APPLICATION OF BIOGENIC ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES IN THE DEGRADATION OF ORGANIC DYES

Heterogeneous photocatalysis is one of the most popular methods among the variety of different technologies to purify environmental pollutant. The dye Rhodamine B and Alizarin Yellow R are used in many industrial applications and have side effect, when significant amount of the dye is washed off with the wastewater of production during the process, falling into surface reservoirs and destroying the ecosystem

Adsorption arsenite from aqueous solutions by Cu/CuO loaded composite track-etched membranes

Nanoscale structures of copper and its oxides are widely used in heterogeneous catalysis and demonstrate improved properties compared to bulk analogues [1]. Previously, we demonstrated the high potential of composite track-etched membranes with copper microtubules (MTs) as effective catalysts for pnitrophenol hydrogenation and the Mannich reaction [2]. In addition, efficient sorption of ions of heavy metals, such as As, Pb, Cd, Ni, etc. is a promising application of CuO NPs [3]. The composites with the internal pore diameter of 280 nm and the copper microtubules wall thickness of 75 nm were obtained by chemical template synthesis in nano-channels of track-etched PET membranes. Upon the analysis of the data on the phase composition and degree of crystallinity of microtubules before and after annealing, it was found that the complete conversion of copper to copper(II) oxide is possible only at temperatures of 140 °C and higher, and 100% tenorite phase is formed after 10 hours of annealing at 140°C. The composites annealed at 140 °C were also tested in terms of their arsenic (III) ions sorption capacities in the flow mode. For the unannealed sample, the effect of flow-rate on sorption activity was studied and the optimal value of 10 mL/min was established. It was shown that the sorption capacity of composite membranes increases by 48.7% compared to the initial sample at 10 h of annealing and then decreases by 24% with an increase in the annealing time (24 h). Successfully combining mechanical strength, the possibility of repeated use, low cost and ease of production, such Cu/CuO/PET membrane composites can be considered as promising materials for sorption of arsenic ions from aqueous solutions

Serratula coronata L. Mediated Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles and Their Application for the Removal of Alizarin Yellow R by Photocatalytic Degradation and Adsorption

In this study, the potential of biogenic zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in the removal of alizarin yellow R (AY) from aqueous solutions by photocatalytic degradation, as well as adsorption, was investigated. The synthesized ZnO NPs were prepared by the simple wet-combustion method using the plant extract of Serratula coronata L. as a reducing and stabilizing agent and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Photocatalytic degradation of AY was monitored by UV–visible spectroscopy and the effects of parameters, such as light source type (UV-, visible- and sunlight), incubation time, pH, catalyst dosage and temperature on degradation were investigated. It was demonstrated that the source of light plays an important role in the efficiency of the reaction and the UV-assisted degradation of AY was the most effective, compared to the others. The degradation reaction of AY was found to follow the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism and a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The degradation kinetics of AY accelerated with increasing temperature, and the lowest activation energy (Ea) was calculated as 3.4 kJ/mol for the UV-light irradiation system, while the Ea values were 4.18 and 7.37 kJ/mol for visible light and sunlight, respectively. The dye removal by the adsorption process was also affected by several parameters, such as pH, sorbent amount and contact time. The data obtained in the kinetics study fit the pseudo-second-order equation best model and the rate constant was calculated as 0.001 g/mg·min. The isotherm analysis indicated that the equilibrium data fit well with the Freundlich isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity of AY on biogenic ZnO NPs was 5.34 mg/g

Hybrid PET Track-Etched Membranes Grafted by Well-Defined Poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) Brushes and Loaded with Silver Nanoparticles for the Removal of As(III)

Nanoporous track-etched membranes (TeM) are promising materials as adsorbents to remove toxic pollutants, but control over the pore diameter and density in addition to precise functionalization of nanochannels is crucial for controlling the surface area and efficiency of TeMs. This study reported the synthesis of functionalized PET TeMs as high-capacity sorbents for the removal of trivalent arsenic, As(III), which is more mobile and about 60 times more toxic than As(V). Nanochannels of PET-TeMs were functionalized by UV-initiated reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)-mediated grafting of 2-(dimethyamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA), allowing precise control of the degree of grafting and graft lengths within the nanochannels. Ag NPs were then loaded onto PDMAEMA-g-PET to provide a hybrid sorbent for As(III) removal. The As(III) removal efficiency of Ag@PDMAEMA-g-PET, PDMAEMA-g-PET, and pristine PET TeM was compared by adsorption kinetics studies at various pH and sorption times. The adsorption of As(III) by Ag@DMAEMA-g-PET and DMAEMA-g-PET TeMs was found to follow the Freundlich mechanism and a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. After 10 h, As(III) removal efficiencies were 85.6% and 56% for Ag@PDMAEMA-g-PET and PDMAEMA-g-PET, respectively, while PET template had a very low arsenic sorption capacity of 17.5% at optimal pH of 4.0, indicating that both PDMAEMA grafting and Ag-NPs loading significantly increased the As(III) removal capacity of PET-TeMs