Surface coordination induced a quasi p-n junction for efficient visible light driven degradation of tetracycline over hydroxyapatite.

The removal of antibiotics from aquatic solutions remains a global environmental challenge. In this work, the photocatalytic removal of a typical antibiotic-tetracycline (TC) using hydroxyapatite (HAp) as a catalyst was investigated. It was impressive that TC could be efficiently degraded by HAp under visible light irradiation, even though both HAp and TC exhibited poor harvesting in visible light region.

Rational Design of CoOOH/α-FeO/SnO for Boosted Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation: The Roles of Underneath SnO and Surface CoOOH.

Hematite (α-FeO) photoanode is a promising candidate for efficient PEC solar energy conversion. However, the serious charge recombination together with the sluggish water oxidation kinetics of α-FeO still restricts its practical application in renewable energy systems. In this work, a CoOOH/α-FeO/SnO photoanode was fabricated, in which the ultrathin SnO underlayer is deposited on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate, α-FeO nanorod array is the absorber layer, and CoOOH nanosheet is the surface modifier, respectively.

Insights into the multirole CoAl layered double hydroxide on boosting photoelectrochemical activity of hematite: Application to hydrogen peroxide sensing.

As an important compound in many industrial and biological processes, hydrogen peroxide (HO) would cause harmfulness to human health at high concentration level. It thus is urgent to develop highly sensitive and selective sensors for practical HO detection in the fields of water monitoring, food quality control, and so on. In this work, CoAl layered double hydroxide ultrathin nanosheets decorated hematite (CoAl-LDH/α-FeO) photoelectrode was successfully fabricated by a facile hydrothermal process.

Sensitive photoelectrochemical sensing of glucose using hematite decorated with NiAl-layered double hydroxides.

Hematite (α-FeO) is a promising photoelectrode material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensors. However, it still suffers from serious surface charge recombination and slow interfacial charge transfer kinetics. In this work, NiAl-layered double hydroxides decorated on α-FeO (NiAl-LDH/α-FeO) was successfully fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method.

Hematite decorated with nanodot-like cobalt (oxy)hydroxides for boosted photoelectrochemical water oxidation.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has been considered as an alternative process to produce green hydrogen. However, the energy conversion efficiency of PEC systems was still limited by the inefficient photoanode. Cocatalysts decoration is regarded as an efficient strategy for improving PEC performance of photoanode.

Photoelectrochemical sensing and mechanism investigation of hydrogen peroxide using a pristine hematite nanoarrays.

In this paper, a facile hydrothermal combined with subsequent two-step post-calcination method was used to fabricate hematite (α-FeO) nanoarrays on fluorine-doped SnO glass (FTO). The morphology, crystalline phase, optical property and surface chemical states of the fabricated α-FeO photoelectrode were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet visible spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy correspondingly. The α-FeO photoelectrode exhibits excellent photoelectrochemical (PEC) response toward hydrogen peroxide (HO) in aqueous solutions, with a low detection limit of 20 μM (S/N = 3) and wide linear range (0.

Feasibility of using ammonium iron (II) sulphate to passivate hexavalent chromium in polluted soil.

The use of ammonium iron (II) sulphate ((NH)Fe(SO)) to remediate soil contaminated with Cr (VI) was assessed. (NH)Fe(SO) effectively remediated soil contaminated with Cr (VI) and, acted as a fertilizer by supplying nitrogen because it contains ammonium. The effects of the (NH)Fe(SO) dose, water content, pH of the soil and the contact time were investigated.

Sensitive Detection of Rifampicin Based on Au-Carbon Nanocomposite.

Gold nanoparticles-supported Cabot Vulcan XC72R (Au/VXC72R) nanocomposite was synthesized by chemical reduction of gold (III) chloride with VXC72R. A novel electrochemical sensor based on the Au/VXC72R nanocomposite has been fabricated for the sensitive detection of rifampicin (RIF). Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray powder diffractometer (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the morphology, structure and compositions of the nanocomposite.

Effect of crystallization of Cu₂ZnSnSxSe₄-x counter electrode on the performance for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells.

Cu2ZnSnSxSe4-x (CZTSSe) counter electrodes (CEs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are commonly developed with porous structures, but their high surface area could also retard electron transport processes owing to the abundant grain boundaries. Herein, we employed a convenient solution method and a rapid heating process to prepare well crystalline CZTSSe CEs in DSSCs. The influence of crystallization of CZTSSe film on DSSCs performances was discussed in depth.

Removal of hexavalent chromium by using red mud activated with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide.

The removal of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] from aqueous solution by using red mud activated with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was studied. The optimum operation parameters, such as CTAB concentration, pH values, contact time, and initial Cr(VI) concentration, were investigated. The best concentration of CTAB for modifying red mud was found to be 0.

Phase-dependent photocatalytic H2 evolution of copper zinc tin sulfide under visible light.

CZTS exhibited apparently phase-dependent photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible light. Possible factors for the phase-dependent photocatalytic activity of CZTS were discussed in detail.

Determination of GPTMS and epoxy groups on GPTMS doped nanosilica composite by spectrofluorimetric analysis.

A spectrofluorimetric method was established for the quantitative determination of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS), based on the quantitative reaction between dihydroxyl of hydrated epoxy groups and potassium periodate generating formaldehyde and the reaction of the formaldehyde with acetylacetone in the presence of ammonium ions generating a new compound having yellow green fluorescence. The established method was then used to determine the purity of a commercially obtained GPTMS sample and the amount of epoxy groups on GPTMS doped nanosilica composite (GPTMS/nano-SiO2). The conditions such as the concentrations of ammonium salts and acetylacetone, pH value, coloring temperature, and coloring time were investigated in detail with respect to their effects on the fluorescence intensity.