37 research outputs found
Synthesis and Enhanced Cr(VI) Photoreduction Property of Formate Anion Containing Graphitic Carbon Nitride
In this study, we report on the synthesis of formate
anion containing graphitic carbon nitride and its dramatically enhanced
activity and stability on CrÂ(VI) photoreduction under visible light.
We found that the incorporated formate anions could not only trap
photogenerated holes to produce more photogenerated electrons, but
also change two-step superoxide ions mediated indirect reduction to
one-step direct photogenerated electron reduction of CrÂ(VI) over graphitic
carbon nitride under visible light through inhibiting surface dioxygen
adsorption and thus enhance CrÂ(VI) photoreduction. This study could
not only develop a novel strategy to improve the CrÂ(VI) photoreduction
activity and stability of semiconductors but also shed light on the
deep understanding of the relationship between intrinsic structure
and CrÂ(VI) photoreduction activity of semiconductor photocatalysts
Molecular Oxygen-Mediated Minisci-Type Radical Alkylation of Heteroarenes with Boronic Acids
The
carbon–carbon bond formation via autoxidation of organoboronic
acid using 1 atm of O<sub>2</sub> is achieved in a simple, clean,
and green fashion. The approach allows a technically facile and environmentally
benign access to structurally diverse heteroaromatics with medicinally
privileged scaffolds. The strategy also displays its practicality
and sustainability in the resynthesis of marketed drugs Crestor and
pyrimethamine
Hydrothermal Carbon-Mediated Fenton-Like Reaction Mechanism in the Degradation of Alachlor: Direct Electron Transfer from Hydrothermal Carbon to Fe(III)
As
Fenton systems suffer from the undesirable FeÂ(III)/FeÂ(II) cycle, great
efforts were made to realize the effective reduction of FeÂ(III) to
FeÂ(II). The effects of hydrothermal carbon (HTC) on the FeÂ(III)/H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> Fenton-like reaction and the subsequent degradation
of alachlor in water was systematically investigated, and the results
indicated that HTC could enhance alachlor degradation in FeÂ(III)/H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> by promoting the FeÂ(III)/FeÂ(II) cycle via electron
transfer from HTC to FeÂ(III) ions. The apparent alachlor degradation
rate constant in the HTC-G/FeÂ(III)/H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> system
(7.02 × 10<sup>–2</sup> min<sup>–1</sup>) was about
3 times higher than that in the FeÂ(III)/H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> system (2.25 Ă— 10<sup>–2</sup> min<sup>–1</sup>). The electron spin resonance spectra analysis revealed that HTC
consists of abundant carbon-centered persistent free radicals to act
as the electron donor. Meanwhile, the hydroxyl groups on the surface
of HTC also played an important role in the enhanced alachlor degradation
because the decrease in the surface hydroxyl groups on HTC significantly
decreased the degradation of alachlor. On the basis of these results,
an FeÂ(III) complex with surface hydroxyl groups on HTC was proposed
to favor the electron transfer from the hydroxyl groups to FeÂ(III),
and then, the simultaneously produced FeÂ(II) could accelerate the
catalytic decomposition of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> to facilitate
alachlor degradation. These findings shed new light on the possible
roles of carbon materials in a natural aquatic environment and provide
a new pathway for environmental pollutant control and remediation
of organic contaminants by HTC
Enhanced Photocatalytic Removal of Sodium PentachloroÂphenate with Self-Doped Bi<sub>2</sub>WO<sub>6</sub> under Visible Light by Generating More Superoxide Ions
In
this study, we demonstrate that the photoÂcatalytic sodium
pentaÂchloroÂphenate removal efficiency of Bi<sub>2</sub>WO<sub>6</sub> under visible light can be greatly enhanced by bismuth
self-doping through a simple soft-chemical method. Density functional
theory calculations and systematical characterization results revealed
that bismuth self-doping did not change the redox power of photoÂgenerated
carriers but promoted the separation and transfer of photoÂgenerated
electron–hole pairs of Bi<sub>2</sub>WO<sub>6</sub> to produce
more superÂoxide ions, which were confirmed by photocurrent generation
and electron spin resonance spectra as well as superÂoxide ion
measurement results. We employed gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
and total organic carbon analysis to probe the degradation and the
mineralization processes. It was found that more superÂoxide
ions promoted the dechloriÂnation process to favor the subsequent
benzene ring cleavage and the final mineraliÂzation of sodium
pentaÂchloroÂphenate during bismuth self-doped Bi<sub>2</sub>WO<sub>6</sub> photoÂcatalysis by producing easily decomposable
quinone intermediates. This study provides new insight into the effects
of photoÂgenerated reactive species on the degradation of sodium
pentaÂchloroÂphenate and also sheds light on the design
of highly efficient visible-light-driven photoÂcatalysts for
chloroÂphenol pollutant removal
Phosphate Shifted Oxygen Reduction Pathway on Fe@Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Core–Shell Nanowires for Enhanced Reactive Oxygen Species Generation and Aerobic 4‑Chlorophenol Degradation
Phosphate ions widely exist in the
environment. Previous studies
revealed that the adsorption of phosphate ions on nanoscale zerovalent
iron would generate a passivating oxide shell to block reactive sites
and thus decrease the direct pollutant reduction reactivity of zerovalent
iron. Given that molecular oxygen activation process is different
from direct pollutant reduction with nanoscale zerovalent iron, it
is still unclear how phosphate ions will affect molecular oxygen activation
and reactive oxygen species generation with nanoscale zerovalent iron.
