Cerium oxide thin films: synthesis, characterization, photocatalytic activity and influence on microbial growth.

The resistance of surfaces to biofouling remains a significant advantage for optical devices working in natural conditions, increasing their lifetime and reducing maintenance costs. This paper reports on the functionalities of transparent CeO thin films with thicknesses between 25 and 600 nm deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering on the glass substrate. The CeO photocatalytic performance exhibited an efficiency of 30% on imidacloprid degradation under 6 h of UV radiation and increased linearly with the irradiation time, suggesting a complete degradation within 48 h.

UV-Vis Activated CuO/SnO/WO Heterostructure for Photocatalytic Removal of Pesticides.

A three-steps sol-gel method was used to obtain a CuO/SnO/WO heterostructure powder, deposited as film by spray pyrolysis. The porous morphology of the final heterostructure was constructed starting with fiber-like WO acting as substrate for SnO development. The SnO/WO sample provide nucleation and grew sites for CuO formation.

Visible-Light-Active Black TiO Nanoparticles with Efficient Photocatalytic Performance for Degradation of Pharmaceuticals.

Special attention has recently been paid to surface-defective titanium dioxide and black TiO with advanced optical, electrical, and photocatalytic properties. Synthesis of these materials for photodegradation and mineralization of persistent organic pollutants in water, especially under visible radiation, presents interest from scientific and application points of view. Chemical reduction by heating a TiO and NaBH mixture at 350 °C successfully introduced Ti defects and oxygen vacancies at the surface of TiO, with an increase in the photocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin-an antibiotic that is present in wastewater due to its intense use in human and animal medicine.

Synthesis, Characterisation, Photocatalytic Activity, and Aquatic Toxicity Evaluation of TiO Nanoparticles.

Imidacloprid (IMD) is a toxic pesticide, and is one of the eight most widely used pesticides globally. Heterogeneous photocatalysis has often been investigated in recent years and can be successfully applied to remove imidacloprid from water. However, less investigated is the toxic effect of both the photocatalyst and the pesticide on aquatic life.

Toxicity of a Binary Mixture of TiO and Imidacloprid Applied to .

Nanoparticles have applications in various fields such as manufacturing and materials synthesis, the environment, electronics, energy harvesting, and medicine. Besides many applications of nanoparticles, further research is required for toxic environmental effect investigation. The toxic effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the physiology of the green alga was studied with a widely used pesticide, imidacloprid (IMD).

Synergic Effect of TiO Filler on the Mechanical Properties of Polymer Nanocomposites.

Nanocomposites with polymer matrix offer excellent opportunities to explore new functionalities beyond those of conventional materials. TiO, as a reinforcement agent in polymeric nanocomposites, is a viable strategy that significantly enhanced their mechanical properties. The size of the filler plays an essential role in determining the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite.

Photocatalytic Activity of S-Scheme Heterostructure for Hydrogen Production and Organic Pollutant Removal: A Mini-Review.

Finding new technologies and materials that provide real alternatives to the environmental and energy-related issues represents a key point on the future sustainability of the industrial activities and society development. The water contamination represents an important problem considering that the quantity and complexity of organic pollutant (such as dyes, pesticides, pharmaceutical active compounds, etc.) molecules can not be efficiently addressed by the traditional wastewater treatments.

Black TiO Synthesis by Chemical Reduction Methods for Photocatalysis Applications.

Applications of TiO nanomaterials in photocatalysis, batteries, supercapacitors and solar cells, have seen widespread development in recent decades. Nowadays, black TiO have won attention due to enhancing the solar light absorption by the formation of oxygen vacancies and Ti defects, to promote the separation of photo-generated charge carriers leading to the improvement of the photocatalytic performance in H production and pollutants degradation. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of black TiO is also due to a lattice disorder on the surface and the presence of oxygen vacancies, Ti ions, Ti-OH and Ti-H groups.

The Influence of Photoactive Heterostructures on the Photocatalytic Removal of Dyes and Pharmaceutical Active Compounds: A Mini-Review.

The diversification of pollutants type and concentration in wastewater has underlined the importance of finding new alternatives to traditional treatment methods. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), among others, are considered as promising candidate to efficiently remove organic pollutants such as dyes or pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs). The present minireview resumes several recent achievements on the implementation and optimization of photoactive heterostructures used as photocatalysts for dyes and PhACs removal.

Copper Sulfide Based Heterojunctions as Photocatalysts for Dyes Photodegradation.

The presence of toxic, non-biodegradable and harmful organic pollutants in soils, wastewater, and atmosphere has become an indisputable, and global fact as a significant environmental problem. The heterogeneous photocatalysis, an advanced oxidation process (AOP) using semiconductor materials as catalysts, is a topic of great interest considering the possibility of the pollutants removal from water. The photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants (i.

Pilot-plant evaluation of TiO and TiO-based hybrid photocatalysts for solar treatment of polluted water.

Materials with photocatalytic and adsorption properties for advanced wastewater treatment targeting reuse were studied. Making use of TiO as a well-known photocatalyst, CuS as a Vis-active semiconductor, and fly ash as a good adsorbent, dispersed mixtures/composites were prepared to remove pollutants from wastewater. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, band gap energy, point of zero charge (pH) and BET porosity were used to characterize the substrates.

Fly ash-TiO2 nanocomposite material for multi-pollutants wastewater treatment.

This paper reports on the synthesis, characterization and adsorption properties of a novel nano-composite obtained using the hydrothermal method applied to a fly ash-TiO2 slurry and hexadecyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide, as surface controlling agent. The new adsorbent was investigated in terms of crystallinity (XRD), surface properties (AFM, SEM, and porosity and BET surface) and surface chemistry (EDX, FTIR). The nanocomposite's properties were sequentially tested in adsorption and photocatalysis processes applied to multi-pollutant synthetic wastewaters loaded with copper cations and two industrial dyes: the acid dye Bemacid Blau and the reactive dye Bemacid Rot; the nano-composite substrate allowed reaching high removal efficiencies, above 90%, both in adsorption and in photodegradation experiments, in optimised conditions.

Photocatalytic degradation of methylorange Using TiO2, WO3 and mixed thin films under controlled pH and H2O2.

Wastewaters resulting from textile industry sector have a different chemistry compared with most of the other wastewaters. The different dyes in excess are usually very stable and even small quantities can have a major impact to the effluent. In order to treat these wastewaters, photodegradation is a largely investigated process that can be up-scaled.

Effect of TiO, nanoparticles on the interface in the PET-rubber composites.

Usually, ceramic powders (SiO2, ZnO) are used as fillers for enhancing rubber mechanical strength. Poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET)-rubber nanocomposites were prepared by compression molding using titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles as low content fillers (<2% wt). The interface properties of PET-rubber nanocomposites were studied before and after keeping the samples under UV-radiation for a week.

Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange: influence of H2O2 in the TiO2-based system.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the photocatalytic oxidation of a reactive azo dye. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 was studied using a reactor equipped with UV-A sources, with maximum emission at 365 nm. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 powder (99.