Quantification of lead through rod-shaped silver-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles using an electrochemical approach

• Ravinder Lamba,
• Gaurav Bhanjana,
• Neeraj Dilbaghi,
• Vivek Gupta and
• Sandeep Kumar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 422–434, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.33

• , India Department of Physics, Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University), Chandigarh, 160012, India 10.3762/bjnano.16.33 Abstract Special features of zinc oxide nanoparticles have drawn a lot of interest due to their wide bandgap, high surface area, photocatalytic activity, antimicrobial

Emerging strategies in the sustainable removal of antibiotics using semiconductor-based photocatalysts

• Yunus Ahmed,
• Keya Rani Dutta,
• Parul Akhtar,
• Md. Arif Hossen,
• Md. Jahangir Alam,
• Obaid A. Alharbi,
• Hamad AlMohamadi and
• Abdul Wahab Mohammad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 264–285, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.21

• light exposure. To be specific g-C3N4-based ternary photocatalysts exhibited more than 90% degradation of tetracycline and sulfamethazine antibiotics within one hour of irradiation. This study addresses the antibiotic degradation efficiency during photocatalytic processes and suggests new approaches to

• lack of understanding about these processes and their practical limitations for large-scale commercial wastewater treatment. This review concentrates on semiconductor-based photocatalytic processes and their effectiveness in eliminating antibiotics while also addressing their practical constraints. The

• practices and pollution. Additionally, in many areas, there may be a lack of regulatory regulations for safe antibiotic levels in water [51], making it challenging to establish treatment targets. Principal mechanisms of photocatalytic processes for antibiotic degradation Semiconductor-based photocatalysis

Clays enhanced with niobium: potential in wastewater treatment and reuse as pigment with antibacterial activity

• Silvia Jaerger,
• Patricia Appelt,
• Mario Antônio Alves da Cunha,
• Fabián Ccahuana Ayma,
• Ricardo Schneider,
• Carla Bittencourt and
• Fauze Jacó Anaissi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 141–154, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.13

• photocatalysis is a cost-effective alternative to biological treatment methods for purifying polluted water [8]. Using semiconductors as heterogeneous catalysts proves to be more efficient than traditional methods, as the photocatalytic process gradually decomposes contaminating molecules without generating

• designate the modification with NbOPO4 and Nb2O5, respectively. Photocatalytic tests were performed using 100 mL of an MB solution at a concentration of 400 mg·L−1. This experiment used 250 mg of the BEPh and BEOx samples as catalysts. The experimental setup system included a thermostatic Pyrex glass

• experiment. The efficiency of MB photodegradation (X%) was determined by Equation 2: where M0 and Mf are the concentrations of MB at the beginning and at the end of the photocatalytic test, respectively. Dispersion of the pigments clay/Nb and clay/Nb/MB in colorless commercial paint The samples A-BEPh, A

Characterization of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized using probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum GP258

• Prashantkumar Siddappa Chakra,
• Aishwarya Banakar,
• Shriram Narayan Puranik,
• Vishwas Kaveeshwar,
• C. R. Ravikumar and
• Devaraja Gayathri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 78–89, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.8

• characterization using UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction measurements, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, photocatalytic studies, electrochemical analysis, and determination of antibacterial and anticancer activity. The

• electronic transition, making them suitable for further applications in photocatalysis, electronics, and optoelectronics. Photocatalytic study ZnO NPs were utilized in a photocatalytic degradation test to reduce the concentration of the harmful dye methylene blue (MB). A solution containing 20 mg of ZnO NP

• pattern) and 192 nm (irregular shape). Valuable insights regarding photocatalytic and colloidal stability of the biosynthesized ZnO NPs was provided by using UV–vis spectroscopy and zeta potential analysis. Compared to a similar type of study conducted by Selvarajan and Mohanasrinivasan [24], our study

Various CVD-grown ZnO nanostructures for nanodevices and interdisciplinary applications

• The-Long Phan,
• Le Viet Cuong,
• Vu Dinh Lam and
• Ngoc Toan Dang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1390–1399, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.112

