Enhanced charge separation in TiO/nanocarbon hybrid photocatalysts through coupling with short carbon nanotubes.

The interfacial contact between TiO and graphitic carbon in a hybrid composite plays a critical role in electron transfer behavior, and in turn, its photocatalytic efficiency. Herein, we report a new approach for improving the interfacial contact and delaying charge carrier recombination in the hybrid by wrapping short single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on TiO particles (100 nm) a hydration-condensation technique. Short SWCNTs with an average length of 125 ± 90 nm were obtained from an ultrasonication-assisted cutting process of pristine SWCNTs (1-3 μm in length).

Important Approaches to Enhance Reverse Osmosis (RO) Thin Film Composite (TFC) Membranes Performance.

Thin film composite (TFC) membrane, which consists of polyamide (PA) active film rests on porous support layer, has been the major type of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane since its development by Cadotte in the 1970s, and has been remarkably used to produce clean water for human consumption and domestic utilization. In the past 30 years, different approaches have been exploited to produce the TFC membrane with high water flux, excellent salt rejection, and better chlorine/fouling resistance. In this brief review, we classify the techniques that have been utilized to improve the RO-TFC membrane properties into four categories: (1) Using alternative monomers to prepare the active layer; (2) modification of membrane surface; (3) optimization of polymerization reactions; and (4) incorporation of nanoparticles (NPs) into the membrane PA layer.

TiO₂ Polyamide Thin Film Nanocomposite Reverses Osmosis Membrane for Water Desalination.

In this study, TiO₂ nanoparticles were inserted into the polyamide layer of traditional thin film composite membrane. The nanoparticles were dispersed in a trimesoyl chloride-hexane solution before interfacial polymerization with -phenylenediamine-aqueous solution. Membrane characterization was performed via contact angle measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and water flux, salt rejection, and fouling resistance evaluation.