Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B by Recyclable Ag Br/Polypyrrole(PPy)Nano-Catalysts

We investigated the removal of the organic dye rhodamine B in wastewater with recyclable AgBr/polypyrrole(PPy)nano-photocatalysts.With PPy as an active base for electron transfer,and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide(CTAB)as both the soft-templating agent and the bromine source,a series of AgBr/PPy nano-photocatalysts containing various proportions of silver were prepared in a convenient one-step synthesis procedure.The synthesized catalysts were characterized by TG analysis to reveal that,in comparison with pure PPy,the interaction between PPy and AgBr led to increased thermal stability.Chemical combination of PPy and AgBr was observed through XRD and XPS analyses.For the morphology study,the AgBr particles were found to be well dispersed in the PPy nanowire network from SEM results.In the photodegradation experiments,up to 92%rhodamine B was degraded by the AgBr/PPy catalysts in the period of 1 hour under 254 nm UV light.The catalysts could maintain 60%catalytic efficiency after 3 cycles in the recyclability test.

Composite Activated Carbon from Canarium schweinfurthii/Polyethylene Terephthalate: Adsorption Test of Rhodamine B Dye Removal in Aqueous Solution

The present work deals on one hand with the valorization of wastes plastics, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Canarium schweinfurthii (CS) for the preparation of polyethylene terephthalate activated carbon (PETAC) and Canarium schweinfurthii/polyethylene terephthalate activated carbon (CS/PETAC). These adsorbents, on the other hand, were used for removal Rhodamine B (RhB) in an aqueous solution. PET and CS precursors were subjected to thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning colorimetry (DSC). Meanwhile PETAC and CS/PETAC were characterized using scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption (N2-BET). The N2-BET results revealed an increase of the specific surface area from 6.75 m2/g to 1282.0 m2/g for PETAC and CS/PETAC. The results of characterization indicated the key role played by plastic wastes to enhance the structural and functional properties of CS/PETAC. The RhB removal from the aqueous solution onto PETAC and CS/PETAC was found to be independent of pH, with an optimal contact time of RhB removal within 10 min for materials. The non-linear adsorption isotherm data for the adsorption process showed that the Langmuir and Freundlich models best fitted the RhB adsorption onto PETAC meanwhile only the Freundlich adsorption isotherm gave the best fit for CS/PETAC according to the correlation coefficient value closed to unity. The pseudo-first and pseudo-second-order kinetic models best described the RhB dye removal on both adsorbents. Additionally, the Elovich model confirmed that chemisorption was the main mechanism followed. These findings proved that CS seeds and PET wastes are low-cost precursors that should be given an added value by transforming them into an outstanding carbon material for dye removal in liquid effluent.

Microwave photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B using TiO_2 supported on activated carbon:Mechanism implication

The photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B （RhB） was carried out using TiO2 supported on activated carbon （TiO2-AC） under microwave irradiation. Composite catalyst TiO2-AC was prepared and characterized using X-ray diffraction （XRD）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller （BET）. In the process of microwave-enhanced photocatalysis （MPC）, RhB （30 mg/L） was almost completely decoloured in 10 min, and the mineralization efficiency was 96.0% in 20 min. The reaction rate constant of RhB in MPC using TiO2-AC by pseudo first-order reaction kinetics was 4.16 times of that using Degussa P25. Additionally, according to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry （GC/MS） and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry （LC/MS） identification, the major intermediates of RhB in MPC included two kinds of N-de-ethylation intermediates （N,N-diethyl-N＇-ethyl-rhodamine （DER））, oxalic acid, malonic acid, snccinic acid, and phthalic acid, maleic acid, 3-nitrobenzoic acid, and so on. The degradation of RhB in MPC was mainly attributed to the destruction of the conjugated structure, and then the intermediates transformed to acid molecules which were mineralized to water and carbon dioxide.

