Recent advances in catalytic decomposition of ozone

Ozone (O₃), as a harmful air pollutant, has been of wide concern. Safe, efficient, and economical O₃ removal methods urgently need to be developed. Catalytic decomposition is the most promising method for O₃ removal, especially at room temperature or even subzero temperatures. Great efforts have been made to develop high-efficiency catalysts for O₃ decomposition that can operate at low temperatures, high space velocity and high humidity. First, this review describes the general reaction mechanism of O₃ decomposition on noble metal and transition metal oxide catalysts. Then, progress on the O₃ decomposition performance of various catalysts in the past 30 years is summarized in detail. The main focus is the O₃ decomposition performance of manganese oxides, which are divided into supported manganese oxides and non-supported manganese oxides. Methods to improve the activity, stability, and humidity resistance of manganese oxide catalysts for O₃ decomposition are also summarized. The deactivation mechanisms of manganese oxides under dry and humid conditions are discussed. The O₃ decomposition performance of monolithic catalysts is also summarized from the perspective of industrial applications. Finally, the future development directions and prospects of O₃ catalytic decomposition technology are put forward.     

Plasmonic silver/silver oxide nanoparticles anchored bismuth vanadate as a novel visible-light ternary photocatalyst for degrading pharmaceutical micropollutants

The degradation of pharmaceutical micropollutants is an intensifying environmental problem and synthesis of efficient photocatalysts for this purpose is one of the foremost challenges worldwide. Therefore, this study was conducted to develop novel plasmonic Ag/Ag₂O/BiVO₄ nanocomposite photocatalysts by simple precipitation and thermal decomposition methods, which could exhibit higher photocatalytic activity for mineralized pharmaceutical micropollutants. Among the different treatments, the best performance was observed for the Ag/Ag₂O/BiVO₄ nanocomposites (5 wt.%; 10 min's visible light irradiation) which exhibited 6.57 times higher photodegradation rate than the pure BiVO₄. Further, the effects of different influencing factors on the photodegradation system of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) were investigated and the feasibility for its practical application was explored through the specific light sources, water source and cycle experiments. The mechanistic study demonstrated that the photogenerated holes (h⁺), superoxide radicals (?O₂^?) and hydroxyl radicals (?OH) participated in TC-HCl removal process, which is different from the pure BiVO₄ reaction system. Hence, the present work can provide a new approach for the formation of novel plasmonic photocatalysts with high photoactivity and can act as effective practical application for environmental remediation.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in benthos of the northern Bering Sea Shelf and Chukchi Sea Shelf

Eighteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in benthos collected onboard the ‘Snow Dragon’ in the Northern Bering Sea Shelf and Chukchi Sea Shelf during the 6^th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition (CHINARE 2014). Σ₁₈PAHs for all biota samples ranged from 34.2 to 128.1 ng/g dry weight (dw), with the highest concentration observed in fish muscle (Boreogadus saida) samples close to St. Lawrence Island. The PAH composition pattern was dominated by the presence of lighter 3 ring (57%) and 2 ring (28%) PAHs, indicating oil-related or petrogenic sources as important origins of PAH contamination. Concentrations of alkyl-PAHs (1-methylnaphthalene and 2-methylnaphthalene) were lower than their parent PAH (naphthalene) in all biological tissue, and their percentage also decreased significantly (p<0.05) compared with those in the corresponding sediment. There were no significant relationships between PAH concentrations and trophic levels, which is possibly due to the combined results of the complex benthic foodweb in the subarctic/Arctic shelf region, as well as a low assimilation/effective metabolism for PAHs. According to toxic potency evaluation results from TCDD toxic equivalents (TEQs) and BaP-equivalent (BaPE) values, whelk (Neptunea heros) and starfish (Ctenodiscus crispatus) are two macroinvertebrate species showing relatively higher dioxin-like toxicity and carcinogenic risk.     

Mesoporous WO3-graphene photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue dye under visible light illumination

Advanced oxidation technologies are a friendly environmental approach for the remediation of industrial wastewaters. Here, one pot synthesis of mesoporous WO_3 and WO_3-graphene oxide(GO) nanocomposites has been performed through the sol–gel method. Then, platinum(Pt) nanoparticles were deposited onto the WO_3 and WO_3-GO nanocomposite through photochemical reduction to produce mesoporous Pt/WO_3 and Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites. X-ray diffraction(XRD) findings exhibit a formation of monoclinic and triclinic WO_3 phases. Transmission Electron Microscope(TEM) images of Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites exhibited that WO_3 nanoparticles are obviously agglomerated and the particle sizes of Pt and WO_3 are ~ 10 nm and 20–50 nm, respectively. The mesoporous Pt/WO_3 and Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites were assessed for photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue(MB) as a probe molecule under visible light illumination.The findings showed that mesoporous Pt/WO_3, WO_3-GO and Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites exhibited much higher photocatalytic efficiencies than the pure WO_3. The photodegradation rates by mesoporous Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites are 3, 2 and 1.15 times greater than those by mesoporous WO_3, WO_3-GO, and Pt/WO_3, respectively. The key factors of the enhanced photocatalytic performance of Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites could be explained by the highly freedom electron transfer through the synergetic effect between WO_3 and GO sheets, in addition to the Pt nanoparticles that act as active sites for O2 reduction, which suppresses the electron hole pair recombination in the Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites.     

