Study on Active Oxygen Quantum Yield,Insecticidal Activities and Stability of Diphenylthiophene

Active oxygen quantum yield, insecticidal activities and stability of diphenylthiophene were studied for the first time. The results showed that maximum diphenylthiophene absorbency variety was 0.438 after irradiation for 280 min and that of α- terthienyl （α-T） was 0.480 after irradiation for 200 min with UV. LCs0 values ofdiphenylthiophene and α-T against 3rd instar larvae ofAedes albopictus were 9.18 × 10^-3 and 9.69× 10^-4 μg mL^-1 when treated for 24 h, respectively. LC50 values of the two chemicals against the 3rd instar larvae of Plutella xylostella were 267.87 and 222.22 μg mL^-1 when treated for 24 h, respectively. The half lives of diphenylthiophene and α-T in methanol were 113.62 and 10.65 h. Difference between quantum yield of diphenylthiophene and α-T was not significant and they all possessed high toxicity to Aedes albopictus and Plutella xylostella, but diphenylthiophene was more stable than α-T. It could be concluded that diphenylthiophene has overcome the deficiency of photoactivated insecticides which degraded quickly in the environment and could not be applied on the field. Diphenylthiophene could kill the insects and accelerate the degradation rate of triazophos. The benefits of diphenylthiophene can be further exploited and applied on the field.

Photocatalytic Activity of Porous Magnesium Oxychloride Cement Combined with AC/TiO2 Composites

As a decorative material, magnesium oxychloride cement was used as a photocatalyst supporter to purify the pollutants indoors. Due to excellent adsorption properties of activated carbon（AC）, the photocatalytic composties, TiO2/AC, were prepared and introduced into the porous magnesium oxychloride cement（PMOC） substrate to composite a sort of photocatalytic cementitious material（PCM）. The optimal composite processes were assessed by gas chromatograph, using toluene as the target. By comparing the perspective of toluene purification and thorough decomposition, it can be found that the optimal mass ratio for TiO2/AC composites is 4/25, and the heat treatment to TiO2/AC sample at 350 ℃ can play the optimal synergetic role of adsorbents in photocatalytic process. The synergistic effect of TiO2, AC and magnesium oxychloride cement（MOC） was also evaluated by gas chromatograph. One-take molding process was adopted to introduce the TiO2/AC into PMOC substrate, and its optimal mass fraction was 4 wt%, while the appropriate density of substrate was 0.35 g/cm3. Toluene degradation showed that the prepared PCM can degrade pollutants efficiently. The appropriate treatment process of TiO2/AC, mass of TiO2/AC, substrate density, and stable pore structure should be coordinated to maximize the adsorption-photodegradation performance. The combination of photocatalytic materials, adsorbents, and building materials provided a new idea for the application of photocatalysis.

A Novel TiO_2 Combined Pulsed Diaphragm Discharge System for Phenol Degradation

A synergistic photocatalysis combined pulsed diaphragm discharge（PDD）system with TiO_2 nanofilm deposited on the surface of quartz diaphragm is developed for the first time for phenol degradation in an aqueous solution.It is observed that the decomposition efficiency of phenol in the TiO_2 combined PDD system is higher than that of the single PDD system under the same conditions,indicating a successful collaboration between the photocatalysis and the plasma decomposition in the present system.Analysis of the solution＇s pH value confirms this collaboration and further reveals that the photocatalytic enhancement effect of phenol degradation is strong at a relatively low supplied voltage.The present TiO_2 combined PDD system exhibits improved efficiencies of pollutant degradation and energy utilization,suggesting a good candidate for wastewater treatment.

Two-Step Anodization of Maltilayer TiO_2 Nanotube and Its Photocatalytic Activity under UV Light

A double-layer TiO2 nanotube arrays were formed by two-step anodization of Ti foils in different electrolytes. First, Ti in 0.5 wt% HF was anodized to form thin nanotube layer. Afterwards a second anodization was conducted in a formamide based electrolyte, which allowed the second layer of nanotube growing directly underneath the first one. From FESEM investigation we found that the thickness of second layer corresponded to the anodization time, the increasing of which would lead to the excessive etching on the first layer. The first layer protected the lower one from fluoride corrosion during anodization process. The double layer TiO2 nanotube arrays showed no benefit to photodegradation effect in methyl orange degradation experiments.

Fly ash-based geopolymer as a novel photocatalyst for degradation of dye from wastewater

The geopolymer synthesized by alkali-activated fly ash was firstly used as a novel photocatalyst for degradation of methylene blue （MB） dye from wastewater. The geopolymer is composed of nanoparticulates with an average particle size of about 50 nm, More than 90% of pore volume in the fly ash-based geopolymet predominately centralized on the pore size in the range of 17-700 nm. The degradation efficiency of MB dye by fly ash-based geopolymer catalyst was up to 92.79% under UV irradiation due to the synergistic effect of adsorption and semiconductor photocatalysis. The pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order rate equations as well as intra-particle diffusion rate equation were employed to correlate analysis for the adsorption kinetics of MB dye, The experimental data agreed well with pseudo-second-order rate equation in both cases of with UV and without UV irradiations. The intra-particle diffusion process is not the rate determining step. The photocatalytic degradation of MB dye in solution obeys third-order reaction kinetics.

Graphene TiO_2 nanocomposites with high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of sodium pentachlorophenol

A series of graphene–TiO2photocatalysts was synthesized by doping TiO2 with graphene oxide via hydrothermal treatment. The photocatalytic capability of the catalysts under ultraviolet irradiation was evaluated in terms of sodium pentachlorophenol（PCP-Na） decomposition and mineralization. The structural and physicochemical properties of these nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2adsorption–desorption, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectra, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The graphene–TiO2nanocomposites exhibited higher photocatalytic efficiency than commercial P25 for the degradation of PCP-Na, and 63.4% to 82.9% of the total organic carbon was fully mineralized. The improved photocatalytic activity may be attributed to the accelerated interfacial electron-transfer process and the significantly prolonged lifetime of electron-hole pairs imparted by graphene sheets in the nanocomposites. However,excessive graphene and the inhomogeneous aggregation of TiO2 nanoparticles may decrease photodegradation efficiency.

Cobalt and sulfur co-doped nano-size TiO_2 for photodegradation of various dyes and phenol

Various compositions of cobalt and sulfur co-doped titania nano-photocatalyst are synthesized via sol–gel method. A number of techniques including X-ray diffraction（XRD）, ultraviolet–visible（UV–Vis）, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry（RBS）, thermal gravimetric analysis（TGA）Raman, N2 sorption, electron microscopy are used to examine composition, crystalline phase, morphology, distribution of dopants, surface area and optical properties o synthesized materials. The synthesized materials consisted of quasispherical nanoparticles of anatase phase exhibiting a high surface area and homogeneous distribution o dopants. Cobalt and sulfur co-doped titania demonstrated remarkable structural and optical properties leading to an efficient photocatalytic activity for degradation of dyes and phenol under visible light irradiations. Moreover, the effect of dye concentration catalyst dose and p H on photodegradation behavior of environmental pollutants and recyclability of the catalyst is also examined to optimize the activity of nano-photocatalys and gain a better understanding of the process.