Construction of low-toxicity cadmium sulfide/nitrogen-doped muti-walled carbon nanotubes for peroxymonosulfate activation: The crucial role of electron transfer.

Cadmium sulfide is widely employed in environmental catalysis due to its excellent catalytic behaviors. However, the inherent toxicity and leaching risk of CdS-based catalyst presents significant challenges for practical applications. This study explored the incorporation of CdS nanowires on the nitrogen-doped multi-wall carbon tubes (N-MWCNTs) substrate to minimize the leaching rate and mitigate the bio-toxicity by regulating the electron transfer process.

Molecular level removal of antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes: A review of interfacial chemical in advanced oxidation processes.

As a kind of novel and persistent environmental pollutants, antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been frequently detected in different aquatic environment, posing potential risks to public health and ecosystems, resulting in a biosecurity issue that cannot be ignored. Therefore, in order to control the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment, advanced oxidation technology (such as Fenton-like, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis) has become an effective weapon for inactivating and eliminating ARB and ARGs. However, in the process of advanced oxidation technology, studying and regulating catalytic active sites at the molecular level and studying the adsorption and surface oxidation reactions between catalysts and ARGs can achieve in-depth exploration of the mechanism of ARGs removal.

N, S, and Cl tri-doped carbon boost the switching of radical to non-radical pathway in Fenton-like reactions: Synergism of N species and defects.

Heteroatom doping represents a promising strategy for enhancing the generation of singlet oxygen (O) during the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) using carbon-based catalysts; however, it remains a formidable challenge. In this study, we systematically controlled the structure of metal-free carbon-based materials by introducing different heteroatoms to investigate their efficacy in degrading organic pollutants in water via PMS activation. The results of reactive oxygen species detection showed that the dominant free radical in the four samples was different: CN (•SO and •OH), CNS (•O), CNCl (O), and CNClS (O).

Spin Polarization: A New Frontier in Efficient Photocatalysis for Environmental Purification and Energy Conversion.

As a promising strategy to improve photocatalytic efficiency, spin polarization has attracted enormous attention in recent years, which could be involved in various steps of photoreaction. The Pauli repulsion principle and the spin selection rule dictate that the behavior of two electrons in a spatial eigenstate is based on their spin states, and this fact opens up a new avenue for manipulating photocatalytic efficiency. In this review, recent advances in modulating the photocatalytic activity with spin polarization are systematically summarized.

Single cobalt atoms anchored on TiCT with dual reaction sites for efficient adsorption-degradation of antibiotic resistance genes.

The assimilation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by pathogenic bacteria poses a severe threat to public health. Here, we reported a dual-reaction-site-modified Co/TiCT (single cobalt atoms immobilized on TiCT MXene) for effectively deactivating extracellular ARGs via peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. The enhanced removal of ARGs was attributed to the synergistic effect of adsorption (Ti sites) and degradation (Co-O sites).

Effect of metal doping (Me = Zn, Cu, Co, Mn) on the performance of bismuth ferrite as peroxymonosulfate activator for ciprofloxacin removal.

In this study, a facile hydrothermal method was employed to prepare Me-doped BiFeO (Me = Zn, Cu, Co, and Mn) as peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator for ciprofloxacin (CIP) degradation. The characteristics of the Me-doped bismuth ferrites were investigated using various characterization instruments including SEM, TEM, FTIR and porosimeter indicating that the Me-doped BiFeO with nanosheet-like square orthorhombic structure was successfully obtained. The catalytic activity of various Me-doped BiFeO was compared and the results indicated that the Cu-doped BiFeO at 0.

Unexpected Intrinsic Catalytic Function of Porous Boron Nitride Nanorods for Highly Efficient Peroxymonosulfate Activation in Water Treatment.

Porous boron nitride (BN) nanorods, which were synthesized via a one-stage pyrolysis, exhibited excellent catalytic performance for organics' degradation via peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. The origin of the unexpected catalytic function of porous BN nanorods was proposed, in which non-radical oxidation driven by the defects on porous BN dominated the sulfamethoxazole degradation via the generation of singlet oxygen (O). The adsorption energy between PMS and BN was calculated via density functional theory (DFT), and the PMS activation kinetics were further investigated using an electrochemical methodology.

