Sharif Digital Repository

This article investigates phenol removal from an aqueous solution by using enzymatic and photocatalytic methods and the efficiency of these methods has been compared. In enzymatic and photocatalytic methods, Coprinus cinereus, peroxidase enzyme and commercial TiO2 powders (Degussa P-25) in aqueous suspension were used, respectively, in ambient temperature. The effects of different operating parameters such as duration of process, catalyst dosage or enzyme concentration, pH of the solution, initial phenol concentration and H2O2 concentration on both processes were examined. In enzymatic method, efficiency of degradation reached 100% within 5min, while in the photocatalytic method, the... 

Manganese doped on cubic phase nanoparticles of ZrO2 was synthesized by an impregnation method. These novel particles were carefully analyzed by various chemico-physical methods. The catalytic degradation of an organic dye, methylene blue, in the presence of Mn-doped ZrO2 nanoparticles, as well as ZrO2 nanoparticles as catalyst with aqueous hydrogen peroxide, H2O2, as an oxidizing agent has been studied in aqueous solution at room temperature. Effects of solution pH, catalyst composition and radical scavenging agents on the degree of degradation of methylene blue were also studied. Finally, the recoverability and reusability of the... 

An easy method for preparing CuO nanoparticles incorporated in a mesoporous structure was presented based on the thermal decomposition of a copper complex. The novel copper coordination compound of [Cu(anic)2]·0.75H2O (anic= 2-aminonicotinate) with the microflake morphology was synthesized through the reaction of 2-aminonicotinic acid (Hanic) and copper(II) nitrate. Using elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, the chemical composition of CuC12H11.5N4O4.75 was proposed. Calcination process at 550 °C for 4 h transformed the microflakes into CuO nanoparticles incorporated in a mesoporous structure. The FTIR peaks assigned to 2-aminonicotinate were completely... 

For the first time, we report novel Ag3PO4/BiPO4 (AB)-graphene-based photocatalysts. The fabricated nanocomposites were characterized by various techniques. The photocatalytic properties of the prepared catalysts were evaluated by the photodegradation of Atrazine herbicide under both visible and UV light irradiation. Atrazine concentration was determined using the spectrophotometric method according to the Konig's reaction by monitoring the absorbance at 470 nm wavelength during the photodegradation process. Both degradation rate and efficiency using graphene (GR)-based nanocomposites are found to be much better than using pure AB. Atrazine photodegradation displayed that the AB supporting... 

BiOBrxCl1-x (0xCl1-x. The UV-visible diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies revealed the indirect band gap of ∼2.82 eV for the bismuth oxybromochloride nanoflakes. Visible light-assisted photocatalytic studies showed that the degradation efficiency of the as-prepared BiOBrxCl1-x for (100 mL of 10 mg L-1)... 

Hollow microblocks of [Zn(anic)2], as a novel coordination compound, were synthesized using 2-aminonicotinic acid (Hanic) and zinc (II) nitrate tetrahydrate. The chemical composition of the zinc complex, ZnC12H10N4O4, was determined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The synthesized zinc complex was used as a precursor to produce ZnO nanostructures by calcination at 550 °C for 4 h. Morphological studies by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed the formation of porous microbricks of ZnO nanoparticles. N2 adsorption-desorption analysis showed that the... 

The present study was carried out to evaluate the degradation efficiency of benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) by isolated bacteria from various petroleum-hydrocarbons contaminated sites. Five isolated bacteria were selected for testing BTX biodegradation from liquid culture media. Each of these bacteria was able to degrade BTX but with different efficiencies. Maximum biodegradation efficiency for benzene (more than 70 %) was obtained by Gram-positive coccobacillus, Gram-positive coccus and Gram-negative bacillus bacteria, for toluene (60 %) and xylene (70 %) by Gram-positive coccobacillus and Gram-negative coccobacillus. It was found that the presence of xylene in the substrate mixture... 

