Innovative Low-Cost Carbon/ZnO Hybrid Materials with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity towards Organic Pollutant Dyes' Removal.

A new type of material based on carbon/ZnO nanostructures that possesses both adsorption and photocatalytic properties was obtained in three stages: cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) microfiber mats prepared by the electrospinning method, ZnO nanostructures growth by dipping and hydrothermal methods, and finally thermal calcination at 600 °C in N for 30 min. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the structural characteristics. It was found that ZnO possesses a hexagonal wurtzite crystalline structure.

New Electrospun ZnO:MoO Nanostructures: Preparation, Characterization and Photocatalytic Performance.

New molybdenum trioxide-incorporated ZnO materials were prepared through the electrospinning method and then calcination at 500 °C, for 2 h. The obtained electrospun ZnO:MoO hybrid materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, ultraviolet (UV)-diffuse reflectance, UV-visible (UV-vis) absorption, and photoluminescence techniques. It was observed that the presence of MoO as loading material in pure ZnO matrix induces a small blue shift in the absorption band maxima (from 382 to 371 nm) and the emission peaks are shifted to shorter wavelengths, as compared to pure ZnO.

Novel rare earth (RE-La, Er, Sm) metal doped ZnO photocatalysts for degradation of Congo-Red dye: Synthesis, characterization and kinetic studies.

Synthesis and characterization of novel ZnO:RE nanostructured materials doped with 1% rare-earth elements (RE = La, Er, Sm) and their testing for photocatalytic applications were reported. The materials were obtained via electrospining, followed by calcination at 700 C. The samples were characterized in terms of surface morphology (SEM, TEM), crystalline structure (XRD) and band gap energies.

Morphological and rheological insights on polyimide chain entanglements for electrospinning produced fibers.

Solution rheology and electrospinning performance of an aromatic polyimide based on 3,3',4,4'-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and 3,3'-dimethyl-4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (MMDA) was studied. Analyzing the dependence of specific viscosity on polymer concentration enabled the evaluation of the transition from semidilute unentangled to semidilute entangled regime at 18.3%.