Light-induced ZnO/Ag/rGO bactericidal photocatalyst with synergistic effect of sustained release of silver ions and enhanced reactive oxygen species

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) can effectively address the issue of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections to reduce the potential toxicity of Ag NPs. Although challenging, it is, therefore, necessary to achieve the sustainable release of Ag+ ions from a finite amount of Ag NPs. This study aims at designing an efficient and benign antimicrobial silver-based ternary composite composed of photocatalysis zinc oxide (ZnO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as a carrier, in which the reactive oxygen species (ROS) excited from ZnO and Ag+ ions released from the Ag NPs cooperate to realize an effective antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus. The constant effective bacterial performance of the ternary photocatalyst with minimum Ag content can be attributed to the increase in the available quantity of ROS, which results from the enhanced separation efficiency of the photogenerated carriers. The proposed system notably realized the long-term sustainable release of Ag+ ions with low concentration for 30 days when compared with an equivalent amount of silver nitrate. Moreover, the use of the composite prevents biotoxicity and silver wastage, and imparts enhanced stability to the long-lasting antibacterial efficacy.

Enhancing zinc storage performance of Mn_(3)O_(4)cathode through Ag-doping and-crosslinking dual-modification strategy

Octahedral Mn_(3)O_(4)nanoparticles with an Ag-doping and nanoporous Ag(NPS)framework was simply fabricated through an alloying-etching engineering.The dual-modified Mn_(3)O_(4)(denoted as Ag−Mn_(3)O_(4)/NPS)consists of Ag-doped Mn_(3)O_(4)nanoparticles crosslinked with three dimensional nanoporous Ag framework.The incorporated Ag dopant is effective in improving the intrinsic ionic and electronic conductivities of Mn_(3)O_(4),while the NPS framework is introduced to improve the electron/mass transfer across the entire electrode.Profiting from the dual-modification strategy,the Ag−Mn_(3)O_(4)/NPS exhibits admirable rate capability and cycling stability.A high reversible capacity of 88.7 mA·h/g can still be retained for over 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A/g.Moreover,a series of ex-situ experimental techniques indicate that for Ag−Mn_(3)O_(4)/NPS electrode during the zinc ion storage,Mn_(3)O_(4)is electrochemically oxidized into various MnOx(e.g.,Mn_(2)O_(3),MnO2)species in the initial charging,and the subsequent battery reaction is actually the intercalation/deintercalation of H+and Zn2+into MnOx.

Curative effect of hydrogen peroxide combined with silver ion disinfection on pelvic floor dysfunction

BACKGROUND Pelvic floor dysfunction(PFD)is related to muscle fiber tearing during childbirth,negatively impacting postpartum quality of life of parturient.Appropriate and effective intervention is necessary to promote PFD recovery.AIM To analyze the use of hydrogen peroxide and silver ion disinfection for vaginal electrodes in conjunction with comprehensive rehabilitation therapy for postpartum women with PFD.METHODS A total of 59 women with PFD who were admitted to the hospital from May 2019 to July 2022 were divided into two groups:Control group(n=27)received comprehensive rehabilitation therapy and observation group(n=32)received intervention with pelvic floor biostimulation feedback instrument in addition to comprehensive rehabilitation therapy.The vaginal electrodes were disinfected with hydrogen peroxide and silver ion before treatment.Intervention for both groups was started 6 weeks postpartum,and rehabilitation lasted for 3 months.Pelvic floor muscle voltage,pelvic floor muscle strength,vaginal muscle voltage,vaginal muscle tone,pelvic floor function,quality of life,and incidence of postpartum PFD were compared between the two groups.RESULTS Before comprehensive rehabilitation treatment,basic data and pelvic floor function were not significantly different between the two groups.After treatment,the observation group showed significant improvements in the maximum voltage and average voltage of pelvic floor muscles,contraction time of type I and type II fibers,pelvic floor muscle strength,vaginal muscle tone,vaginal muscle voltage,and quality of life(GQOLI-74 reports),compared with the control group.The observation group had lower scores on the pelvic floor distress inventory(PFDI-20)and a lower incidence of postpartum PFD,indicating the effectiveness of the pelvic floor biostimulation feedback instrument in promoting the recovery of maternal pelvic floor function.CONCLUSION The combination of the pelvic floor biostimulation feedback instrument and comprehensive rehabilitation nursing can improve pelvic floor muscle strength,promote the recovery of vaginal muscle tone,and improve pelvic floor function and quality of life.The use of hydrogen peroxide and silver ion disinfectant demonstrated favorable antibacterial efficacy and is worthy of clinical application.