In this study, degradation of trichloroethylene (TCE), a chlorinated hydrocarbon, using starch supported Fe/Ni nanoparticles was investigated. The scanning electron microscope images showed applying water soluble starch as a stabilizer for the Fe/Ni nanoparticles tended to reduce agglomeration and discrete particle. Also the mean particle diameter reduced from about 70 nm (unsupported Fe/Ni nanoparticle) to about 30 nm. Effects of three key independent operating parameters including initial TCE concentration (10.0-300.0 mg L-1), initial pH (4.00-10.00) and Fe0 dosage (0.10-2.00) g L-1 on TCE dechlorination efficiency in 1 hour were analysed by employing response surface methodology (RSM).... 

In this study, for the first time a statistical analysis based on the response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to investigate individual and interaction effects of key operating parameters of the photocatalytic degradation under visible-light irradiation using Ag-S/PEG/TiO2. Ag-S/PEG/TiO2 is a visible-light-driven photocatalyst and was synthesized (based on earlier research) by co-doping of TiO2 with silver and sulphur and addition of polyethylene glycol (as a reagent template). In addition, the model pollutant was methylene orange (MO) and the studied operating parameters included the photocatalyst loading, initial concentration of the pollutant, and pH of the solution. The... 

In this study, the interaction effect of K2S2O8 (PDS) and H2O2 (as two powerful oxidants) was investigated on the solar degradation of 2-nitrophenol (2-NF) in the two systems, i.e. absence and presence of Ag/S/TiO2 photocatalyst. Experiments were designed based on the central composite design, and two methods of response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) were developed for modeling of the systems. Concentrations of PDS and H2O2 were considered as independent variables and 2-NF degradation efficiency was selected as the response. It was revealed that the predictive capacity of ANN model is more than RSM model according to their corresponding R2, R2 adj RMS, MAE,... 

The synergistic effect of plasmonic Au-Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on the increase of absorption band of nano-sized TiO2 and magnetic property of Fe3O4 NPs on the separation-ability of this semiconductor was applied for preparation of eight magneto-plasmonic photocatalysts for degradation of rhodamine-6G (Rh6G) in textile wastewater. The size, structure, morphology, crystallinity and optical and magnetic properties of prepared photocatalysts have been evaluated by various characterization techniques. Their photocatalytic activities were assessed under irradiation of an intense linear 405-nm laser and a continuous solar-simulated xenon lamp. The results were demonstrated that in comparison to the... 

In this work, the combination of H2O2 and an active visible-light-driven photocatalyst (Ag-S/PEG/TiO2) was utilized under natural solar radiation for the degradation of 2-nitrophenol (2-NP), and interaction effects between the photocatalyst and hydrogen peroxide were analyzed. For this purpose, experiments were designed using the response surface methodology based on the central composite design. The resulting data was utilized to obtain a model for the prediction of response (the degradation efficiency) as a function of two independent factors (H2O2 concentration and the photocatalyst loading). The statistical analysis indicated that optimum values of each of the two independent factors... 

In this study, two new composite membranes with antifouling and anti-biofouling properties were prepared through the modification of commercial polyamide (PA) discs using combination of in-situ polymerization of polyacrylic acid (PAA) and grafting of two synthesized bi-plasmonic Au-Ag and Ag-Au photocatalysts. The synthesis and characterization of the photocatalysts in batch mode were discussed in details as primary studies. Two intense 405-nm and 532-nm lasers for Ag-Au and Au-Ag photocatalysts, respectively and a solar-simulated xenon lamp for both photocatalysts were applied for photodegradation studies and the results were compared. In addition, the effect of other parameters such as... 

This research aimed to prepare a recoverable sonophotocatalyst, in which microfibrillated carboxymethyl cellulose (MFC) acted as the Zn-Cu-Mg-mixed metal hydroxide/graphitic carbon nitride (MMH/g-C3N4) carrier. The characteristics of bare and composite sonophotocatalysts were analyzed by the XRD, FT-IR, BET, DRS, PL and FE-SEM equipped with the EDX mapping. The performance of prepared composites (MMH/g-C3N4@MFC) with various weight ratios of the MMH/g-C3N4 was studied for the sonophotocatalytic degradation of sulfadiazine (SDZ) as the model emerging contaminant. 93% of SDZ was degraded using the most effective catalyst (MMH/g-C3N4@MFC3) with 15% weight ratio of the MMH/g-C3N4 under the... 