In this study, we systematically studied the effect of phosphate ions
on molecular oxygen activation with Fe@Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanowires, a special nanoscale zerovalent iron, taking advantages
of rotating ring disk electrochemical analysis. It was interesting
to find that the oxygen reduction pathway on Fe@Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanowires was gradually shifted from a four-electron reduction
pathway to a sequential one-electron reduction one, along with increasing
the phosphate ions concentration from 0 to 10 mmol·L<sup>–1</sup>. This oxygen reduction pathway change greatly enhanced the molecular
oxygen activation and reactive oxygen species generation performances
of Fe@Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanowires, and thus increased their
aerobic 4-chlorophenol degradation rate by 10 times. These findings
shed insight into the possible roles of widely existed phosphate ions
in molecular oxygen activation and organic pollutants degradation
with nanoscale zerovalent iron
Efficient Removal of Heavy Metal Ions with Biopolymer Template Synthesized Mesoporous Titania Beads of Hundreds of Micrometers Size
We demonstrated that mesoporous titania beads of uniform
size (about
450 ÎĽm) and high surface area could be synthesized via an alginate
biopolymer template method. These mesoporous titania beads could efficiently
remove CrÂ(VI), CdÂ(II), CrÂ(III), CuÂ(II), and CoÂ(II) ions from simulated
wastewater with a facile subsequent solid–liquid separation
because of their large sizes. We chose CrÂ(VI) removal as the case
study and found that each gram of these titania beads could remove
6.7 mg of CrÂ(VI) from simulated wastewater containing 8.0 mg·L<sup>–1</sup> of CrÂ(VI) at pH = 2.0. The CrÂ(VI) removal process
was found to obey the Langmuir adsorption model and its kinetics followed
pseudo-second-order rate equation. The CrÂ(VI) removal mechanism of
titania beads might be attributed to the electrostatic adsorption
of CrÂ(VI) ions in the form of negatively charged HCrO<sub>4</sub><sup>–</sup> by positively charged TiO<sub>2</sub> beads, accompanying
partial reduction of CrÂ(VI) to CrÂ(III) by the reductive surface hydroxyl
groups on the titania beads. The used titania beads could be recovered
with 0.1 mol·L<sup>–1</sup> of NaOH solution. This study
provides a promising micro/nanostructured adsorbent with easy solid–liquid
separation property for heavy metal ions removal
Efficient Removal of Heavy Metal Ions with Biopolymer Template Synthesized Mesoporous Titania Beads of Hundreds of Micrometers Size
We demonstrated that mesoporous titania beads of uniform
size (about
450 ÎĽm) and high surface area could be synthesized via an alginate
biopolymer template method. These mesoporous titania beads could efficiently
remove CrÂ(VI), CdÂ(II), CrÂ(III), CuÂ(II), and CoÂ(II) ions from simulated
wastewater with a facile subsequent solid–liquid separation
because of their large sizes. We chose CrÂ(VI) removal as the case
study and found that each gram of these titania beads could remove
6.7 mg of CrÂ(VI) from simulated wastewater containing 8.0 mg·L<sup>–1</sup> of CrÂ(VI) at pH = 2.0. The CrÂ(VI) removal process
was found to obey the Langmuir adsorption model and its kinetics followed
pseudo-second-order rate equation. The CrÂ(VI) removal mechanism of
titania beads might be attributed to the electrostatic adsorption
of CrÂ(VI) ions in the form of negatively charged HCrO<sub>4</sub><sup>–</sup> by positively charged TiO<sub>2</sub> beads, accompanying
partial reduction of CrÂ(VI) to CrÂ(III) by the reductive surface hydroxyl
groups on the titania beads. The used titania beads could be recovered
with 0.1 mol·L<sup>–1</sup> of NaOH solution. This study
provides a promising micro/nanostructured adsorbent with easy solid–liquid
separation property for heavy metal ions removal
Efficient Visible Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Pentachlorophenol with Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/TiO<sub>2–<i>x</i></sub>B<sub><i>x</i></sub>
In this study, a new TiO<sub>2</sub>-based photocatalyst
with both
B doping and Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> coupling (Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/TiO<sub>2–<i>x</i></sub>B<sub><i>x</i></sub>) was synthesized to degrade pentachlorophenol under visible
light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation. The resulting Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/TiO<sub>2–<i>x</i></sub>B<sub><i>x</i></sub> sample exhibited much higher photocatalytic performance
than the counterparts with only B doping or Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> coupling or pure TiO<sub>2</sub>. This is because B doping could
result in more visible light absorption to produce more photogenerated
electron–hole pairs, while Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> coupling
