Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic performance of heterostructured CuO–ZnO-loaded composite nanofiber membranes

• Wei Fang,
• Liang Yu and
• Lan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 631–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.50

• flocculation, have attracted much attention recently [1][2][3]. The photocatalytic purification of water has the advantages of high efficiency, thoroughness, and no secondary pollution. Various refractory organic pollutants in water are thoroughly oxidized to non-toxic and less harmful substances. Thus

• in the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants were performed [46][47][48]. In this study, the photocatalytic degradation experiments under UV irradiation were carried out using the four prepared CNFMs in order to degrade a methyl orange solution with a concentration of 10 mg/L. The four

Adsorptive removal of bulky dye molecules from water with mesoporous polyaniline-derived carbon

• Hyung Jun An,
• Jong Min Park,
• Nazmul Abedin Khan and
• Sung Hwa Jhung

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 597–605, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.47

• removal of contaminants of emerging concern, hazardous organics and persistent organic pollutants. Carbonaceous materials have been particularly attractive in the purification of contaminated water via adsorption because of the easy preparation of carbon materials [26], especially from waste materials [28

Synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance of 0D/2D CuO/tourmaline composite photocatalysts

• Changqiang Yu,
• Min Wen,
• Zhen Tong,
• Shuhua Li,
• Yanhong Yin,
• Xianbin Liu,
• Yesheng Li,
• Tongxiang Liang,
• Ziping Wu and
• Dionysios D. Dionysiou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 407–416, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.31

• File 1, Figure S3). The results implied that the as-synthesized CuO/tourmaline composite was durable and stable toward the photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants, which might be because tourmaline protected CuO from photocorrosion by facilitating the fast transfer of the photogenerated e

• for the oxidation of organic pollutants. (a) XRD spectra of the CuO, tourmaline, and CuO/tourmaline composite. (b) High-resolution Cu 2p XPS spectra of the CuO and CuO/tourmaline composite. FTIR spectra of the CuO, tourmaline, and CuO/tourmaline composite. SEM images of (a) tourmaline, (b) CuO, and (c

Improved adsorption and degradation performance by S-doping of (001)-TiO₂

• Xiao-Yu Sun,
• Xian Zhang,
• Xiao Sun,
• Ni-Xian Qian,
• Min Wang and
• Yong-Qing Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2116–2127, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.206

• -S2 sample has the highest •OH and •O2− signal intensity. This indicates that the sample has the highest number of •OH and •O2− radicals. Therefore, it shows the best pollutant degradation performance. •OH and •O2− radicals can degrade organic pollutants (MB) into nontoxic CO2 and water. Furthermore

• increase in the amount of •OH and •O2− radicals. Keywords: anatase; chemical state; degradation; photocatalytic properties; S-doping; thermal chemical vapor deposition; titanium dioxide (TiO2); Introduction Anatase TiO2 with a tetragonal symmetry has widely been used for the degradation of organic

• pollutants, as well as in electrocatalysis, solar cells and self-cleaning applications. Its wide use is based on its physicochemical properties, abundance, nontoxicity, environment-friendliness and low cost [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. The photocatalytic properties of anatase TiO2 crystals are anisotropic since

BiOCl/TiO₂/diatomite composites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B

• Minlin Ao,
• Kun Liu,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Zishun Li,
• Qian Peng and
• Jing Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1412–1422, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.139

• Abstract A BiOCl/TiO2/diatomite (BTD) composite was synthesized via a modified sol–gel method and precipitation/calcination method for application as a photocatalyst and shows promise for degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater upon visible-light irradiation. In the composite, diatomite was used as

Construction of a 0D/1D composite based on Au nanoparticles/CuBi₂O₄ microrods for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

• Weilong Shi,
• Mingyang Li,
• Hongji Ren,
• Feng Guo,
• Xiliu Huang,
• Yu Shi and
• Yubin Tang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1360–1367, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.134

• , Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212018, PR China School of Energy and Power, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212003, PR China 10.3762/bjnano.10.134 Abstract Photocatalysis is considered to be a promising technique for the degradation of organic pollutants. Herein, a 0D/1D composite

• photocatalysis as an advanced green technology has been widely studied and applied for the removal of organic pollutants from water [1][2][3]. The catalytic activity of many wide-bandgap (Eg) semiconductor photocatalysts is restricted to UV light radiation, which is only 5% of the solar spectrum. Hence, the