Effect of Hydrogen Reduction of Silver Ions on the Performance and Structure of New Solid Polymer Electrolyte PEI/Pebax2533/AgBF4 Composite Membranes

In this paper, the effect of hydrogen reduction of silver ions on the performance and structure of new solid polymer electrolyte polyetherimide （PEI）/Pebax2533 （Polynylonl2/tetramethylene oxide block copolymer, PA12-PTMO）/AgBF4 composite membranes is investigated. For PEI/Pebax2533/AgBF4 composite membranesprepared with dillerent AgBF4 concentration, the permeances of propylene and ethylene increase with the increase of AgBF4 concentration due to the carrier-facilitated transport, resulting in a high selectivity. But for propyl- ene/propane mixture, the mixed-gas selectivity is lower than its ideal selectivity. The hydrogen reduction strongly influences the membrane performance, which causes the decrease of propylene permeance and the increase of pro-pane permeance. With the increase of hydrogen reduction time, the membranes show a clearly color change from white to brown, yielding a great selectivity loss. The data of X-ray diffraction and FT-IR prove that silver ions are reduced to Ago after hydrogen reduction, and aggregated on the surface of PEI/Pebax2533/AgBF4 composite mem- branes.

Leaching of Silver from Boorchi Ag-Pb Ore in Mongolia with Acidic Thiourea Solution

A hydrometallurgical process to extract silver from the silver-lead ore in Boorchi,Mongolia by using thiourea leaching solution is studied in this work.Through the observation of optical and scanning electron microscopes,and energy spectral analysis,it is determined that 5 kinds of silver minerals exist in the ore,including argentite,Ag-tetrahedrite,Ag-Zn-Sb-tetrahedrite,freibergite and acanthite.The experimental results of direct thiourea leaching of the ore show that 56%～60% of silver is leached.The main reason for the low leaching rate is due to silver minerals enveloped in galena and other minerals,even though the ore is ground to the particle size of 75μm.When the ore is pretreated with ammonium carbonate solution under oxidation,the experimental results of thiourea leaching show that the leaching rate of silver increases to near 75% with the pretreatment.Based on the leaching experiments,a principle hydrometallurgical technological route to extract silver from the Ag-Pb ore is proposed.

Fast and efficient removal of silver(Ⅰ) from aqueous solutions using aloe vera shell ash supported Ni_(0.5)Zn_(0.5)Fe_2O_4 magnetic nanoparticles

Silver (I) was removed from aqueous environment by aloe vera shell ash supported Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles.The adsorbent was characterized by several methods including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), BETisotherm, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). To determine the absorptionof silver (I) by this adsorbent, different pH values (2?7), adsorbent dose (0.01?0.5 g), concentrations of Ag+ (50, 100, 200, 300, 500,700 and 1000 mg/L) and exposure time (5?100 min) were experimented. The highest removal efficiency of Ag+ was achieved underoptimum condition (30 min and pH=5). The optimum adsorbent dose was 0.20 g (in 50 mL of 100 mg/L Ag+ solution), whichachieved a removal efficiency of 98.3%. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity based on the Langmuir isotherm is243.90 mg/g. Characterization results revealed that specific surface area and porous volume were 814.23 m2/g and 0.726 cm3/g,respectively. The experimental data were fitted well with the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Synthesized adsorbent has desired surface area and adsorptive capacity for silver (I) adsorption in aquatic environment.

Silver-ion HPLC测定1,3-二油酸-2-棕榈酸三酰甘油的含量

准确测定1,3-二油酸-2-棕榈酸三酰甘油(OPO)的含量,建立了一种以高效液相色谱结合银离子交换柱(Silver-ion HPLC)的测定方法。以ChromSpher 5 Lipid(25 cm×4.6 mm,5μm)银离子交换柱通过HPLC正相系统分离三酰甘油,配合蒸发光散射检测器(ELSD),以毒性较小的二氯甲烷和丙酮为流动相。流速0.6 mL/min,柱温30℃。漂移管温度30℃,空气压力0.35 MPa。在此条件下,1,3-二油酸-2-棕榈酸三酰甘油和1,2-二油酸-3-棕榈酸三酰甘油两种同分异构体基本达到分离,样品出峰完整,峰形良好。OPO色谱峰面积的自然对数与浓度的自然对数呈良好的线性关系(R2=0.998 8)。用该方法测定了母乳脂肪、实验室合成结构油脂样品、商品结构油脂、棕榈油和山茶油中OPO的含量。结果表明该方法的灵敏度高、重现性良好。

