Sharif Digital Repository

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... 

Switchable photochromic dyes have benefited greatly from the use of heterocyclic chemicals. The imidazole group is particularly essential because it can be transformed into dimers, which can then be radicalized in the presence of light photons. Imidazole dimers have been optimized throughout thirty years of research, allowing derivatives with diverse colors, quick reversibility, and sensitivity to different wavelengths from UV to near IR ranges. These imidazole dimers are interesting to be used in the matrices of polymers, hydrogels, glasses, solar cells, and even pharmaceuticals. The goal of this review is to look at the history, development, and future of imidazole dimers. We will also... 

Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer mortality so, the analysis of exhaled human breath has great significance for early non-invasive diagnosis. Poor selectivity and strong humidity are two bottlenecks for the application of gas sensors to exhaled breath analysis. The development of novel extractive phases for the analysis of exhaled breath by chromatography is therefore a lucrative object. Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) are among the 3D porous materials whose unique properties make them promising coatings for solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Selective enrichment of polar or nonpolar targets depends on the pore size and functional groups on the POSSs. Herein, we... 

Herbal medicine wastes (HMWs) are byproducts of medicine factories, which are mainly landfilled for their environmental problems. Only bearing in mind the contamination and concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental emissions, the worth of herbal medicine wastes management and conversion to green products can be understood. In this work, subcritical water treatment was carried out batch-wise in a stainless tube reactor in the pressure range of 0.792–30.0 MPa, varying the temperature (127–327 °C) and time (1–60 min) of extraction. This resulted in new and green material sources, including organic acids, amino acids, and sugars. Amazingly, at very low extraction times (below 5... 

Herein, MIL-101(Fe), CoFe2O4, novel binary (MIL-101(Fe)/CoFe2O4, MIL-101(Fe)/GO and CoFe2O4/GO), and ternary (MIL-101(Fe)/CoFe2O4/(3%)GO and MIL-101(Fe)/CoFe2O4/(7%)GO) magnetic composites based upon the MIL-101(Fe) were synthesized. The XRD, FESEM, TEM, EDX, BET-BJH, FTIR, VSM, DRS, PL, EIS and other electrochemical analyses were applied to characterize samples. The MIL/CoFe2O4/(3%)GO demonstrated the best performance compared to other samples for visible light photocatalytic and photo-Fenton-like degradation of Direct Red 23 (DtR-23), Reactive Red 198 (ReR-198) dyes as well as Tetracycline Hydrochloride (TC-H) antibiotic. Degradation of dyes using the ternary composite after 70 min of... 

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... 

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) fabricated using electron beam lithography are investigated using tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) with a spatial resolution of 5 nm under ambient conditions. High-resolution TERS imaging reveals a structurally modified 5-10 nm strip of disordered graphene at the edge of the GNRs. Furthermore, hyperspectral TERS imaging discovers the presence of nanoscale organic contaminants on the GNRs. These results pave the way for nanoscale chemical and structural characterisation of graphene-based devices using TERS. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2021  

A gradient derived base layer extractive phase was synthesized and applied for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in saliva samples using the headspace cooled in–tube microextraction (HS–CITME) method. The base layers from three different sols of phenyltriethoxysilane (PTES), octyltrimethoxysilane (OTMS) and methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) as nonpolar precursors were individually dip coated on the stainless steel wires (SSW). Then, the hydrolyzed polar precursor aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) reacted with the silanol groups already formed on the surface of SSWs via controlled rate infusion (CRI) method. The presence of polar and non–polar functional groups on the... 

With over 8 million inhabitants and 4 million motor vehicles on the streets, Tehran is one of the most crowded and polluted cities in the Middle East. Frequent exceedances of national daily PM2.5 limit have been reported in this city during the last decade, yet, the chemical composition and sources of fine particles are poorly determined. In the present study, 24-hour PM2.5 samples were collected at two urban sites during two separate campaigns, a one-year period from 2014 to 2015 and another three-month period at the beginning of 2017. Concentrations of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), inorganic ions, trace metals and specific organic molecular markers were measured by chemical... 

In this study, the different parts of carthamus tinctorius plant, including petal (SPE), leaf (SLE), and shoot (SSE), have been extracted. Adsorption of the extracts on mild steel in 3.5 wt. % NaCl solution was evaluated employing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical noise measurements (EN). The field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) were employed to appraise the morphology of the samples surface subjected to the test solutions. According to the EIS results, the maximum adsorption efficiency belonged to the solution containing 1 g L−1 of... 