Exfoliation method matters: The microstructure-dependent photoactivity of g-CN nanosheets for water purification.

Exfoliation of carbon nitride (g-CN) into an ultrathin nanostructure significantly improves its photoactivity. However, the effects of the exfoliation method on the microstructure and photocatalytic performance of g-CN nanosheets remain largely unknown. Herein, several typical strategies, such as thermal, chemical, ultrasonic and one-step exfoliation, were applied to exfoliate g-CN nanosheets for photocatalytic applications.

BiOClBr-coated fabrics with enhanced antimicrobial properties under ambient light.

This study demonstrates the fabrication of ambient light enabled antimicrobial functional fabrics by coating flower-like bismuth oxyhalide i.e. BiOClBr, with the use of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as binders for improved coating robustness and durability.

Mesoporous Polymer-Derived Ceramic Membranes for Water Purification via a Self-Sacrificed Template.

Membrane separation has been widely used in water purification, and mesoporous ceramic membranes show a high potential in the future because of their high stability and resistance to harsh environments. In the current study, a novel polymer-derived ceramic silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) membrane was developed via a preceramic reactive self-sacrificed method and was further applied in a homemade dead-end system for water purification. A cyclosiloxane hybrid polymer was selected as the precursor and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used as the sacrificial template.

Spatial confinement of cobalt crystals in carbon nanofibers with oxygen vacancies as a high-efficiency catalyst for organics degradation.

Catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to generate radicals has received considerable and increasing attention in the environmental catalysis for treatment of recalcitrant pollutants. In the current study, a series of highly porous, cobalt-loaded activated carbon nanofibers (Co/CNFs) were prepared by one-pot electrospinning followed by thermal treatment. Observations showed that the limited addition of Co (≤8%) had no obvious effect on the morphology of the resulted CNFs, but it did affect the surface area and porosity of the CNFs as well as the carbon graphitic process during the carbonization.

Insight into Fe(II)/UV/chlorine pretreatment for reducing ultrafiltration (UF) membrane fouling: Effects of different natural organic fractions and comparison with coagulation.

Fe(II)/UV/chlorine was promoted as a pretreatment strategy for UF membrane to mitigate membrane fouling induced from different organic fractions. This treatment could be an emerging alternative prior to UF process attributed to the coupled role of oxidation and coagulation. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of fouling reduction, the influence of Fe(II)/UV/chlorine process on the characteristics of various feed solutions was inspected, including humic acid (HA), bovine serum albumin (BSA), sodium alginate (SA) and their mixture (HSB).

Elucidation of stoichiometric efficiency, radical generation and transformation pathway during catalytic oxidation of sulfamethoxazole via peroxymonosulfate activation.

In this work, nano-bimetallic Co/Fe oxides with different stoichiometric Co/Fe ratios were prepared using a novel one-step solution combustion method. The nano-bimetallic Co/Fe oxides were used for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) degradation via peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. The stoichiometric efficiencies of the as-prepared nano-bimetallic catalysts were calculated and compared for the first time.

One-step construction of heterostructured metal-organics@BiO with improved photoinduced charge transfer and enhanced activity in photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole under solar light irradiation.

A facile one-step assembly method was developed for the preparation of metal-organics @BiO composites for photocatalysis. Two kinds of metal-organics (Ti-bdc and Cu-btc)@BiO composites were synthesized via the coordination of btc/bdc and metal ions (Ti/Cu) as well as OH on the surface of BiO. Compared with pure BiO Ti-bdc@BiO shows a 1.

Acetic acid-assisted fabrication of hierarchical flower-like BiO for photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole and rhodamine B under solar irradiation.

With the assistance of acetic acid (CHCOOH), a novel 3D flower-like BiO was synthesized via hydrothermal process followed by calcination. For the first time, the role of CHCOOH as a capping agent in the formation of flower-like structure was investigated. The as-prepared flower-like BiO had a high activity on the degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) under simulated solar light irradiation due to the narrow band gap of 2.