Surface characteristics,corrosion behavior,and antibacterial property of Ag-implanted NiTi alloy

NiTi shape memory alloy was modified by Ag ion implantation with different incident doses to improve its antibacterial property. The atomic force microscopy, auger electron spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that the surface of NiTi alloy is covered by TiO2 nano-film with embedded pure Ag with a peak concentration of 5.0 at% at the incident dose of 1.5 x10^17 ions.cm-a, and Ni concentration is reduced in the super- ficial surface layer. The surface roughness reaches the maximum value nearly twice higher than the control sample at the incident dose of 1.5x10^17 ions.cm-2. The potentiodynamic anodic polarization curves show that the Ag-implanted NiTi samples possess higher self-corrosion potential （Ecorr） and lower self-corrosion current density （icor0 but lower breakdown potential （Ebr）. Therefore, the corrosion resistance of the Ag-NiTi is comparable to, if not better than, the untreated NiTi. The antibacterial tests reveal that there is a distinct reduction of the germ numbers on the Ag-NiTi, which is due to the direct contact between Ag and germ, and enhanced by the leaching Ag ions.

石墨烯/纳米银对Ag/AgCl海洋电场探测电极的改性机制研究

针对不同含量石墨烯/纳米银改性的Ag/AgCl电极分别进行交流阻抗、扫描电镜、吸水率和电位稳定性测试。实验结果表明:随着石墨烯/纳米银含量的增加,改性Ag/AgCl电极的界面结构参数弥散系数C_(dl)-P增大,电容值C_(dl)-T减小,动力学特征参数电荷转移电阻R_(ct)先减小后增大。基于交流阻抗测试得到的电极动力学特征信息及界面结构信息与电极的扫描电镜、吸水率以及电位稳定性测试结果基本吻合。石墨烯/纳米银对Ag/AgCl电极的改性主要体现在提高电极的表面均匀性和导电性,但是降低了电极的孔隙率,这3个方面影响的协同作用反映了石墨烯/纳米银对Ag/AgCl电极改性的内在机制。

Adsorption and desorption behavior of silver ions onto valonia tannin resin

Valonia tannin （VT） was gelated through polymerization with formaldehyde to prepare an adsorbent, which was found effective to remove Ag＋ from aqueous solution. The adsorption-desorption behaviors of valonia tannin resin （VTR） were investigated under various initial Ag＋ concentrations, solution temperatures, pH values etc. The applicability of empirical kinetic models was also studied. The pseudo-second-order model studies revealed the Ag＋ sorption was very rapid. VT and VTR were characterized using FTIR and SEM before and after adsorption. The Ag＋ biosorption on VTR increased with a rise in initial concentration of Ag＋ and with a decrease in temperature. Desorption experiments were conducted at low pH values and the solutions of H2SO4, HNO3 and HCl were used for desorption. The VTR shows high adsorption capacity to Ag＋ in a wide pH range of 2.0-7.0, and a maximum adsorption capacity of 97.08 mg/g was obtained at pH 5.0 and 296 K when the initial concentration of Ag＋ was 100.0 mg/L. Ag＋ ion desorption could reach 99.6% using 1 mol/L HCl＋1% thiourea （NH2CSNH2） solution. By utilizing such characteristics of VTR, it is expected that it can be applied to recovering Ag＋ efficiently and simply with low cost.

Deep Desulfurization via Adsorption by Silver Modified Bentonite

In order to further reduce the sulfur content in liquid hydrocarbon fuels,a desulfurization process by adsorption for removing alkyl dibenzothiophenes was investigated.Desulfurization of model gasoline by bentonite adsorbents loaded with silver nitrate was studied.The test results indicated that the bentonite adsorbents loaded with Ag + ions were effective for adsorbing the alkyl dibenzothiophenes.The crystal structure of bentonite adsorbents was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and their acidity was measured by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.Several factors influencing the desulfurization capability,including the Ag + loading,the baking temperature,as well as the reaction temperature,were investigated.The desulfurization efficiency was enhanced by increasing the Ag + loading and the best result was obtained at a silver loading of 7 m%.It was found that the adsorption capacity of the alkyl dibenzothiophenes on bentonite loaded with Ag + ions increased with a decreasing temperature.Baking of the adsorbent could also improve the desulfurization capacity,and the optimum baking temperature was 423 K.