• DMSs, these nanostructures will be beneficial to the development of new ZnO-based materials for photocatalytic [25], biomedical [26], gas sensing [27][28], and flexible electronic/optoelectronic applications [29][30]. They are usually fabricated by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) or solid-vapour phase

• ], photocatalytic degradation [41], and water splitting for hydrogen technologies [38]. Figure 3a–d show SEM images of ZnO tetrapods. These various morphologies were grown at approx. 625–650 °C. The first one, named T1 in Figure 3a, has needle-like arms of ≈1 μm of length. The dimeter of the arms is less than 50 nm

Mn-doped ZnO nanopowders prepared by sol–gel and microwave-assisted sol–gel methods and their photocatalytic properties

• Cristina Maria Vlăduț,
• Crina Anastasescu,
• Silviu Preda,
• Oana Catalina Mocioiu,
• Simona Petrescu,
• Jeanina Pandele-Cusu,
• Dana Culita,
• Veronica Bratan,
• Ioan Balint and
• Maria Zaharescu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1283–1296, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.104

• semiconductor with many versatile and attractive applications in optical, optoelectronic, and photocatalytic fields [35][36][37]. The doping of ZnO with Mn can lead to the development of multifunctional nanostructures, such as room-temperature ferromagnetic materials with potential applications in spintronics

• and biological sensing [38][39][40]. The optical, thermal, and photocatalytic [40] reactivity of ZnO can also be improved with this method without changing its basic hexagonal structure. Consequently, the photodegradation of aqueous organic compounds triggered by manganese-doped ZnO still provides

• -structural characterizations of the resulting materials and investigates their photocatalytic performance for the mineralization of oxalic acid in aqueous solutions under simulated solar irradiation. Results and Discussion As-prepared samples The synthesis process involved the preparation of precursor

Introducing third-generation periodic table descriptors for nano-qRASTR modeling of zebrafish toxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles

• Supratik Kar and
• Siyun Yang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1142–1152, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.93

• strong antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anticancer, and photocatalytic activities [7][8][9]. Besides the medical field, they are also commonly used in commercial products such as fuel cells and plastics, and environmental applications such as analysis, sensing, remediation, and

Photocatalytic methane oxidation over a TiO₂/SiNWs p–n junction catalyst at room temperature

• Qui Thanh Hoai Ta,
• Luan Minh Nguyen,
• Ngoc Hoi Nguyen,
• Phan Khanh Thinh Nguyen and
• Dai Hai Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1132–1141, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.92

• recombination of charge carriers in semiconductors is a main drawback for photocatalytic oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reactions. Herein, we propose a novel catalyst by developing a p–n junction titania–silicon nanowires (TiO2/SiNWs) heterostructure. The structure is fabricated by atomic layer deposition

• forces generated charge carriers to move in opposite directions and suppresses charge recombination. Besides, surface morphology and optical properties of the the p–n TiO2/SiNWs catalyst are also beneficial for the photocatalytic activity. It is expected that the results of this study will provide

• massive guidance in synthesizing an efficient photocatalyst for CH4 conversion under mild conditions. Keywords: photocatalysis; photocatalytic CH4 oxidation; p–n heterojunction; TiO2/SiNWs; Introduction Methane (CH4), which can take the form of liquefied natural gas, is one of the crucial sources of

Intermixing of MoS₂ and WS₂ photocatalysts toward methylene blue photodegradation

• Maryam Al Qaydi,
• Nitul S. Rajput,
• Michael Lejeune,
• Abdellatif Bouchalkha,
• Mimoun El Marssi,
• Steevy Cordette,
• Chaouki Kasmi and
• Mustapha Jouiad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 817–829, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.68

• cost-effective technology. By harnessing impinging photons, the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants takes place at the interface between the photocatalyst surface and the MB-contaminated electrolyte. The photon energy is the driving force for breaking down the MB compound leading to its removal [9

• cocatalysts. Their catalytic properties can be tailored based on their crystal structure, their surface area, and their morphology [12][13]. When TMD catalysts are intermixed, they form semiconductor–semiconductor junctions, enhancing their photocatalytic properties by promoting charge separation and electron

• transport [14][15]. At each stage of the photocatalytic process sequence, the intermixing of TMD materials is intended to efficiently enhance light absorption, photogeneration of charge carriers, and activation of the surface redox reaction [16][17]. Furthermore, TMD materials are known to possess favorable