Purpose: This paper aims to study peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation in the ultraviolet (UV)/ozone process for toxic cyanide degradation from aqueous solution by a novel and simple method. Design/methodology/approach: Photocatalytic degradation of cyanide (CN-) was carried out using a bench-scale photoreactor. Optimization of the UV/ozone process for the highest removal of cyanide was obtained. The effect of parameters such as ozone concentration, PMS concentration, temperature, cations (Cu2+, Co2+ and Fe2+), cyanide concentration, anions (bicarbonate, carbonate, chloride, nitrite, nitrate and sulfate [SO42−]) and scavengers (ethanol [EtOH], humic acid, TBA and NaN3) was investigated for CN-... 

In this work, a facile ionic liquid-mediated method was utilized to fabricate an efficient photocatalyst for environmental remediation. The eco-friendly aspect of the treatment was explored through an in-vivo toxicity bioassay. ZnO particles, prepared by a combined solid state-pyrolysis method, were coated by 1-methyl-3-(oxiran-2ylmethyl)-1H-imidazolium-3-chloride ([MOYI]Cl) ionic liquid. Then, Ag/AgCl species were grown on the surface to make a heterojunction system leading to efficient charge separation and light absorption extension to the visible domain. The products were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, DRS, BET, and PL analysis. Photocatalytic performance of the nanostructures was... 

In this work, a facile ionic liquid-mediated method was utilized to fabricate an efficient photocatalyst for environmental remediation. The eco-friendly aspect of the treatment was explored through an in-vivo toxicity bioassay. ZnO particles, prepared by a combined solid state-pyrolysis method, were coated by 1-methyl-3-(oxiran-2ylmethyl)-1H-imidazolium-3-chloride ([MOYI]Cl) ionic liquid. Then, Ag/AgCl species were grown on the surface to make a heterojunction system leading to efficient charge separation and light absorption extension to the visible domain. The products were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, DRS, BET, and PL analysis. Photocatalytic performance of the nanostructures was... 

Carbon-based nanocarriers such as multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have shown promising delivery capabilities due to their low immunogenicity, superior internalization, and suitable cell penetration efficiency. Herein, a molecular engineering strategy is advanced for the one-pot synthesized rGO/MWCNT/Fe3O4/ZnO to enhance the stability of the nanocarrier in the biological matrix; green synthesized ZnO was responsible for water uptake and reduced cytotoxicity, while Fe3O4controlled the cellular internalization for gene delivery. Surface morphology of the ensuing nanocomposite was correlated with photocatalytic and gene delivery (CRISPR/Cas9) features. For... 

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) represent a very important class of pollutants that causes serious health effects. There is an urgent requirement to establish efficient technologies that can reduce and control VOCs. Non-thermal plasma (NTP) is an emerging technology that can decompose low concentration VOCs. However, the low efficiency and high power cost are major hindrances in its commercialization. In this work, Co–Cu with TiO2 support catalysts are prepared by using the deposition precipitation method and utilized in post-plasma catalysis for the efficient degradation of toluene selected as a model VOC. The synergistic effect of Co–Cu/TiO2 with different Co/Cu molar ratios along with... 

Co–Zr doped Ni ferrite substituted polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites were prepared using polymerization reaction method. NiFeCo0.5Zr0.5O4 with 12.5%, 25%, 37.5% and 50% PANI (A1, A2, A3 and A4) were used to obtain better photocatalytic efficiency. XRD, UV/VIS, BET, and FESEM were employed to characterize the PANI/ferrite nanocomposites. The effect of reaction time and nanoparticle concentrations on the photocatalytic degradation were thoroughly evaluated. XRD analysis confirmed the phase of NiFeCo0·5Zr0·5O4ferrite, while FESEM analysis was performed to investigate the surface morphology of the nanocomposites. The crystallinity was increased with the Co–Zr doped Ni ferrite contents in the...