalyst

Pt/CeO₂–ZrO₂–SnO₂/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation and wet impregnation methods for catalytic oxidation of acetaldehyde to acetic acid in water. In the present catalysts, Pt and CeO₂–ZrO₂–SnO₂ were successfully dispersed on the γ-Al₂O₃ support. Dependences of platinum content and reaction time on the selective oxidation of acetaldehyde to acetic acid were investigated to optimize the reaction conditions for obtaining both high acetaldehyde conversion and highest selectivity to acetic acid. Among the catalysts, a Pt(6.4 wt.%)/Ce_0.68Zr_0.17Sn_0.15O_2.0(16 wt.%)/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst showed the highest acetaldehyde oxidation activity. On this catalyst, acetaldehyde was completely oxidized after the reaction at 0°C for 8 hr, and the selectivity to acetic acid reached to 95% and higher after the reaction for 4 hr and longer.