Detection of intermediates in the TiO_2-assisted photodegradation of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation

The photocatalytic degradation of dye Rhodamine B （RhB） in the presence of TiO2 nanostdpe or P25 under visible light irradiation was investigated. The degradation intermediates were identified using Infrared spectra （IR spectra）, ^1H nuclear magnetic resonance （^1HNMR） spectra, and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy （GC-MS）. The IR and the ^1HNMR results showed that the large conjugated chromophore structure of RhB was efficiently destroyed under visible light irradiation in both the photocatalytic systems （TiO2 nanostfipe or P25 and Rhodamine B systems）. GC-MS results showed that the main identified intermediates were ethanediotic acid, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, 4-hydroxy benzoic acid and benzoic acid, which were almost the same in the TiO2 nanostdpes and P25 systems. This work provides a good insight into the reaction pathway（s） for the TiO2-assisted photocatalytic degradation of dye pollutants under visible light irradiation.

Studies on the Recognition Interaction of Rhodamine B and DNA by Voltammetry

The recognition interaction of Rhodamine B(RB) with DNA was studied in a Britton-Robinson (B-R) buffer solution with pH=7.5 at a glassy carbon electrode by electrochemical techniques. RB shows an irreversible oxidation peak at +0.92 V(vs. SCE). After the addition of DNA in the RB solution, the peak current of RB decreased apparently without the shift of the peak potential. The electrochemical parameters such as the charge transfer coefficient α and the electrode reaction rate constant k s of the interaction system were carefully studied. The parameters did not change before and after the addition of DNA, which indicated that an electrochemical non-active complex had been formed, so the concentration of RB in the solution decreased and the peak current decreased correspondingly. The binding ratio of RB to DNA was 2∶1 with a binding constant of 2.66×10 9.

Simultaneous Determination of Fluorescein, Rhodamine 6G and Rhodamine B in Turbid Solution by Polarization Variable-Angle Synchronous Fluorescence Spectrometry

Polarization variable-angle synchronous fluorescence spectrometry was proposed to determine samples in turbid solution. A mixture of fluorescein, rhodamine 6G and rhodamine B was used to evaluate the technique. The background caused by scattering light was decreased remarkably. The limits of detection were 0.6 ng/ml for fluorescein, 2.3 ng/ml for rhodamine 6G and 4.1 ng/ml for rhodamine B, respectively.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Denitrification Rhodamine Bover In2O3/Bi24O31Br10 Nanocomposites under Visible Light Irradiation

A novel In203/Bi24O31Br10 composite photocatalyst, where In2O3 nanoparticleswith the diameter of about 5-10 nm were tightly attached on the surface of Bi24O31Br10 plates, wasprepared by using hydrolysis, impregnation method and post-thermal process. Photocatalyticactivity was evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B under the visible light irradiation.Effects of the contents of In203 nanoparticles on the optical property and photocatalytic activity of In203/Bi24O31Br10 composite were also investigated. Compared with neat In203 and Bi24O31Brlomaterials, 15In203/Bi24O31Br10 composite exhibits the best photocatalytic activity owing to theefficient separation of photogenerated electron and hole pairs, which is evidenced byphotoluminence spectra. More than 95% of Rhodamine B solution can be degraded by15In203/Bi24O31Brlo sample in 30 min.

The stimulated Raman scattering competition between solute and solvent in Rhodamine B solution

The competition between the stimulated resonance Raman scattering （SRRS） of Rhodamine B （RhB） and the stimulated Raman scattering （SRS） of ethanol （C2H50H） is observed at the RhB in C2H5OH solution. For different concentrations of the solution, the peak wavelengths of the SRRS, the amplified spontaneous emission （ASE）, the fluorescence and the absorption of RhB are different. The SRRS of RhB and the SRS of C2H50H are simultaneously generated when the concentration of the solution is 10-5 mol/L and the energy of the excitation laser is 20.4 mJ. Otherwise, only either the SRRS of RhB or the SRS of C2H5OH is generated. The SRRS can be amplified by the ASE gain when the SRRS is near the peak of the ASE, and the peak wavelength of the SRRS coincides with the wavelength of the maximal intensity ASE.