• used for the oxidative degradation of organic pollutants [18]. In this context, there is a need for more efforts regarding the design and development of efficient noble metal-decorated CuBi2O4 photocatalysts. Recently, composite photocatalysts of zero-dimensional (0D) and one-dimensional (1D) materials

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• often than ZnO NPs regarding their use as photocatalysts. One of the main applications of clay–semiconductor materials is the mineralization of organic pollutants, which represents an ideal solution for the remediation of wastewater contaminated with diverse organic species. This process consists in the

• oxidative decomposition of organic pollutants to non-toxic inorganic species such as carbon dioxide, avoiding the formation of any kind of residual sludge [23]. In fact, advanced oxidation processes (AOP) might be considered as promising technologies for the sustainable removal of pollutants from urban

• alkoxides, salts or coordination complexes, remain associated with the delaminated clay sheets, resulting in stable and efficient photoactive catalysts of particular interest for the removal of organic pollutants from wastewater [84][87][89][106][107][118][128]. Akkari and co-workers [118] have recently

Tailoring the stability/aggregation of one-dimensional TiO₂(B)/titanate nanowires using surfactants

• Atiđa Selmani,
• Johannes Lützenkirchen,
• Kristina Kučanda,
• Dario Dabić,
• Engelbert Redel,
• Ida Delač Marion,
• Damir Kralj,
• Darija Domazet Jurašin and
• Maja Dutour Sikirić

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1024–1037, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.103

• because of their unique physicochemical properties compared to the bulk material. TNMs play an important role in various applications such as photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants [1][2], sensors [3][4], solid oxide fuel cells [5], water purification [6][7], adsorption of radioactive and heavy

New micro/mesoporous nanocomposite material from low-cost sources for the efficient removal of aromatic and pathogenic pollutants from water

• Emmanuel I. Unuabonah,
• Robert Nöske,
• Jens Weber,
• Christina Günter and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 119–131, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.11

• situations. As a result, cheap yet highly efficient materials that can be used for the purification of very large volumes of water are therefore highly sought after [4]. This approach applies to all subgroups of contaminants – heavy metals, organic pollutants, and biological contaminants. One approach to

Impact of the anodization time on the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ nanotubes

• Jesús A. Díaz-Real,
• Geyla C. Dubed-Bandomo,
• Juan Galindo-de-la-Rosa,
• Luis G. Arriaga,
• Janet Ledesma-García and
• Nicolas Alonso-Vante

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2628–2643, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.244

• such as excellent chemical stability, photo-corrosion resistance, low cost, and low toxicity make TiO2 a material suitable for energy production and environmental applications, such as advanced oxidation processes for the decomposition of organic pollutants in water [2][3]. However, the material

Nanocellulose: Recent advances and its prospects in environmental remediation

• Katrina Pui Yee Shak,
• Yean Ling Pang and
• Shee Keat Mah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2479–2498, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.232

• concerns warrant the application of bio-renewable polymers in the production of nanomaterials. In recent years, nanomaterials have displayed potential in effective detection and removal of greenhouse gases, chemical contaminants, organic pollutants, and biological agents. These materials come in various

• adsorbent for wastewater treatment due to its adsorption affinity towards organic pollutants. Unlike micrometre-sized cellulose, the nanometre-sized counterparts are relatively smaller in dimensional size but also possess a larger surface area with improved porosity, which limits internal diffusion and

• nanocellulose for example, is desired due to their good performance in the removal of organic pollutants. Hokkanen et al. [88] reported that calcium hydroxyapatite-microfibrillated cellulose adsorbent was effective for the removal of chromium (Cr(VI)) from aqueous solution. They found that calcium

ZnO-nanostructure-based electrochemical sensor: Effect of nanostructure morphology on the sensing of heavy metal ions

• Marina Krasovska,
• Vjaceslavs Gerbreders,
• Irena Mihailova,
• Andrejs Ogurcovs,
• Eriks Sledevskis,
• Andrejs Gerbreders and
• Pavels Sarajevs

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2421–2431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.227

• the presence of lead and other heavy ions, even in small quantities, is an important and topical task. ZnO nanostructures are promising candidates for use in such sensors. They are sensitive to various types of contamination, including almost all heavy metal ions and organic pollutants, and show very