A Novel Method for the Selective Determination of Silver (I) Ion

Water-soluble CdSe quantum dots (QDs) capped by bovine serum albumin (BSA) is described as selective silver (I) ion probe based on their fluorescence (FL) quenched by silver ion at pH 5.7. The detection limit is 3×10-7 mol L-1 for silver ion. The interference was also investigated.

Theoretic and Experimental Studies on Titania Nanotube Doped with Ag Metal Ions

The electronic state density and energy bands of Ag-doped anatase TiO2 are studied by WIEN2k software package based on DFT. The calculation results show that the band-gap of anatase titania became bigger after doping with Ag metal ions. The band-gap transfers from 2.04 to 2.5 eV, but a new energy band appears among the forbidden band after the Ag atom substitution. The interband width of Ag-TiO2 is 0.17 eV, which is located at –0.07 eV; more excitation and jump routes are opened for the electrons. The lowest excitation energy can achieve 1.2 eV, which may allow the photons with lower energy （at longer wavelength, such as visible light） to be absorbed. Ag ions are implanted into the titania nanotube sample by MEVVA （Metal Vapor Vacuum Arc） implanter. The photo-electrochemical response and photo-degradation experiment of titania nanotube samples implanted with Ag ions are tested under UV and visible light; the results indicated that the performance of implanted titania naotubes is enhanced both under UV and visible light; it is worth mentioning that the photocurrent density can reach 0.145 mA/cm2 under visible light, which is 181 times higher than those of pure TiNT, and the k value of degradation methyl orange can obtain 0.30 h-1, which is 71 times higher than that of pure TiNT. All the experimental results are consistent well with the theoretic ones.

Effects of Trace Silver and Magnesium on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-Cu-Li Alloys

The effects of trace silver and magnesium additions on the microstructure and me chanical properties of the Al-Cu-Li alloys were investigated. The experimental results indicate that the effect of combined additions of Ag and Mg is the most obvious,the next is that of individual addition of Mg, and that of individual a ddition of Ag is the least. The addition of Ag and Mg in Al-Cu-Li alloy accele rates the precipitation of T1 and results in increasing the ageing hardness and strength. Prior cold work significantly improves the tensile strength by enhanci ng T1 precipitation in all the alloys investigated.

Effects of Ag addition on the microstructures and properties of Al–Mg–Si–Cu alloys

Effects of Ag addition on the microsmactures, aging characteristics, tensile properties, electrochemical properties, and intergranu- lar corrosion （IGC） properties of Al 1.1Mg-0.8Si-0.9Cu-0.35Mn4）.02Ti alloy were investigated using scanning electronic microscopy and transmission electronic microscopy. The aging process of Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys was accelerated by the addition of Ag. The strength of peak-aged Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys was enhanced by Ag addition because of the high density of β＂- and L-phase age-hardening precipitates. The corrosion performance of the Al-Mg-Sii-Cu alloy is closely related to the aging conditions and is independent of the Ag content. The IGC susceptibility is serious in the peak-aged alloy because of the continuous distribution of Cu-rich Q-phase precipitates along grain boun- daries. Ag addition reduces the size of the grain-boundary-precipitate Q phase and the width of the precipitate-free zone and thus results in decreased IGC susceptibility of Al-Mg-Si Cu alloys.