Monolithic Mesh-Type Fe-Pd/γ-Al₂O₃/Al Bifunctional Catalysts for Electro-Fenton Degradation of Rhodamine B

A novel Fe-Pd bifunctional catalyst supported on mesh-type γ-Al2O3/Al was prepared and applied in the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). The monolithic mesh-type Fe-Pd/γ-Al2O3/Al bifunctional catalyst could be separated from the solution directly and could synthesize H2O2 in situ. The characterization results showed that Fe could improve the dispersion of Pd0, and the electronic interactions between Pd and Fe could increase the Pd0 contents on the catalyst, which increased the productivity of H2O2. Furthermore, DFT calculations proved that the addition of Fe could inhibit the dissociation of O2 and promote the nondissociative hydrogenation of O2 on the surface of Fe-Pd/γ-Al2O3/Al, which resulted in the increasement of H2O2 selectivity. Finally, the in-situ synthesized H2O2 by Pd was furtherly decomposed in situ by Fe to generateOH radicals to degrade organic pollutants. Therefore, Fe-Pd/ γ-Al2O3/Al catalysts exhibited excellent catalytic activity in the in-situ synthesis of H2O2 and the degradation of RhB due to the synergistic effects between Pd and Fe on the catalyst. It provided a new idea for the design of bifunctional electro-Fenton catalysts. Ten cycles of experiments showed that the catalytic activity of Fe-Pd/γ-Al2O3/Al catalyst could be maintained for a long time.

Degradation of Rhodamine B by MnFe-LDH/PMS/O_(3) three-phase catalytic system: performance, mechanism and ecotoxicity studies

This study developed a novel MnFe-LDH/PMS/O3 three-phase catalytic system to degrade the organic dye RhB, which was used to address the drawbacks of persulfate oxidation and ozonation techniques. The structure, ionic and elemental composition, specific surface area, and magnetic properties of the LDHs were investigated using a variety of physicochemical characterization tools. The results showed that MnFe-LDH had a large specific surface area, a rich crystalline phase composition, and a functional group structure. The RhB degradation rate of MnFe-LDH/PMS/O3 was 0.34 min−1, which was much higher than that of other comparative systems. RhB could be completely degraded in 10 min after optimization and had a significant effect on TOC removal. The system was found to be effective over a wide pH range. Common anions were largely unaffected and humic acid acted as an inhibitor. At the same time, the system had generally effective degradation performance for different dyes. Combined with quenching experiments and EPR, it was found that SO4•−, •OH, O_(2)•−, and 1O_(2) all participated in the reaction, and •OH contributed more. The degradation pathway of RhB was derived by LC-MS, and the T.E.S.T. evaluation found that the toxicity of the intermediate product was significantly reduced. Finally, the stability and availability of LDHs were verified using cycling experiments and metal ion leaching. This work provides a theoretical basis and data support for the synergistic catalysis of PMS/O3 and the deep treatment of dye wastewater.

Insights into the mechanism of multiple Cu-doped Co Fe_(2)O_(4)nanocatalyst activated peroxymonosulfate for efficient degradation of Rhodamine B

The multiple metal catalyst as a promising nanomaterial has shown excellent activity in the peroxymonosulfate(PMS)activation for pollutant degradation.However,the role of special sites and in-depth understanding of the PMS activation mechanism are not fully studied.In this study,a Cu-doped CoFe_(2)O_(4)nanocatalyst(0.5CCF)was synthesized by a sol-gel and calcination method,and used for PMS activation to remove Rhodamine B(RhB).The results showed that the Cu doping obviously enhanced the catalytic performance of CoFe_(2)O_(4),with 99.70%of RhB removed by 0.5CCF while 74.91%in the CoFe_(2)O_(4)within 15 min.Based on the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical analysis,this could be ascribed to the more low valence of Co and Fe species generated on the 0.5CCF and faster electron transfers occurred in the 0.5CCF due to the Cu doping.In addition,Cu doping could provide more reaction sites for the 0.5CCF to activate PMS for RhB removal.The metal species and the surface hydroxyl were the reaction sites of PMS activation,and the surface hydroxyl played an important role in surface-bound reactive species generation.During the PMS activation,the Cu not only activated PMS to produce reactive oxygen species(ROS),but also regenerated Co^(2+)and Fe^(2+)to accelerate the PMS activation.The non-radical of ^(1)O_(2)was the main ROS with a 99.35%of contribution rate,and the SO_(5)^(·–)self-reaction was its major source.This study provides a new insight to enhance the PMS activation performance of multiple metal catalysts by Cu doping in wastewater treatment.

