Hydrothermal synthesis of zinc oxide nanospheres with sodium alginate as template and its photocatalytic application for degradation of diclofenac and chloramphenicol

949-954ZnO nanospheres of average diameter of 5.0±0.2 nm have been prepared by simple hydrothermal method using sodium alginate as a template. The prepared ZnO nanospheres are characterized by XRD, TEM, EDX and fluorescence spectra. The photodegradation of the drugs diclofenac (DCF) and chloramphenicol (CHL) are studied in presence of UV light of wavelength 365 nm. Formation of wurtzite structure of ZnO nanospheres is confirmed by XRD analysis. The decrease in intensity of fluorescence emission spectra of the nanospheres indicated the interaction between the drug molecules and the excited species. The peroxide radicals and the hydroxyl radicals formed due to electron and the hole further affect the degradation of the drug molecules. The TOC content of DCF and CHL is reduced to 12.8% and 6.8% after 180 min under the conditions of the reaction

Towards Environment Friendly Hydrothermally Synthesized Li+, Rb+, In3+ Intercalated Phosphotungstate (PW12O40) Thin Films

In the present investigation, a one-step hydrothermal approach is proposed to synthesize Li+, Rb+, and In3+intercalated PW12O40 (PTA) thin films. The photoelectrochemical performance of the deposited Li3PW12O40 (Li−PTA), Rb3PW12O40 (Rb−PTA), and In3PW12O40 (In−PTA) photocathodes were investigated using a two-electrode cell configuration of FTO/Li3PW12O40/(0.1 M I−/I3−)aq./Graphite. The energy band gaps of 2.24, 2.11, and 2.13 eV were observed for the Li−PTA, Rb−PTA, and In−PTA films, respectively, as a function of Li+, Rb+, and In3+. The evolution of the spinal cubic crystal structure with increased crystallite size was observed for Rb+ intercalation within the PTA Keggin structure, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a modification in the surface morphology from a rod-like structure to a densely packed, uniform, and interconnected microsphere to small and large-sized microspheres for Li−PTA, Rb−PTA, and In−PTA, respectively. Compositional studies confirmed that the composing elements of Li, Rb, In, P, W, and O ions are well in accordance with their arrangement for Li+, Rb+, In3+, P5+, W6+, and O2− valence states. Furthermore, the J-V performance of the deposited photocathode shows power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 1.25%, 3.03%, and 1.62%, as a function of the incorporation of Li+, Rb+, and In3+ ions. This work offers a one-step hydrothermal approach that is a prominent way to develop Li+, Rb+, and In3+ ions intercalated PTA, i.e., Li3PW12O40, Rb3PW12O40, and In3PW12O40 photocathodes for competent solar energy harvesting