Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543, Singapore; NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI), #02-01, T-Lab Building (TL), 5A Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117411, Singapore. Electronic address:
Published: February 2016
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Terephthalic acid (TA) is toxic and known as an endocrine disruptor. In this paper, the photocatalytic degradation of TA using sulfated titanium dioxide SO4(2-)/TiO2 photocatalysts was investigated. The photocatalysts were prepared by sol-gel method and characterized by XRD, SEM, BET, ICP/MS and spectroscopic methods. Their activities were compared with bare TiO2 and Degussa P25. The effects of catalyst sulfur content, the initial TA concentration and pre-treatment conditions (O2, N2 or non-pretreated) were studied. O2 functions were also explored. Since there had been no comprehensive study of fluorescent intermediates reported yet, we investigated the intermediates and discovered 5 new intermediates (4 fluorescent and 1 non-fluorescent) which were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and fluorescence spectroscopy. These intermediates are complementary to the previously identified carboxylic acid intermediates and might provide new insights to the mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of TA. Since TA is widely used as a probing molecule for photocatalytically generated (·)OH radicals, the ratios of fluorescent intermediates of TA degradation may provide new clues to the photocatalytic activity and mechanism. Based on the results obtained, the possible destruction pathway of TA is also proposed.
The visible-light-mediated continuous dehydration condensation and oxidative radical dimerization, featuring sulfur hexafluoride (SF) as both a condensation agent and oxidant, have been developed. This photocatalytic method uses commercially available N-protected amino acids as substrates and enables the formation of azlactone monomers and dimers, facilitating efficient utilization and degradation of greenhouse gas SF.
State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis On Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, PR China. Electronic address:
The development of durable and highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts is essential for the photocatalytic ozonation process towards degrading organic pollutants. This study presents CN-MA, a novel photocatalyst synthesized by grafting carbon nitride (CN) with single-atom Mn and 2-hydroxy-4,6-dimethylpyrimidine (HDMP) via one-step thermal polymerization. Experimental characterization and theoretical calculation results reveal that incorporating single-atom Mn and HDMP into CN alters the charge density distribution on the heptazine rings.
Expression of concern for 'Optimized Cu-doping in ZnO electro-spun nanofibers for enhanced photovoltaic performance in perovskite solar cells and photocatalytic dye degradation' by Kang Hoon Lee , , 2024, , 15391-15407, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4RA01544D.
Industrial organic dyes represent a significant portion of pollutants discharged into the environment, particularly by the textile industry. These compounds pose serious threats to living organisms due to their high toxicity. Various techniques have been explored for the degradation of organic dyes, among which heterogeneous photocatalysis utilising titanium dioxide (TiO) stands out as a promising technology.
The pristine phases SS1(ZnO), SS2(MnO), and SS3 (CuO) photocatalysts and mixed phases of ZnO-based nanocomposites were synthesized by the sol-gel method. Whereas SS4 (g-CN) was prepared through polymerization of urea. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized using TGA-DTA, XRD, DRS, PL, DLS, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and HRTEM.