Green synthesis of biomass-derived carbon quantum dots for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

• Dalia Chávez-García,
• Mario Guzman,
• Viridiana Sanchez and
• Rubén D. Cadena-Nava

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 755–766, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.63

• 24 h, CQDs were successfully synthesized. A comprehensive characterization of the CQDs was performed using UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, Raman spectroscopy, and luminescence spectroscopy, confirming their high quality. The photocatalytic

• -conversion luminescence. The results revealed effective photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under sunlight, highlighting the potential for scalable production of these cost-effective catalytic nanomaterials for synthetic dye degradation. Keywords: biomass; carbon dots; catalysis; methylene blue

• quantum dots (CQDs) through a hydrothermal method using biomass from watermelon peels and grape pomace. This method is chosen for its ease of production, low cost, and scalability. We aim to evaluate the potential of CQDs as catalysts in the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in

Simultaneous electrochemical determination of uric acid and hypoxanthine at a TiO₂/graphene quantum dot-modified electrode

• Vu Ngoc Hoang,
• Dang Thi Ngoc Hoa,
• Nguyen Quang Man,
• Le Vu Truong Son,
• Le Van Thanh Son,
• Vo Thang Nguyen,
• Le Thi Hong Phong,
• Ly Hoang Diem,
• Kieu Chan Ly,
• Ho Sy Thang and
• Dinh Quang Khieu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 719–732, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.60

• electrochemistry, combining GQDs with semiconductors, especially TiO2, has been of interest. For example, GQDs have been successfully introduced into TiO2 [17] to enhance its photocatalytic activity. John Peter et al. reported TiO2/GQDs as anodes for enhancing the short-circuit current in solar cells [18]. The

Exfoliation of titanium nitride using a non-thermal plasma process

• Priscila Jussiane Zambiazi,
• Dolores Ribeiro Ricci Lazar,
• Larissa Otubo,
• Rodrigo Fernando Brambilla de Souza,
• Almir Oliveira Neto and
• Cecilia Chaves Guedes-Silva

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 631–637, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.53

• ferromagnetic properties and demonstrated high visible-light photocatalytic activity when loaded onto titania nanotube arrays. Titanium nitride (TiN) has gained recognition as an advanced engineering material because of its outstanding chemical and thermal stability, extreme hardness, and electrical

Aero-ZnS prepared by physical vapor transport on three-dimensional networks of sacrificial ZnO microtetrapods

• Veaceslav Ursaki,
• Tudor Braniste,
• Victor Zalamai,
• Emil Rusu,
• Vladimir Ciobanu,
• Vadim Morari,
• Daniel Podgornii,
• Pier Carlo Ricci,
• Rainer Adelung and
• Ion Tiginyanu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 490–499, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.44

• phase content of the prepared aerogels by the duration of the technological procedure. A scheme of deep energy levels and electronic transitions in the ZnS skeleton of the aeromaterial was deduced from the PL analysis, suggesting that the produced aerogel is a potential candidate for photocatalytic and

• sensor applications. Keywords: aeromaterial; crystallographic structure; luminescence; physical vapor transport; scanning electron microscopy (SEM); X-ray diffraction (XRD); Introduction Porous materials represent a class of solid-state networks widely used in adsorptive and photocatalytic removal of

• pollutants from the atmosphere and from water, in other catalytic processes, including photocatalytic water splitting, in energy production and storage, in microfluidic systems, in drug delivery and other biomedical applications, in sensing, in electronic, photoelectronic, optoelectronic and nanophotonic

Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under visible light by cobalt ferrite nanoparticles/graphene quantum dots

• Vo Chau Ngoc Anh,
• Le Thi Thanh Nhi,
• Le Thi Kim Dung,
• Dang Thi Ngoc Hoa,
• Nguyen Truong Son,
• Nguyen Thi Thao Uyen,
• Nguyen Ngoc Uyen Thu,
• Le Van Thanh Son,
• Le Trung Hieu,
• Tran Ngoc Tuyen and
• Dinh Quang Khieu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 475–489, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.43

