Morphology and Photocatalytic Activity of Nanosized Titania Particles

Nanosized TiO 2 particles, synthesized by microemulsion mediated method, were characterized by XRD, TEM, EDS and BET. To judge the activity of TiO 2 particles, the photocatalytic destruction of phenol in aerated suspension was studied. The result shows that the photocatalytic activity of lab made nanometer anatase TiO 2 is comparable to or higher than that of commercial titania particles. The effects of some processing parameters such as TiO 2 content, oxygen flow rate, pH value on phenol removal were also investigated. The experimental results indicate that there is an optimum value for the TiO 2 content. Sufficient O 2 supply is needed, but too high gas flow rate induces large bubbles that eliminate the gas residence time and the gas/liquid contact interface. The pH value of the phenol solutions has a complex effect on the photocatalytic activity of the particles.

THE SOL-GEL APPROACH TO PREPARE NANOSIZED SnO_2 PARTICLES

Nanosized SnO2 particles which are uniformly distributed are prepared through sol-gel process using anhydrous SnCl4 and iso-PrOH. By comgaring the results of XRD patterns with the JCPDS standard card of SnO2 and ahalysing the TEM images of the product, we can prove that we got the narrow distributed SnO2 particles. The mean diameter of the particles is about 20 nm even sintered at 700℃ for 2 hours.

Synthesis and Gas-sensing Performance of Nanosized SnO_2

Nanosized tin dioxide particles were prepared by sol-gel dialytic processes with tin(Ⅳ) chloride and alcohol as start materials. The nanoparticles of tin dioxide were charactered by thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis(TG-DTA), X-ray diffraction(XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and BET. The results show that the average diameter of tin dioxide particles dried at 353 K was about 2 nm. Even if the tin dioxide particles were calcined at 873 K, the average diameter of particles was less than 10 nm. The removal of Cl- was solved by using this kind of method. The mechanism of the formation of tin dioxide nanosized particles was proposed and analyzed in this paper. We also measured the sensitivity of the sensor based on the tin oxide powder calcined at 673 K to NH 3, alcohol, acetone, hexane and CO. The gas-sensing performance results indicate that this sensor has a higher sensitivity to alcohol and acetone, and selectivity for NH 3, hexane and CO at an operating temperature of 343 K.

In-situ pressure-induced BiVO_(4)/Bi_(0.6)Y_(0.4)VO_(4) S-scheme heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic overall water splitting activity

Step-scheme(S-scheme)heterojunctions in photocatalysts can provide novel and practical insight on promoting photogenerated carrier separation.The latter is critical in controlling the overall efficiency in one-step photoexcitation systems.In this study,a nanosized BiVO4/Bi0.6Y0.4VO4 solid solution was prepared by a coprecipitation method following with hydrothermal or calcination processes.The S-scheme heterojunction was fabricated by in-situ pressure-induced transformations of bismuth vanadate from the tetragonal zircon phase to the monoclinic scheelite phase,which led to the formation of BiVO4 nanoparticles with a diameter of approximately 5 nm on the surface of BiVO_(4)/Bi_(0.6)Y_(0.4)VO_(4)/Bi_(0.6)Y_(0.4)VO_(4) with S-scheme heterojunctions showed significantly enhanced photocatalytic overall water splitting activity compared with using bare BiVO_(4)/Bi_(0.6)Y_(0.4)VO_(4).Characterization of the carrier dynamics demonstrated that a superior carrier separation through S-type heterojunctions might have caused the enhanced overall water splitting(OWS)activity.Surface photovoltage spectra and the results of selective photodeposition experiments indicated that the photogenerated holes mainly migrated to the BiVO4 nanoparticles in the heterojunction.This confirmed that the charge transfer route corresponds to an S-scheme rather than a type-II heterojunction mechanism under light illumination.This study presents a facile and efficient strategy to construct S-scheme heterojunctions through a pressure-induced phase transition.The results demonstrated that S-scheme junctions composed of different crystalline phases can boost the carrier separation capacity and eventually improve the photocatalytic OWS activity.

Enhancing the high-temperature creep properties of Mo alloys via nanosized La_(2)O_(3) particle addition

Molybdenum(Mo) alloys with different La_(2)O_(3)particle additions(0.6,0.9,1.5 wt.%) were prepared by powder metallurgy to investigate the effect of La_(2)O_(3)particles on microstructural evolution and creep behavior of the alloy.Pure Mo,annealed at 1500℃ for 1 h,presented a fully recrystallized microstructure characterized by equiaxed grains.The alloys doped with La_(2)O_(3)particles(Mo-La_(2)O_(3)alloys),on the other hand,exhibited fibrous grains elongated in the rolling direction of the plate.In contrast to the shape of the grains,the average grain size of the alloys was found to be insensitive to the addition of La_(2)O_(3)particles.Nanosized La_(2)O_(3)particles with diameters ranging from 65 to 75 nm were distributed within the grain interior.Tensile creep tests showed that dislocation creep was the predominant deformation mode at intermediate creep rate(10^(-7)s^(-1)-10^(-4)s^(-1)) in the present alloys.The creep stress exponent and activation energy were found to decrease with increasing temperature,particularly within the low creep rate regime(<10^(-7)s^(-1)).The Mo-La_(2)O_(3)alloys exhibited remarkably greater apparent stress exponent and activation energy than pure Mo.A creep constitutive model based on the interaction between particles and dislocations was utilized to rationalize the nanoparticle-improved creep behavior.It was demonstrated that low relaxed efficiency of dislocation line energy,which is responsible for an enhanced climb resistance of dislocations,is the major creep strengthening mechanism in the Mo-La_(2)O_(3)alloys.In addition,the area reduction and creep fracture mode of the Mo-La_(2)O_(3)alloys were found to be a function of the creep rate and temperature,which can be explained by the effect of the two parameters on the creep and fracture mechanisms.

