Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by nanostructured Fe/FeS powder under visible light

The photocatalytic performance of mechano-thermally synthesized Fe/FeS nanostructures formed from micron-sized starting materials was compared with that of a thermally synthesized nanostructure with nano-sized precursors in this paper. The properties of as-synthesized materials were studied by X-ray diffraction（XRD）, transmission electron microscopy（TEM）, vibrating sample magnetometry（VSM）, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy（DRS）, and ultraviolet–visible（UV-Vis） spectroscopy. The effects of irradiation time, methylene blue（MB） concentration, catalyst dosage, and p H value upon the degradation of MB were studied. Magnetic properties of the samples showed that both as-synthesized Fe/FeS photocatalysts are magnetically recoverable, eliminating the need for conventional filtration steps. Degradation of 5 ppm of the MB solution by mechano-thermally synthesized Fe/FeS with a photocatalyst dosage of 1 kg/m^3 at pH 11 can reach 96% after 12 ks irradiation under visible light. The photocatalytic efficiency is higher in alkaline solution. The kinetics of photocatalytic degradation in both samples is controlled by a first-order reaction. However, the rate-constant value in the thermally synthesized Fe/FeS photocatalyst sample is only 1.5 times greater than that of the mechano-thermally synthesized one.

Regulated Degradation of HFR1 Desensitizes Light Signaling in Arabidopsis

Arabidopsis seedlings undergo photomorphogenesis in the light and etiolation in the dark. HFR1, a bHLH transcription factor, is required for both phytochrome A (phyA)-mediated far-red and cryptochrome 1 (cry1)-mediated blue light signaling. We report that HFR1 is a short-lived protein in darkness and is degraded through a 26S proteasome-dependent pathway. Light, irrespective of its quality, enhances HFR1 protein accumulation via promoting its stabilization. We demonstrate that HFR1 physically interacts with COP1 and that COP1 exhibits ubiquitin ligase activity toward HFR1 in vitro. In addition, we show that COP1 is required for degradation of HFR1 in vivo. Furthermore, plants overexpressing a C-terminal 161 amino acid fragment of HFR1 (CT161) display enhanced photomorphogenesis, suggesting an autonomous function of CT161 in promoting light signaling. This truncated HFR1 gene product is more stable than the full-length HFR1 protein in darkness, indicating that the COP1-interacting N-terminal portion of HFR1 is essential for COP1-mediated destabilization of HFR1. These results suggest that light enhances HFR1 protein accumulation by abrogating COP1-mediated degradation of HFR1, which is necessary and sufficient for promoting light signaling. Additionally, our results substantiate the E3 ligase activity of COP1 and its critical role in desensitizing light signaling.

Enhanced activity of ZnS(111) by N/Cu co-doping:Accelerated degradation of organic pollutants under visible light

High-efficiency photocatalysts are of great significance for the application of photocatalytic technology in water treatment.In this study,N/Cu co-doped ZnS nanosphere photocatalys(N/Cu-ZnS) is synthesized by a hydrothermal method for the first time.After doping,the tex ture of nanosphere becomes loose,the nanometer diameter is reduced,making the specific surface area of catalyst increased from 34.73 to 101.59 m^(2)/g.The characterization results show that more ZnS (111) crystal planes are exposed by N/Cu co-doping;the calculations of density functional theory show that N/Cu co-doping can increase the catalytic activity of the ZnS (111) crystal plane,enhance the adsorption capacity of (111) crystal plane to O_(2)and promote the generation of·O_(2)-.The energy levels of the introduced impurities can be hybridized with the energy levels of S and Zn at the top of valence band and the bottom o conduction band,which makes the band gap narrower,thus enhancing the absorption o visible light.Compared with pure ZnS,the degradation rates of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP and tetracycline (TC) by N/Cu-ZnS under visible light (>420 nm) are increased by 83.7 and51 times,respectively.In this research,a promising photocatalyst for photocatalytic degra dation of organic pollutants in wastewater is provided.

ZnO nanopowders and their excellent solar light/UV photocatalytic activity on degradation of dye in wastewater

Low-cost and scalable preparation,high photocatalytic activity,and convenient recycle of Zn O nanopowders(NPs)would determine their practical application in purifying wastewater.In this contribution,ZnO NPs were scalably synthesized via the simple reaction of Zn powder with H_2O vapor in autoclave.The structural,morphological and optical properties of the samples were systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,Fourier transform infrared spectra,transmission electron microscopy,Micro-Raman,photoluminescence,and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy.The as-prepared Zn O NPs are composed of nanoparticles with 100–150 nm in diameter,and have a small Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of 6.85 m^2/g.The formation of Zn O nanoparticles is relative to the peeling of H_2 release.Furthermore,the product has big strain-stress leading to the red-shift in the band gap of product,and shows a strong green emission centered at 515 nm revealing enough atomic defects in Zn O NPs.As a comparison with P25,the obtained dust gray Zn O NPs have a strong absorbance in the region of 200–700 nm,suggesting the wide wave-band utilization in sunlight.Based on the traits above,the Zn O NPs show excellent photocatalytic activity on the degradation of rhodamine B(Rh-B)under solar light irradiation,close to that under UV irradiation.Importantly,the Zn O NPs could be well recycled in water due to the quick sedimentation in themselves in solution.The low-cost and scalable preparation,high photocatalytic activity,and convenient recycle of Zn O NPs endow themselves with promising application in purifying wastewater.

S-doped graphene quantum dots as nanophotocatalyst for visible light degradation

Graphene quantum dots （GODs） recently emerge as the new and appealing nanophotocatalyst because of their low-cost, environmental compatibility and the ability to facilitate the charge migration and prolong the charge lifetimes. In this work, a visible photocatalyst of S-doped graphene quantum dots （S-GQDs） was prepared by a facile hydrothermal synthesis using 1,3,6-trinitropyrene and Na2S as precursors. The well crystallization and monodispersity as well as the chemical environment of S-GQDs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, atom force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectrum. A superior photocatalytic performance of S-GQDs was demonstrated for degradation of basic fuchsin under visible light irradiation. Furthermore, the possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on the trapping experiments of active species.