Mg(NO_(3))_(2)·6H_(2O)-Assisted insitu-Fabrication of Tea Residual Biochar for Ultra-Fast and High Adsorption of Rhodamine B

In this work,porous biochar(MN-TRB_(750))was fabricated via direct pyrolysis of tea residue(TR)and Mg(NO_(3))_(2)·6H_(2)O(MN).The as-synthesized MN-TRB_(750) reached a specific surface area of 839.54 m^(2)·g^(-1)and an average pore size of 3.75 nm with multi-level pore architecture.MN decreased TR's carbonization temperature and promoted the aromatics extent,pore structure for the frizzly flake-like biochar.Rhodamine B(RhB)was chosen as the adsorbate to explore the removal performance of organic dyes in this study.The results indicated that the maximum adsorption capacity of RhB on MN-TRB_(750) at 20℃ is up to 809.0 mg·g^(-1)with isotherms fitted well to Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevic models.The adsorption kinetics followed pseudo-second-order and Elovich models with an equilibrium adsorption capacity of 757.6 mg·g^(-1)as the initial concentration of RhB is 260 mg·L^(-1).High pore filling,hydrogen bond,π-πinteraction determined the adsorption of RhB onto MN-TRB850 through a multi-active center and exothermic chemical sorption process.

Hollow Co/CoO/Carbon nanofibers promoted PMS decomposition for the degradation of Rhodamine B

Carbon nanofibers with hollow structures have an excellent application prospect in various fields be-cause of their high specific surface area and abundant active sites.PAN-based hollow carbon nanofiber doped with Co/CoO(H-Co/CoO-CNF)was successfully prepared and used as a catalyst to activate perox-ymonosulfate(PMS)and degrade Rhodamine B(RhB).The catalyst showed a surprising degradation rate(98.89%)of RhB within 15 min and had good degradation performance in a wide pH range(pH 1.5-11.2).Compared with solid fibers,H-Co/CoO-CNF shows better cyclic characteristics.The catalyst is also mag-netic and recoverable easily due to the addition of Co/CoO.Two pathways of both radical(SO_(4)·^(−))and non-radical(^(1)O_(2))exist during the RhB degradation process are confirmed through electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR)analysis and radical quenching experiments.This work provides a new idea for hollow fibers loaded with metals and their oxides and can guide the development of catalysts for advanced oxi-dation processes in the future.

Synthesis and characterization of rare earth metal doped tungsten trioxide photocatalyst for degradation of Rhodamine B dye

Nowadays,it is concern for researchers that due to high recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers in tungsten trioxide(WO_(3)) nanoparticles,the future applications are limited in the field of photocatalysis.Herein we attempt to synthesize tungsten trioxide nanoparticles with different doping concentrations of lanthanum i.e.2 wt%,4 wt%,6 wt% and 8 wt%.The synthesized samples were characterized by using various characterization techniques:X-ray diffraction(XRD),Raman spectroscopy,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),photoluminescence spectra(PL),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),energy dispersive X-ray(EDX) and UV-Vis spectroscopy.WO_(3) retains its monoclinic structure even after doping which was confirmed by XRD analysis.FTIR helps to descry functional groups present in the samples.The size of nanoparticles was calculated by using TEM.EDX confirms the absence of any impurity in the synthesized samples.Raman spectroscopy confirms the presence of a large number of imperfections induced in the lattice of WO_(3).The rate of recombination was analyzed by photoluminescence(PL) spectroscopy and is minimum in 4 wt% doping of lanthanum.The optical bandgap was calculated using UV-Vis spectroscopy and becomes narrow along with the doping concentrations.Intriguingly,it is found that doping of La in WO_(3) has considerably ameliorate the photocatalytic activity by reducing rate of recombination due to the trapping of electrons by defects introduced in the lattice.Photocatalytic decolorization of Rhodamine B(RhB) dye was performed and the values of c/c_0 and rate constant(k) confirm that the 4 wt% doping shows maximum degradation efficiency.The kinetic study for photodegradation of Rhodamine B was done by using various kinetic models and results show that the reaction follows first order kinetics very well.Therefore,optimum doping of lanthanum increases the decolorization ability of WO_(3) towards RhB dye.

