A visible-light-driven composite photocatalyst of TiO₂ nanotube arrays and graphene quantum dots

• Donald K. L. Chan,
• Po Ling Cheung and
• Jimmy C. Yu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 689–695, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.81

• ), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The product exhibited high photocatalytic performance in the photodegradation of methylene blue and enhanced photocurrent under visible

• methylene blue (MB). In a typical measurement, 10 mg photocatalyst were mechanically detached from Ti foils and suspended in 20 mL of 10 ppm aqueous solution of MB. The solution was stirred in the dark for 12 h to reach the adsorption/desorption equilibrium. The suspension was then illuminated with a 300 W

• ) pristine TNAs and (c,d) GQDs/TNAs; TEM images of (e) pristine TNAs and (f) GQDs/TNAs. XRD patterns of (a) Ti foil, (b) TNAs and (c) GQDs/TNAs. UV–vis absorption spectra of (a) TNAs, (b) amine-functionalized TNAs and (c) GQDs/TNAs. Photodegradation of methylene blue for TNAs and GQDs/TNAs under visible

Effects of the preparation method on the structure and the visible-light photocatalytic activity of Ag₂CrO₄

• Difa Xu,
• Shaowen Cao,
• Jinfeng Zhang,
• Bei Cheng and
• Jiaguo Yu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 658–666, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.77

• activity of the prepared Ag2CrO4was highly dependent on the preparation methods. The sample prepared by microemulsion method exhibits the highest photocatalytic efficiency on the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible-light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be ascribed to

• . The performance of the developed Ag2CrO4 is evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under visible-light irradiation. The effect of the three preparation methods on the structure, optical properties and photocatalytic activity are investigated and discussed. Results and Discussion

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ag–ZnO hybrid plasmonic nanostructures prepared by a facile wet chemical method

• Sini Kuriakose,
• Vandana Choudhary,
• Biswarup Satpati and
• Satyabrata Mohapatra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 639–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.75

• microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL) and UV–visible absorption spectroscopy. The effects of citrate concentration and Ag nanoparticle loading on the photocatalytic activity of Ag–ZnO hybrid nanostructures towards sun-light driven degradation of methylene blue (MB

• -light driven degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye have been investigated. Results and Discussion Morphology and crystal structure FESEM images of as-synthesized ZnO and Ag–ZnO samples with varying citrate concentrations for different [Ag+]/[citrate] ratios are shown in Figure 1. The presence of

• ) were used as the starting materials for the synthesis of ZnO nanostructures. Silver nitrate (AgNO3, Spectrochem, India) and trisodium citrate (Na3C6H5O7, CDH, India) were used for the photodeposition of Ag nanoparticles onto ZnO nanostructures. Methylene blue (MB, SRL India) was used as dye for

Structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of flower-like ZnO nanostructures prepared by a facile wet chemical method

• Sini Kuriakose,
• Neha Bhardwaj,
• Jaspal Singh,
• Biswarup Satpati and
• Satyabrata Mohapatra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 763–770, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.87

• UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. SEM and TEM studies revealed flower-like structures consisting of nanosheets, formed due to oriented attachment of ZnO nanoparticles. Flower-like ZnO structures showed enhanced photocatalytic activity towards sun-light driven photodegradation of methylene blue dye (MB

• ] by the tape casting method. These ZnO plates showed a good photocatalytic activity for azo dyes that depended on their surface area. Shen et al. [34] have shown that depositing ZnO on silica nanoparticles is a simple and effective method to prepare photocatalysts that could degrade 90% methylene blue

• materials for synthesis of ZnO nanostructures. Zinc acetate dihydrate, KOH and methylene blue (MB) were purchased from SRL, India. All chemicals were of analytical grade and used as received without any further purification. Synthesis of ZnO nanostructures ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by a simple wet

Continuous parallel ESI-MS analysis of reactions carried out in a bespoke 3D printed device

• Jennifer S. Mathieson,
• Mali H. Rosnes,
• Victor Sans,
• Philip J. Kitson and
• Leroy Cronin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 285–291, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.31

• glassware/millifluidic techniques. On the left is a schematic presentation of the STL file, whilst on the right is the device with screw fittings and connected with 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) tubing. Methylene blue and rhodamine B are being pumped through the device, which allows the inner-tube path to be rendered

• visible. A section consisting of only methylene blue can be seen at the front, followed by a stronger purple band, which is obtained from the successful mixing of rhodamine B and methylene blue. Top: A schematic overview of the device setup. The three inlets were each connected to a syringe pump, which

Moisture harvesting and water transport through specialized micro-structures on the integument of lizards

• Philipp Comanns,
• Christian Effertz,
• Florian Hischen,
• Konrad Staudt,
• Wolfgang Böhme and
• Werner Baumgartner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 204–214, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.24

• microtom (Reichert, Wien, Austria) stained with Methylene Blue and investigated with a standard optical microscope. The three lizard species under investigation. (A) Moloch horridus with an array of spikes covering the entire upper side of the body. The snout–vent length is about 90 mm and the total length

Superhydrophobicity in perfection: the outstanding properties of the lotus leaf

• Hans J. Ensikat,
• Petra Ditsche-Kuru,
• Christoph Neinhuis and
• Wilhelm Barthlott

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 152–161, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.19

• (Agar Low Viscosity Kit, Plano GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany). Sections of ca. 0.5 µm thickness were stained with ‘Rapid dye’ (Azur II and Methylene blue) for light microscopy. Wax samples for chemical analyses were isolated mechanically using a ‘cryo-adhesion’-method using triethylene glycol as preparation

Enhanced visible light photocatalysis through fast crystallization of zinc oxide nanorods

• Sunandan Baruah,
• Mohammad Abbas Mahmood,
• Myo Tay Zar Myint,
• Tanujjal Bora and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 14–20, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.3

• a test contaminant methylene blue with visible light irradiation at 72 kilolux (klx) showed that ZnO nanorods are 12–24% more active than ZnO nanoparticulate films. This can be directly attributed to the increased effective surface area for adsorption of target contaminant molecules. Defects, in the

• microwave irradiation) have already been reported in a previous publication [20]. A higher optical absorption in the visible region was observed in this case. The faster degradation of methylene blue (MB) in the presence of nonstoichiometric crystallites of ZnO prepared through fast crystallization can be

• crystallization temperatures, homogenous nucleation and fast supersaturation by rapid dissolution [22][23][24][25][26][27]. In this work a study is conducted on the improvement of visible light photocatalytic degradation of a model organic dye, methylene blue, with ZnO nanorods grown by a rapid growth process