Tunable structure of TiO deposited by DC magnetron sputtering to adsorb Cr (VI) and Fe (III) from water.

TiO thin films with mixtures of the anatase, rutile, and brookite phases were deposited on glass substrates via magnetron sputtering. Based on XRD and Raman results, the TiO-0.47 and TiO-3.

An enhanced photo(electro)catalytic CO reduction onto advanced BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I) semiconductors and the BiOI-PdCu composite.

The photoelectrocatalytic reduction of CO (CORR) onto bismuth oxyhalides (BiOX, X = Cl, Br, I) was studied through physicochemical and photoelectrochemical measurements. The successful synthesis of the BiOX compounds was carried out through a solvothermal methodology and confirmed by XRD measurements. The morphology was analyzed by SEM; meanwhile, area and pore size were determined through BET area measurements.

Solar-driven CO reduction using modified earth-abundant ilmenite catalysts.

Photocatalytic CO reduction is an alternative technology to the depletion of highly pollutant fossil fuels through the generation of renewable solar-based fuels. This technology requires that the photocatalysts be obtained directly from nature to scale up the process. Taking that into consideration, this work proposed the fabrication of sodium iron titanate (NaFeTiO) photocatalysts from earth-abundant ilmenite mineral.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution from Water Splitting on TaO/SrZrO Heterostructures Decorated with CuO/RuO Cocatalysts.

Photocatalytic H generation by water splitting is a promising alternative for producing renewable fuels. This work synthesized a new type of TaO/SrZrO heterostructure with Ru and Cu (RuO/CuO/TaO/SrZrO) using solid-state chemistry methods to achieve a high H production of 5164 μmol g h under simulated solar light, 39 times higher than that produced using SrZrO. The heterostructure performance is compared with other TaO/SrZrO heterostructure compositions loaded with RuO, CuO, or Pt.

Tapered Optical Fiber Detector for a Red Dye Concentration Measurement.

Background: In this work, a detector based on optical fiber covered with Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) was used for sensing and removal of Alizarin from wastewaters. Alizarin is a strong anionic red dye that is part of the anthraquinone dye group. As a rule, this dye is used in the textile industry as a coloring agent.

Flux synthesis of BaLiTiO and its photocatalytic performance.

Barium-lithium titanate (BaLiTiO) was synthesized by using a flux method under some conditions with various chloride salts as the flux, thermal treatment temperatures, solute concentrations, and cooling rates. As a result, fine particles of this material with a rod-like morphology were obtained for the first time. It is suggested that this morphology with high crystallinity is responsible for the increase in the photocatalytic activity of this material without any co-catalyst for H and CO evolution from water and CO.

Photodegradation of indigo carmine and methylene blue dyes in aqueous solution by SiC-TiO2 catalysts prepared by sol-gel.

Indigo carmine and methylene blue dyes in aqueous solution were photodegraded using SiC-TiO(2) catalysts prepared by sol-gel method. After thermal treatment at 450°C, SiC-TiO(2) catalysts prepared in this work showed the presence of SiC and TiO(2) anatase phase. Those compounds showed specific surface area values around 22-25 m(2)g(-1), and energy band gap values close to 3.

Methylene blue degradation by NaTaO3 sol-gel doped with Sm and La.

In this work, NaTaO(3) compounds doped with 1M% of La and Sm, were prepared by the sol-gel (SG) method and solid state (SS) reaction; and tested as photocatalysts on the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV light. The structural characterization by X-ray powder diffraction revealed that the crystallization of the NaTaO(3) phase prepared by the sol-gel method started at 600 degrees C, reaching maximum crystallization at 800 degrees C. It was determined that the presence of Sm and La retard the crystallization of the NaTaO(3) phase.