One-step preparation of MoO_(x)/ZnS/ZnO composite and its excellent performance in piezocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B under ultrasonic vibration

This paper synthesized a new type of ternary piezoelectric catalyst MoO_(x)/ZnS/ZnO (MZZ)by a one-step method.The catalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) solution (10μg/g,pH=7.0) shows that the composite catalyst has excellent piezoelectric catalytic activity under ultrasonic vibration (40 k Hz).The piezoelectric degradation rate of the optimal sample reached 0.054 min^(-1),which was about 2.5 times that of pure ZnO.X-ray diffraction(XRD),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),Raman,transmission electron microscopy(TEM),scanning electron microscopy (SEM),and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) technologies were used to analyze the structure,morphology,and interface charge transfer properties of the MZZ piezocatalysts.The results showed that the composite catalyst may have a core-shell structure.ZnS is coated on the surface of ZnO,while MoO_(x)adheres to the surface of ZnS.This structure endowed MZZ larger specific surface area than ZnO,which benefits the RhB adsorption.More importantly,the formed heterojunction structure between ZnS and ZnO promotes the separation of positive and negative charges induced by the piezoelectric effect.MoO_(x)species may act as a charge trap to further promote more carriers to participate in the reaction.In addition,MoO_(x)may also be beneficial in adsorbing dyes.Active species capture experiments show that superoxide radicals and holes are the main active species in piezoelectric catalytic reactions on MZZ catalysts.

Co_(3)O_(4)-ZnO/rGO catalyst preparation and rhodamine B degradation by sulfate radical photocatalysis

The development of a combined photocatalytic system with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) has great potential applications in the degradation and treatment of aqueous organic pollutants. Herein, a Co_(3)O_(4)-ZnO/rGO was prepared by a hydrothermal method using cobalt acetate, zinc acetate, and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as the main raw materials. The physical and chemical characteristics of the obtained catalyst were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). The photocatalytic features and capacities of the catalytic materials to activate PMS were investigated. Co_(3)O_(4)-ZnO/rGO exhibited stronger photocatalytic activity and ability to activate PMS than Co_(3)O_(4)/rGO or ZnO/rGO, and significantly improved the ability of PMS and photocatalysis to synergistically degrade rhodamine B (RhB), with a degradation rate of 90.40% within 40 min. The mechanism of RhB degradation was proposed based on characterization of materials, evaluation of RhB degradation efficiency, and analysis of the active species involved. The unique particle/sheet structure of Co_(3)O_(4)-ZnO/rGO provides a large number of active sites, and the formation of heterojunctions between Co_(3)O_(4) and ZnO improves carrier separation and transport in the reaction system. Our study offers a reference for designing more effective heterojunction catalysts based on the combination of PMS and photocatalytic technology.

Coupling of BiOCl Ultrathin Nanosheets with Carbon Quantum Dots for Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance

Over the past few decades,photocatalysis technology has received extensive attention because of its potential to mitigate or solve energy and environmental pollution problems.Designing novel materials with outstanding photocatalytic activities has become a research hotspot in this field.In this study,we prepared a series of photocatalysts in which BiOCl nanosheets were modified with carbon quantum dots(CQDs)to form CQDs/BiOCl composites by using a simple solvothermal method.The photocatalytic performance of the resulting CQDs/BiOCl composite photocatalysts was assessed by rhodamine B and tetracycline degradation under visible-light irradiation.Compared with bare BiOCl,the photocatalytic activity of the CQDs/BiOCl composites was significantly enhanced,and the 5 wt%CQDs/BiOCl composite exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity with a degradation efficiency of 94.5%after 30 min of irradiation.Moreover,photocatalytic N_(2)reduction performance was significantly improved after introducing CQDs.The 5 wt%CQDs/BiOCl composite displayed the highest photocatalytic N_(2)reduction performance to yield NH_3(346.25μmol/(g h)),which is significantly higher than those of 3 wt%CQDs/BiOCl(256.04μmol/(g h)),7 wt%CQDs/BiOCl(254.07μmol/(g h)),and bare BiOCl(240.19μmol/(g h)).Our systematic characterizations revealed that the key role of CQDs in improving photocatalytic performance is due to their increased light harvesting capacity,remarkable electron transfer ability,and higher photocatalytic activity sites.