could favor the separation and transfer of photoinduced charge carriers
to inhibit their recombination. We interestingly found that the visible
light-driven degradation of pentachlorophenol was mainly attributed
to photogenerated holes and ·O<sub>2</sub><sup>–</sup> other than ·OH as reported previously because the hybridization
of B 2p orbital and O 2p orbital could elevate the VB edge of Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/TiO<sub>2–<i>x</i></sub>B<sub><i>x</i></sub> as compared to that of pure TiO<sub>2</sub> and thus lower the oxidation ability of photogenerated holes, blocking
the pathway of photogenerated holes induced oxidation of surface OH<sup>–</sup> and water to generate ·OH. The intermediates
during the PCP photodegradation were systematically analyzed, ruling
out the existence of high toxic polychlorinated dibenzo-<i>p</i>-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans. These results reveal
that the visible light-driven photocatalytic degradation of PCP over
Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/TiO<sub>2–<i>x</i></sub>B<sub><i>x</i></sub> is an effective and green method to
remove highly toxic halogenated aromatic compounds
Design of a Highly Efficient and Wide pH Electro-Fenton Oxidation System with Molecular Oxygen Activated by Ferrous–Tetrapolyphosphate Complex
In
this study, a novel electro-Fenton (EF) system was developed
with iron wire, activated carbon fiber, and sodium tetrapolyphosphate
(Na<sub>6</sub>TPP) as the anode, cathode, and electrolyte, respectively.
This Na<sub>6</sub>TPP–EF system could efficiently degrade
atrazine in a wide pH range of 4.0–10.2. The utilization of
Na<sub>6</sub>TPP instead
of Na<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> as the electrolyte enhanced the atrazine
degradation rate by 130 times at an initial pH of 8.0. This dramatic
enhancement was attributed to the formation of ferrous–tetrapolyphosphate
(FeÂ(II)–TPP) complex from the electrochemical corrosion (ECC)
and chemical corrosion (CC) of iron electrode in the presence of Na<sub>6</sub>TPP. The FeÂ(II)–TPP complex could provide an additional
molecular oxygen activation pathway to produce more H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and <sup>•</sup>OH via a series single-electron transfer
processes, producing the FeÂ(III)–TPP complex. The cycle of
FeÂ(II)/FeÂ(III) was easily realized through the electrochemical reduction
(ECR) process on the cathode. More interestingly, we found that the
presence of Na<sub>6</sub>TPP could prevent the iron electrode from
excessive corrosion via phosphorization in the later stage of the
Na<sub>6</sub>TPP–EF process, avoiding the generation of iron
sludge. Gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-mass
spectrometry, and ion chromatography were used to investigate the
degradation intermediates to propose a possible atrazine oxidation
pathway in the Na<sub>6</sub>TPP–EF system. These interesting
findings provide some new insight on the development of a low-cost
and highly efficient EF system for wastewater treatment in a wide
pH range
Dramatically Enhanced Aerobic Atrazine Degradation with Fe@Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Core–Shell Nanowires by Tetrapolyphosphate
In
this study, the effects of an inorganic ligand tetrapolyphosphate
on the molecular oxygen activation and the subsequent aerobic atrazine
degradation by Fe@Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> core–shell nanowires
were investigated systematically at a circumneutral to alkaline pH
range (pH 6.0–9.0). We interestingly found that the addition
of tetrapolyphosphate could enhance the aerobic atrazine degradation
rate 955 times, which was even 10 times that of the traditional organic
ligand ethylenediamine tetraacetate. This tetrapolyphosphate induced
dramatic aerobic atrazine degradation enhancement could be attributed
to two factors. One was that the presence of tetrapolyphosphate strongly
suppressed hydrogen evolution from the reduction of proton by Fe@Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> core–shell nanowires through proton confinement,
leaving over more electrons for the reduction of FeÂ(III) to FeÂ(II)
and the subsequent molecular oxygen activation. The other was that
the complexation of tetrapolyphosphate with ferrous ions not only
guaranteed enough soluble FeÂ(II) for Fenton reaction, but also provided
another route to produce more •OH in the solution via the single-electron
molecular oxygen reduction pathway. We employed gas chromatography–mass
spectrometry and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry to
identify the atrazine degradation intermediates and proposed a possible
aerobic atrazine degradation pathway. This study not only sheds light
on the promotion effects of ligands on the molecular oxygen activation
by nanoscale zerovalent iron, but also offers a facile and green iron-based
method for the oxidative atrazine removal