Photochemical transformation of tetrabromobisphenol A under simulated sunlight irradiation: Kinetics, mechanism and influencing factors.

A systematic study on photolysis of tetrabromobisphenol A (2,2',6,6'-tetrabromo-4,4'-isopropylidendiphenol, TBBPA) in water was investigated under simulated sunlight irradiation. The results showed that the photolysis of TBBPA followed apparent pseudo-first-order kinetics. The photolysis rate constants (k) changed from 2.

Removal of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) from water by coagulation: mechanisms and influencing factors.

In this study, alum (Al2(SO4)3⋅18H2O), ferric chloride (FeCl3⋅6H2O) and polyaluminium chloride (PACl) were used to remove perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) from water. The influencing factors, including pH and natural organic matter (NOM), were investigated. A positive correlation was found between the size of the flocs and the removal efficiency of PFOX (X=S and A).

A high activity of Ti/SnO2-Sb electrode in the electrochemical degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol in aqueous solution.

Electrochemical degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) in aqueous solution was investigated over Ti/SnO2-Sb anode. The factors influencing the degradation rate, such as applied current density (2-40 mA/cm2), pH (3-11) and initial concentration (5-200 mg/L) were evaluated. The degradation of 2,4-DCP followed apparent pseudo first-order kinetics.

Evidence of superoxide radical contribution to demineralization of sulfamethoxazole by visible-light-driven Bi2O3/Bi2O2CO3/Sr6Bi2O9 photocatalyst.

Photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was investigated using Bi2O3/Bi2O2CO3/Sr6Bi2O9 (BSO) photocatalyst under visible light (>420 nm) irradiation. The photochemical degradation of SMX followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The reaction kinetics was determined as a function of initial SMX concentrations (5-20 mg L(-1)), initial pH (3-11) and BSO concentrations (6-600 mg L(-1)).

Electrochemical mineralization of pentachlorophenol (PCP) by Ti/SnO2-Sb electrodes.

Electrochemical degradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in aqueous solution was investigated over Ti/SnO2-Sb electrodes prepared by sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical measurements were used to characterize the physicochemical properties of the electrodes. The electrochemical degradation of PCP followed pseudo-first-order kinetics.

Rapid dechlorination of chlorophenols in aqueous solution by [Ni|Cu] microcell.

The [Ni|Cu] microcell was prepared by mixing the Ni(0) and Cu(0) particles. The composition and crystal form were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope. The results evidenced the zero-valence metals Ni and Cu were exposed on the surface of particles mixture.

Prediction of nitrobenzene toxicity to the algae (Scenedesmus obliguus) by quantitative structure-toxicity relationship (QSTR) models with quantum chemical descriptors.

In this study, Quantitative structure-toxicity relationship (QSTR) models were developed to predict the toxicity of nitrobenzene to the algae (Scenedesmus obliguus). Quantum chemical descriptors computed by PM3 Hamiltonian were used as predictor variables. The cross-validated Q²(cum) value for the optimal QSTR models is 0.

Photocatalytic degradation kinetics and mechanism of pentachlorophenol based on superoxide radicals.

The micron grade multi-metal oxide bismuth silicate (Bi12SiO20, BSO) was prepared by the chemical solution decomposition technique. Photocatalytic degradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) was investigated in the presence of BSO under xenon lamp irradiation. The reaction kinetics followed pseudo first-order and the degradation ratio achieved 99.

Toxicological assessment of TiO2 nanoparticles by recombinant Escherichia coli bacteria.

Rapid and efficient methods to assess nanoparticle toxicity are desired in current research. Here we showed that Escherichia coli labeled by green fluorescent protein can be a good model bacterium for assessing acute toxicity of TiO(2) (about 50% inhibition ratios after 135 min exposure). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed that TiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) can influence certain protein expression in the recombinant bacterium, and the obvious effects in repressed expression and elevated expression were observed in 30/40, 10/20 μg mL(-1) treated cells, respectively.