SERS active Ag–SiO₂ nanoparticles obtained by laser ablation of silver in colloidal silica

• Cristina Gellini,
• Francesco Muniz-Miranda,
• Alfonso Pedone and
• Maurizio Muniz-Miranda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2396–2404, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.224

• chemical reactants. These nanocomposites, which combine the adsorption properties of silica with the plasmonic properties of nanometer-sized silver, can be used for several purposes, for example, for the SERS detection of environmental contaminants such as POPs (persistent organic pollutants), as

Synthesis of a MnO₂/Fe₃O₄/diatomite nanocomposite as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for methylene blue degradation

• Zishun Li,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Kun Liu,
• Jing Huang,
• Yueyang Xu,
• Qian Peng and
• Minlin Ao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1940–1950, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.185

• ) oxide (Fe3O4); manganese(IV) oxide (MnO2); Introduction Organic contaminants are widely distributed in water and soil due to the excessive emissions of industrial processes, which causes a great threat to the ecosystem as well as to human health [1][2][3]. Most of the organic pollutants are toxic and

• -based catalysts, MnO2 shows good catalytic performance because of the Mn(III)/Mn(IV) redox loop and much less sludge formation due to the neutral functional pH value [11][12]. Although, the MnO2-PMS system shows good prospect in the treatment of organic pollutants, modifications focusing on the

• organic pollutants. XRD patterns of the purified diatomite and the prepared diatomite-supported composites. FTIR spectra of the purified diatomite and prepared diatomite-supported composites. The SEM images of diatomite (a), Fe3O4/diatomite (b, d), MnO2/Fe3O4/diatomite (c and e), EDX spectrum (f) and

Sulfur-, nitrogen- and platinum-doped titania thin films with high catalytic efficiency under visible-light illumination

• Boštjan Žener,
• Lev Matoh,
• Giorgio Carraro,
• Bojan Miljević and
• Romana Cerc Korošec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1629–1640, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.155

• of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technology, Bulevar cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia 10.3762/bjnano.9.155 Abstract Titanium dioxide photocatalysts have received a lot of attention during the past decades due to their ability to degrade various organic pollutants to CO2 and H2O, which makes them

Cr(VI) remediation from aqueous environment through modified-TiO₂-mediated photocatalytic reduction

• Rashmi Acharya,
• Brundabana Naik and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1448–1470, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.137

• irradiation of suitable light energy. The mechanism of photodegradation of organic pollutants involves the formation of reactive species like O2•− and •OH as per Equation 6 and Equation 7. Some of the O2•− species combine with H+ ions to form •OOH as represented in Equation 8. These active species (•OH, O2

• •− and •OOH) decompose the organic pollutants to less harmful compounds like H2O and CO2 (Equation 9). Photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) The semiconductor-mediated photocatalytic reduction of aqueous Cr(VI) has also recently gained tremendous importance because of its simple operation under ambient

Ag₂WO₄ nanorods decorated with AgI nanoparticles: Novel and efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for the degradation of water pollutants

• Shijie Li,
• Shiwei Hu,
• Wei Jiang,
• Yanping Liu,
• Yu Liu,
• Yingtang Zhou,
• Liuye Mo and
• Jianshe Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1308–1316, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.123

• still achieves the highest apparent rate constant (0.0292 min−1 for MO degradation and 0.0129 min−1 for 4-CP degradation) among all these samples. The mineralization of organic pollutants is crucial for pollutant treatment [46]. Thus, the total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency of RhB over 0.3AgI

Facile synthesis of a ZnO–BiOI p–n nano-heterojunction with excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Mengyuan Zhang,
• Jiaqian Qin,
• Pengfei Yu,
• Bing Zhang,
• Mingzhen Ma,
• Xinyu Zhang and
• Riping Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 789–800, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.72

• , probably a result of the quantum confinement effect in the nanometer-sized ZnO particles. Photocatalytic degradation To test the as-synthesized samples’ ability to remove organic pollutants from waste water, the photodegradation of RhB was carried out under illumination by visible light from a 300 W Xe

Fabrication and photoactivity of ionic liquid–TiO₂ structures for efficient visible-light-induced photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants in aqueous phase

• Anna Gołąbiewska,
• Marta Paszkiewicz-Gawron,
• Aleksandra Sadzińska,
• Wojciech Lisowski,
• Ewelina Grabowska,
• Adriana Zaleska-Medynska and
• Justyna Łuczak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 580–590, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.54