In vitro studies of the submerged angiospermRuppia maritima: Auxin and cytokinin effects on plant growth and development

Axenic tissue cultures ofRuppia maritima L. were established and propagated clonally in vitro from terminal rhizome segments collected from Tampa Bay, Florida, USA. Cultures were maintained in a base medium consisting of synthetic seawater supplemented with half-strength Murashige and Skoog salts and 1% sucrose at pH 5.6. The effects of five cytokins [6-furfurylaminopurine (kinetin), 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), 2-isopentyladenine (2iP), 6-(4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enylamino) purine (zeatin), andn-phenyl-n-1,2,3-thidiazol-5yl urea (thidiazuron)] and one auxin [napthalene acetic acid (NAA)] on explant growth and development were investigated. Cytokinin additions resulted in a 3- to 4-fold increase in nodal production, branching, and biomass ofR. maritima after 12 wk in culture. Cultures responded in a dose-dependent manner to 2iP but exhibited broad dose-response curves to kinetin, BAP, zeatin, and thidiazuron. NAA addition resulted in increased leaf and internodal lengths, but reduced the number of leaves per node and the rhizome biomass. The addition of NAA almost completely suppressed root growth in media without cytokinins and had an antagonistic effect on nodal production and branching in cytokinin-supplemented media.     

Population structure and sex-change in the coral-inhabiting snailCoralliophila violacea at Hsiao-Liuchiu,Taiwan

Surveys of the coral-inhabiting snailCoralliophila violacea (Lamarck) (=C. neritoidea Kiener) were made on shallow fringing reefs (<8 m deep) around Hsiao-Liuchiu, Taiwan, between July and October 1990. The snails were aggregated into patches on the surface of massive poritid coral colonies. Coral colonies >40 cm in diameter were more likely to bear patches of snails than smaller colonies, and also to have more snails. The coralliophilids ranged from 5 to 30 mm in aperture length. The sex ratio of the population was biased toward males (539:279), with only a few small individuals of indistinguishable sex. Snails between 6 and 10 mm were all males, while most snails with aperture lengths 20 mm were females. Judging from the distinct size ranges of males and females within patches and from the observed degeneration of the penis, the snails may have changed sex from male to female with increasing size. Sex-change may occur across a wide size range (10 to 20 mm). The correlation of smallest female size and largest male size among patches indicates that snail size at sex-change is peculiar to each individual patch. Those females in patches with a single female (but many males) were significantly smaller than females in multiple-female patches. It is likely that in the absence of females males change sex at a smaller size, whereas in the presence of large females males delay sexchange until they have reached a larger size. The plasticity of size at sex-change may be adaptive and a result of natural selection at the individual level.     

Characteristic features of body composition and metabolism in some interzonal copepods

Protein, lipid, phosphorus, and organic carbon contents, as well as electron transport system (ETS) activity, lactatedehydrogenase activity, and gut evacuation rate, were measured in four interzonal species of Pacific copepods:Calanus australis, C. pacificus, Eucalanus inermis, andE. elongatus f.hyalinus, collected at the upwelling areas off Peru (8°S) and California (27°N), and in the middle of the North Pacific (30°N), from February to April 1987. The two Eucalanidae species —E. inermis andE. elongatus — have distinctive biochemical and elemental body composition and rates of main physiological processes. Relative protein, lipid, phosphorus, and organic carbon contents (µg mg^–1 wet weight) in these species were, respectively, ca. 1/7 to 1/10, 1/5 to 1/20, 1/5 to 1/10, and 1/5 those inCalanus spp. Likewise, oxygen uptake rate per unit of wet weight (based on ETS activity) inE. inermis andE. elongatus was 5 to 10% of that in calanids; a similar difference was found in phosphorus excretion rate. In addition, gut evacuation rates inE. inermis andE. elongatus were ca. one-fifth of those inCalanus spp. Based on these data, we considered the eucalanids as belonging to a distinctive physiological group, figuratively named jelly-body copepods. In contrast with calanids, active lactatedehydrogenase has been found in the bodies ofE. inermis andE. elongatus, apparently allowing them to survive for a long time in layers of extremely low oxygen content (<0.2 ml l^–1). The adaptive value of physiological features in these eucalanids and typical calanids is compared.