Protective fibrous structures based on cellulose fibers functionalized with metal oxide nanoparticles by electrospinning and electrospray deposition.

This work aims to develop a bio-based fibrous material that is able to adsorb and degrade chemical and biological hazardous agents. Thus, cellulosic fabrics (flax) were functionalized with chitosan (CS) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) electrospun nanofibers doped with titanium dioxide (TiO) and cerium dioxide (CeO) nanoparticles (NPs). The electrospray deposition of these NPs was also tested.

Combination of CNTs with Classical Drugs for Treatment in Human Colorectal Adenocarcinoma (HT-29) Cell Line.

Due to the increase in new types of cancer cells and resistance to drugs, conventional cancer treatments are sometimes insufficient. Therefore, an alternative is to apply nanotechnology to biomedical areas, minimizing side effects and drug resistance and improving treatment efficacy. This work aims to find a promising cancer treatment in the human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (HT-29) to minimize the viability of cells (IC) by using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) combined with different drugs (5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and two repurposing drugs-tacrine (TAC) and ethionamide (ETA).

Solar Light-Induced Methylene Blue Removal over TiO/AC Composites and Photocatalytic Regeneration.

TiO-containing photocatalysts, which combine TiO with carbon-based materials, are promising materials for wastewater treatment due to synergistic photodegradation and adsorption phenomena. In this work, TiO/AC composites were produced by the in situ immobilization of TiO nanoparticles over activated carbon (AC) derived from spent coffee grains, using different TiO/AC proportions. The TiO/AC composites were tested as adsorbents (dark) and as photocatalysts in a combined adsorption+photocatalytic process (solar irradiation) for methylene blue (MB) removal from ultrapure water, and from a secondary effluent (SecEf) of an urban wastewater treatment plant.

Highly N-Selective Activated Carbon-Supported Pt-In Catalysts for the Reduction of Nitrites in Water.

The catalytic reduction of nitrites over Pt-In catalysts supported on activated carbon has been studied in a semi-batch reactor, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, and using hydrogen as the reducing agent. The influence of the indium content on the activity and selectivity was evaluated. Monometallic Pt catalysts are very active for nitrite reduction, but the addition of up to 1 wt% of indium significantly increases the nitrogen selectivity from 0 to 96%.

Naphthopyran-Based Silica Nanoparticles as New High-Performance Photoresponsive Materials.

Hybrid nanomaterials based on the covalent grafting of silylated naphthopyrans (NPTs) onto silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) were successfully prepared and studied as new photochromic materials. They were prepared by a two-step protocol consisting of (i) NPTs (derivatives from 2H-naphtho[1,2-b]pyran (2H-NPT) and 3H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran (3H-NPT)) silylation by a microwave-assisted reaction between hydroxyl-substituted NPTs and 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate, followed by (ii) covalent post-grafting onto SiO2 NPs. In order to study the role of the silylation step, the analogous non-silylated nanomaterials were also prepared by direct adsorption of NPTs.

Nitrate reduction over a Pd-Cu/MWCNT catalyst: application to a polluted groundwater.

The influence of the presence of inorganic and organic matter during the catalytic reduction of nitrate in a local groundwater over a Pd-Cu catalyst supported on carbon nanotubes was investigated. It was observed that the catalyst performance was affected by the groundwater composition. The nitrate conversion attained was higher in the experiment using only deionized water as solvent than in the case of simulated or real groundwater.

Effect of support and pre-treatment conditions on Pt-Sn catalysts: application to nitrate reduction in water.

The effect of the support (activated carbon or titanium dioxide) on the catalytic activity and selectivity to nitrogen of Pt-Sn catalysts in nitrate reduction was studied. The effects of the preparation conditions and the Pt:Sn atomic ratio were also evaluated. It was observed that the support plays an important role in nitrate reduction and that different preparation conditions lead to different catalytic activities and selectivities.

Ozonation of textile effluents and dye solutions under continuous operation: Influence of operating parameters.

Ozonation experiments were carried out under continuous operation in a bubble column. The effect of several parameters (inlet dye concentration, applied ozone dose, pH and conductivity) in colour and TOC removal of an acid dye solution was investigated with the aim to optimize the operation conditions. The ozone consumption was measured in each experiment.