• at the surface of the IL–TiO2 material under visible-light illumination, and is responsible for the effective phenol degradation. Keywords: heterogeneous photocatalysis; ionic liquids; TiO2; visible light catalysis; Introduction The development of heterogeneous photocatalysis to degrade organic

• pollutants in aqueous and gas phases requires visible-light responsive, stable materials and a basic understanding of these materials [1][2][3][4]. Although various semiconductors are considered for environmental pollution abatement, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is still the most promising due to its stability

Facile synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄ photocatalysts for decolourization of organic dyes under solar irradiation

• Arjun Behera,
• Debasmita Kandi,
• Sanjit Manohar Majhi,
• Satyabadi Martha and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 436–446, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.42

• can be described by the following equations: Hence the net reaction is Rh B/CR + •OH + •O2− → decolourization. Degradation of phenol In order to show its versatility, the ZFO-500 photocatalyst was also tested in degradation of colourless organic pollutants. We have used phenol as a model pollutant

Facile synthesis of silver/silver thiocyanate (Ag@AgSCN) plasmonic nanostructures with enhanced photocatalytic performance

• Xinfu Zhao,
• Dairong Chen,
• Abdul Qayum,
• Bo Chen and
• Xiuling Jiao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2781–2789, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.277

• and environmental friendlessness. For example, as a typical semiconductor, TiO2 exhibits high photocatalytic degradation performance against a large number of organic pollutants [5][6][7]. However, it is difficult to obtain a high photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation with TiO2 as a

Fabrication of gold-coated PDMS surfaces with arrayed triangular micro/nanopyramids for use as SERS substrates

• Jingran Zhang,
• Yongda Yan,
• Peng Miao and
• Jianxiong Cai

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2271–2282, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.227

• rhodamine 6G (R6G) were detected as test analytes [17]. The micro/nanostructures of a blue butterfly wing were used as a template, and a SERS substrate was produced and utilized to detect rhodamine dye for the elimination of organic pollutants [19]. Additionally, pyramidal array structures on conventional

Fabrication of carbon nanospheres by the pyrolysis of polyacrylonitrile–poly(methyl methacrylate) core–shell composite nanoparticles

• Dafu Wei,
• Youwei Zhang and
• Jinping Fu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1897–1908, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.190

• /g were obtained from the PAN–PMMA nanoparticles synthesized at an FVR of 1.6. The carbon nanospheres exhibited a large adsorption capacity of 190.0 mg/g for methylene blue, thus making them excellent adsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants from water. Keywords: carbon nanospheres; core

• exhibit a high BET specific surface area of 612.8 m2/g and a large adsorption capacity of 190.0 mg/g for methylene blue, thus making them excellent adsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants from water. Experimental Materials Acrylonitrile (AN) was distilled before use to remove the inhibitor

• as a model for organic pollutants) from water. The absorption of MB on CP6 was very fast; the adsorption capacity and the removal efficiency of MB after 2 h of adsorption reached 190.0 mg/g and 96.1%, respectively. The MB adsorption capacity of CP6 is higher than most of those reported carbon

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

• oxidizing agent and can degrade organic pollutants [12]. Moreover, the pollutants may also be directly oxidized by the holes (h+) due to their oxidizing nature, but the detailed reaction mechanism is still under debate. In addition, photoexcited electrons in the CB of a semiconductor can reduce H+ ions in

ZnO nanoparticles sensitized by CuInZn_xS_2+x quantum dots as highly efficient solar light driven photocatalysts

• Florian Donat,
• Serge Corbel,
• Halima Alem,
• Steve Pontvianne,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Ghouti Medjahdi and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1080–1093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.110

• heterojunction created between the ZCIS QDs and ZnO nanoparticle. Finally, due to its ease of preparation, low cost, high stability and weak sensitivity to interfering species such as salts, the ZnO/ZCIS photocatalyst exhibits a high potential for practical applications beyond the degradation of organic

• pollutants, for example, for the production of new energy sources. (a) TEM image of ZCIS QDs and (b) the corresponding size distribution. TEM and HR-TEM images of (c) ZnO nanoparticles and (d,e) the ZnO/ZCIS composite. (f) XRD patterns of ZCIS QDs, ZnO nanoparticles and of the ZnO/ZCIS composite. (a) SEM