• breaking graphene sheets or from molecules with aromatic structure (fullerenes, starch, and carbohydrates) [3]. However, often GQDs are only stable in solvents, which limits their application in fields that require their solid form, such as in adsorption and photocatalytic, or electrochemical applications

• pairs in photocatalytic processes. Ramachandran et al. reported the synthesis of a CF/GQDs nanocomposite by co-precipitating cobalt ferrite nanoparticles on graphene quantum dots prepared from citric acid [10]. Naghshbandi et al. synthesized CF/GQDs from a mixture of GQDs, prepared by carbonising citric

• /GQDs nanoparticles. Magnetic properties, morphology, structure, and fluorescence of the nanocomposites were studied, and the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue as a dye model and the mechanism of methylene degradation were also addressed. Experimental Materials Cobalt(II) nitrate hexahydrate

New application of bimetallic Ag/Pt nanoplates in a colorimetric biosensor for specific detection of E. coli in water

• Azam Bagheri Pebdeni,
• Mohammad N. AL-Baiati and
• Morteza Hosseini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 95–103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.9

• ], photocatalytic degradation and bactericidal action [21], sensors and biosensors [22][23][24][25], and as electrocatalysts [26]. Aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotides that attach to their targets with great affinity and specificity. Aptamers have high stability in a variety of environments and

Prediction of cytotoxicity of heavy metals adsorbed on nano-TiO₂ with periodic table descriptors using machine learning approaches

• Joyita Roy,
• Souvik Pore and
• Kunal Roy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 939–950, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.77

• diverse applications. TiO2 has been shown to be a promising material for practical applications because it is highly photoreactive, inexpensive, non-toxic, chemically and biologically inert, and photostable. Also, nano-TiO2 exhibits high specific surface area and anti-corrosion and photocatalytic

Nanomaterials for photocatalysis and applications in environmental remediation and renewable energy

• Viet Van Pham and
• Wee-Jun Ong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 722–724, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.58

• studies [20][21][22]. Besides, Nhu et al. [23] used rosin as a green chemical approach to fabricate ZnO nanoparticles, exhibiting a high photocatalytic activity for both methylene blue (100%) and methyl orange (82.78%) decomposition after 210 min under UV radiation. Moreover, the advantages in the

• development of advanced materials based on semiconductors (i.e., carbon-modified hexagonal boron nitride (MBN), MgO@g-C3N4, and TiO2@MWCNTs) have indicated a highly efficient photocatalytic performance for phenol removal using a low-power visible LED light source. For NO degradation, a visible light source

• was used whereas for water splitting natural sunlight was used [24][25][26]. These results are mentioned as scaling up photocatalytic systems to reach net zero emission goals and the next technology to produce green hydrogen energy [14]. Up-to-date trending topics on photocatalysts based on

The microstrain-accompanied structural phase transition from h-MoO₃ to α-MoO₃ investigated by in situ X-ray diffraction

• Zeqian Zhang,
• Honglong Shi,
• Boxiang Zhuang,
• Minting Luo and
• Zhenfei Hu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 692–700, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.55

• boundary may improve the photocatalytic performance of MoO3. The crystal structures of h-MoO3 and α-MoO3 The crystal structure of the hexagonal phase h-MoO3 Thermogravimetric results [23][24][25] indicate that the h-MoO3 phase releases water molecules during heat treatment, suggesting that water molecules

Titania nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of ethanol under simulated solar light

• Evghenii Goncearenco,
• Iuliana P. Morjan,
• Claudiu Teodor Fleaca,
• Florian Dumitrache,
• Elena Dutu,
• Monica Scarisoreanu,
• Valentin Serban Teodorescu,
• Alexandra Sandulescu,
• Crina Anastasescu and
• Ioan Balint

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 616–630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.51

• nanoparticles with dimensions of 40–80 nm, whose number increases with increasing the working pressure. The photocatalytic properties have been investigated regarding the photodegradation of ethanol vapors in Ar with 0.3% O2 using P25 powder as reference under simulated solar light. During the irradiation H2

• found that TiO2 shows a high photocatalytic efficiency in the decomposition of pollutant substances such as dye wastewater [8][9][10][11], soiling [12], and harmful organic materials [13][14][15]. Also, TiO2 powders show promising results for the decomposition of ethanol in various environments [16][17