Monodisperse amino-modified nanosized zero-valent iron for selective and recyclable removal of TNT: Synthesis, characterization, and removal mechanism

Nitroaromatic explosives are major pollutants produced during wars that cause serious environmental and health problems. The removal of a typical nitroaromatic explosive, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene(TNT), from aqueous solution, was conducted using a new recyclable magnetic nano-adsorbent(Fe@SiO_(2) –NH_(2)). This adsorbent was prepared by grafting amino groups onto Fe@SiO_(2) particles with a well-defined core-shell structure and demonstrated monodispersity in solution. The removal performance of the nano-adsorbent towards TNT was found to be 2.57 and 4.92 times higher than that towards two analogous explosives, 2,4-dinitrotoluene(2,4-DNT) and 2-nitrotoluene(2-NT), respectively, under neutral conditions. The difference in the removal performance among the three compounds was further compared in terms of the effects of different conditions(pH value, ionic strength, humic acid concentration, adsorbent modification degree and dosage, etc.) and the electrostatic potential distributions of the three compounds. The most significant elevation is owing to modification of amino on Fe@SiO_(2) which made a 20.7% increase in adsorption efficiency of TNT. The experimental data were well fit by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Freundlich adsorption isotherm model, indicating multilayer adsorption on a heterogeneous surface. The experimental results and theoretical considerations show that the interactions between Fe@SiO_(2) –NH_(2) NPs and TNT correspond to dipole-dipole and hydrophobic interactions. These interactions should be considered in the design of an adsorbent. Furthermore, the adaptability to aqueous environment and excellent regeneration capacity of Fe@SiO_(2) –NH_(2) NPs makes these remediation materials promising for applications.

Synthesis of an eco-friendly nanocomposite fertilizer for common bean based on carbon nanoparticles from agricultural waste biochar

The burning of agricultural waste is a major cause of environmental pollution.In this study,we sought to prepare biochar from agricultural waste as a source material for the preparation of carbon nanoparticles(CNPs).Surface morphology,hydrodynamic particle size,and purity and crystallinity of CNPs were extensively investigated using transmission electron microscopy(TEM),zeta sizing,and X-ray diffraction(XRD)spectroscopy,respectively.The CNPs were subsequently immersed in a solution of potassium nitrate(KNO_(3))to prepare a CNPs/NK nanocomposite(CNPs loaded with nitrogen(N)and potassium(K))as a nanocomposite fertilizer for common bean(Phaseolus vulgaris L.).The CNPs/NK nanocomposite was sprayed as a foliar fertilizer at 0,10,20,30,and 40 mg L^(-1) on common bean plants 25 d after sowing on a farm in Shebin El-Kom,El-Monifia,Egypt.The growth,yield,and quality of common bean were investigated during two successive growing seasons(2017 and 2018).The highest seed yields of 2.04 and 2.01 t ha^(-1) and the highest values of growth parameters including plant height of 61.5 and 59.2 cm,number of leaves per plant of 35 and 35,number of flowers per plant of 83.3 and 82.7,and plant fresh weight of 148.7 and 152.8 g plant^(-1) were obtained when using the CNPs/NK nanocomposite at a concentration of 20 mg L^(-1) during the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons,respectively.

Synthesis of nanosize europium oxide particles by using W/O microemulsion

Europium hydroxide particles with an average diameter of 10 run and a BET surface area of 127 m2 /g have been prepared by controlled precipitation in the polyoxyethylene octylphenol (Triton X-100) (hex-anol)/cyclohexane/water microemulsion system. After calcination in air at 750℃, the obtained europium hydroxide particles were readily converted to the nanosize Eu2O3 particles with an average size of 30 nm and a high BET surface area of 36.5 m2/g.

EFFECTS OF FINELY DISPERSED METALLIC PALLADIUM ON MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF NANOCOMPOSITES PRODUCED BY SOL-GEL TECHNIQUE

Nanosized palladium particles were incorporated into mesoporous silica matrix to obtain nanocomposites using the sol-gel technique. Effects of the finely dispersed metallic palladium on the microstructure and properties of the nanocomposites were investigated. By means of X-ray diffraction and optical absorption, it was found that palladium particles were 5~9 nm in diameter and their uniform dispersion in the mesoporous silica depended on both the content of the palladium and the structural features of the silica matrix. The results showed that the mixing method of preparation led to wider size distribution of the nanosized particles as compared to the immersion method, but dispersed degree was reduced. Although the incorporation of nanosized palladium particles could not substantially induce significant structural changes of the matrix, the apparent red-shifted optical absorptions for the nanocomposites were observed as compared to the parent monolithic silica, particularly with increase in palladium loading and calcination temperature.