In vitro microbiologically-induced concrete corrosion behavior of Ag^(+) loaded zeolite-polyurethane coating for concrete sewer applications

Microbiologically-induced concrete corrosion(MICC)refers to chemical reactions between biologically produced sulphuric acid and with hydration products in the hardened concrete paste,resulting in an early reduction of strength,deterioration,and very severe circumstances,structural failure.This paper explores the bactericidal characteristics of cementitious materials with surface coated with modified zeolite-polyurethane.The zeolite-polyurethane coating incorporated with silver was studied in environments inoculated with A.thiooxidans bacteria for 8 consecutive weeks.The antibacterial characteristics were evaluated in terms of pH,optical density(OD),sulphate production and bacteria count to determine the effectiveness of the zeolite-polyurethane coatings in environments inoculated with A.thiooxidans bacteria producing the sulphuric acid.The results revealed that the samples incorporated with silver modified zeolites generally showed antibacterial performance(regardless of the zeolite type)compared with unmodified polyurethane coating.This was evaluated by the lack of bacteria attachment and the deformed microcolonies on the sample surface,lag in pH reduction,increase in OD,and sulphate production.The silver zeolites gained their antibacterial performance from the release of silver ions(Ag^(+))when the sample comes into contact with aqueous solutions.This results in the inhibition of cell functions of the bacteria and subsequently causes cell damage.

Effect of pH on the photocatalytic removal of silver ions byβ-MnO2 particles

The presence of silver ions(Ag(I))in wastewater has a detrimental effect on living organisms.Removal of soluble silver,especially at low concentrations,is challenging.This paper presents the use ofβ-MnO2 particles as a photocatalyst to remove Ag(I)ions selectively from aqueous solution at various pH levels.Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS),X-ray diffraction(XRD),field emission electron microscope(FESEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),and X-ray photoelectron microscopy(XPS)were employed to determine the removal efficiency and to characterize the deposition of silver onto the surface ofβ-MnO2 particles.The optimum pH for the removal of Ag(I)ions was at pH 4 with 99%removal efficiency under 1 h of visible light irradiation.This phenomenon can be attributed to the electrostatic attraction betweenβ-MnO2 particles and Ag(I)ions as well as the suppression of electron–hole recombination in the presence of H+ions.

A comparative study of four 20-membered N_2S_4-crown ethers as ionophores for polymeric membrane silver selective electrodes

Four 20-membered N_2S_4-monoazathiacrown ethers have been synthesized and explored as neutral ionophores for Ag^+-selective electrodes.Potentiometric responses reveal that the flexibility of the ligands has great effect on the selectivity and sensitivity to Ag^+ ions.The electrode based on ionophore 9,10,20,25-tetrahydro-5H,12H-tribenzo[b,n,r][1,7,10,16,4,13]tetrathiadiaza cycloicosine 6,13-(7H,14H)-dione(C) with 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether(o-NPOE) as solvent in a poly(vinyl chloride)(PVC) membrane matrix sho...

Investigation of Silver Nanostructures and Their Influence on the Fluorescence Spectrum of Erbium-Doped Glasses

Sodium borate glasses embedded with silver were made by the melt quenching technique. Glass transition temperature was recorded by thermal analysis of the sample. As made glasses revealed emission in the visible region under nitrogen laser and excimer laser excitations. Heat treatment was used to induce silver metallic particles. Absorption spectra revealed a peak at 417 nm due to surface Plasmon resonance. Particle size was estimated to be 2.6 ± 0.2 nm. Erbium and silver co-doped multielement oxide glasses were made by the melt quenching technique followed by heat treatment to induce nanoparticles. In heat treated samples, Er3+ luminescence increased 4× due to enhanced field in the vicinity of silver particles. Under excimer laser excitation, Er3+ and 2% Ag co-doped glass revealed Er3+ transitions due to enhanced field at the rare-earth ions. Under 795 nm laser excitation Er3+ green upconversion signals are found to be 4× stronger in 2% Ag co-doped, heat treated sample, than the others.

Ground-based Investigations of Atomic Oxygen Erosion Behaviors of Silver and Ion-implanted Silver

Silver foils and ion-implanted silver foils exposed to atomic oxygen （AO） generated in a ground simulation facility were investigated by the quartz crystal microbalance （QCM）, the scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. The experimental results show the presence of Ag2O and AgO in an oxidation process of the silver foil having exposure to AO. As soon as silver comes under the bombardment of atomic oxygen, the oxidation process starts with a thick film forming on the silver surface. Because of the development of stresses, the oxide layer gets cracked and spalled, which leads to appearance of a new silver surface intensifying further oxidation. At last, AgO begins to form on the outer surface of the oxide film. The analytical results of the XPS and the AES attest to formation of a continuous high-quality protective oxide-based layer on the surface of ion-implanted silver films after exposure to AO. This layer can well protect materials in question from erosion.