• approaches were tried to reduce the bandgap [24] by doping with, for example, nitrogen [17]. Recent investigations have shown a possible application of TiO2 for the photocatalytic production of hydrogen from water with the aid of sacrificial agents, such as methanol, ethanol, or glycols [21][22]. There are

Conjugated photothermal materials and structure design for solar steam generation

• Chia-Yang Lin and
• Tsuyoshi Michinobu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 454–466, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.36

• membranes with hydrophobic photothermal material particles. Over the past years, various types of SSG membranes have been studied [37][39][45][54][56][57]. These SSG membranes can be applied to, for example, seawater desalination and photocatalytic degradation by utilizing the photothermal and separation

Plasmonic nanotechnology for photothermal applications – an evaluation

• A. R. Indhu,
• L. Keerthana and
• Gnanaprakash Dharmalingam

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 380–419, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.33

Quercetin- and caffeic acid-functionalized chitosan-capped colloidal silver nanoparticles: one-pot synthesis, characterization, and anticancer and antibacterial activities

• Akif Hakan Kurt,
• Elif Berna Olutas,
• Fatma Avcioglu,
• Hamza Karakuş,
• Mehmet Ali Sungur,
• Cansu Kara Oztabag and
• Muhammet Yıldırım

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 362–376, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.31

• –silver [46][47], chitosan–quercetin [48][49], and silver–quercetin nanoparticles [50][51], are well known. For instance, chitosan–silver nanocomposites, which have been synthesized through bio-inspired and photosynthesis, exhibited significant antioxidant, photocatalytic, and antibacterial activities, in

Bismuth-based nanostructured photocatalysts for the remediation of antibiotics and organic dyes

• Akeem Adeyemi Oladipo and
• Faisal Suleiman Mustafa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 291–321, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.26

• covered. The creation of Z-schemes, Schottky junctions, and heterojunctions, as well as morphological modifications, doping, and other processes are highlighted regarding the fabrication of bismuth-based photocatalysts with improved photocatalytic capabilities. A discussion of general photocatalytic

• : TiO2, CuO, CdS, MoO3; ternary compounds: Bi2Mo3O12, ZnFe2O4; quaternary compounds: Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4, Bi4NbxTa1−xO8I) [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Because of its distinct features, TiO2 is the most extensively investigated photocatalytic semiconductor. However, it barely absorbs 4–5% of the

• ultraviolet light in the solar spectrum due to its broad bandgap of 3.2 eV, which limits the use of visible light. Because of this, the potential photocatalytic use of TiO2 is constrained and the photocatalytic effectiveness is reduced [19][20][25]. Table 1 compares some of the salient characteristics of some

Cyclodextrins as eminent constituents in nanoarchitectonics for drug delivery systems

• Makoto Komiyama

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 218–232, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.21

• photocatalytic process destroy subcellular structures (e.g., cell membranes or organelle membranes). Various types of cancers are effectively treatable without significant side effects. However, most photosensitizers available at present are hydrophobic and easily aggregate in aqueous solution. Thus, the

Photoelectrochemical water oxidation over TiO₂ nanotubes modified with MoS₂ and g-C₃N₄

• Phuong Hoang Nguyen,
• Thi Minh Cao,
• Tho Truong Nguyen,
• Hien Duy Tong and
• Viet Van Pham

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1541–1550, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.127

• Province, Vietnam 10.3762/bjnano.13.127 Abstract TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNAs) have been studied for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. However, there are two major barriers of TNAs, including a low photo-response and the fast charge carrier recombination in TNAs, leading to poor photocatalytic

• could replace noble metals are a research interest. Photocatalytic technology uses semiconductors for effective approaches to the degradation of dyes and antibiotics, the removal of pollutant gases, and water splitting to produce hydrogen using solar energy [12][13][14][15][16][17]. Among such

• semiconductors, TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNAs) of 2–100 nm in diameter and 1–2 μm in length, are often used for efficient PEC applications exploiting advantages such as chemical stability, less toxicity and suitable cost [18][19][20][21]. However, there are two disadvantages affecting directly their photocatalytic