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... 

The morphology of the perovskite layer, the effective extraction of the charge carriers, and their transport are the main factors determining the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this work, we demonstrated that the geometric and electronic structures of the PSCs could be modified by using a conductive polymer additive in the lead (Pb) halide layer prepared by a two-step deposition method. Polypyrrole (PPy) as a conductive polymer is used in the perovskite layers which could increase the PCE of CH3NH3PbI3-xClx mixed-halide PSCs. By adding an optimized amount of PPy, PCE has been raised from 10.4 to 13.2%. PPy acts as a conductive channel facilitating... 

A superhydrophobic extractive phase was prepared and packed in a needle trap microextraction device for extraction of volatile organic compounds, followed by their determination by gas chromatography. The superhydrophobic phase was prepared by surface modification of melamine formaldehyde (MF) sponge embedded by reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The overall properties of the modified MF along with its high sorption capacity and low cost fabrication were indicative of its feasibility to be highly suitable for extraction of organic pollutants. The determined water contact angle (>150o) from the surface of melamine formaldehyde–reduced graphene oxide (MF–rGO) revealed its high affinity toward... 

The interactions between four different gas molecules (methanol, o-xylene, p-xylene and m-xylene) and Ni-decorated monolayer MoS2 were investigated by means of density functional computations to exploit its potential application as a gas sensor. The electronic properties of the Ni-decorated monolayer MoS2 and gas molecule (adsorbent–adsorbate properties) strongly depend on the Ni-decorated monolayer MoS2 structure and the molecular configuration of the adsorbate. The adsorption properties of volatile organic compound (VOC) molecules on Ni-decorated MoS2 has been studied taking into account the parameters such as adsorption energy, energy bandgap, density of states, and Mulliken charge... 

Hexagonal core–shell SiO2[–MOYI]Cl–]Ag nanoframeworks were synthesized via surface modification of hexagonal silica nanoparticles prepared from perlite (EP) as a cheap and abundant raw material. The prepared samples were well characterized by X-ray diffraction powder (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area analysis, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD patterns confirmed that Ag and AgCl crystalline phases were successfully loaded on the surface. The TEM images were also implied that the... 

A chemiresistive sensor is described for the lung cancer biomarker hexanal. A composite consisting of molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles and multiwalled carbon nanotubes was used in the sensor that is typically operated at a voltage of 4 V and is capable of selectively sensing gaseous hexanal at room temperature. It works in the 10 to 200 ppm concentration range and has a 10 ppm detection limit (at S/N = 3). The sensor signal recovers to a value close to its starting value without the need for heating even after exposure to relatively high levels of hexanal  

The aim of this study is to introduce an extractive phase based on gradient concept by continuous changing in chemical functional groups for non–targeted analysis. For this purpose, three different two–component coatings containing (3–aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTES) as polar and either phenyltriethoxysilane (PTES), octyl–trimethoxysilane (OTMS) or methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) as nonpolar precursors were formed on the modified stainless steel wires using controlled rate infusion (CRI) method. The presence of polar and/or non–polar functional groups on the surface of substrate was evaluated by Fourier–transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) together with contact angles determined... 

In this study, we implement a numerical model to predict secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from semi- and intermediate-volatility organic compounds emitted from in-use gasoline and diesel vehicles. The model is formulated based on the volatility basis set (VBS) approach, and it accounts for OH oxidation of unspeciated low-volatility organics, which are classified by their volatility. This model incorporates SOA formation data from smog chamber and emission measurements of vehicle exhaust in a Hybrid framework to calculate the contribution of both traditional and non-traditional SOA precursors to total SOA formation observed in photo-oxidation experiments. Emission and SOA formation... 

In this study, dynamic adsorption behavior of different gaseous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on a new modified M-MIL-101(Cr) was investigated with a great emphasis on gasoline adsorption. The M-MIL-101(Cr) was synthesized, along with comprehensive purification procedures, using a new linker to cluster molar ratio (2:1 instead of 1:1) and different modulators (i.e. HF and HNO3). All prepared adsorbents were characterized by XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM and N2 adsorption-desorption at 77 K. The results showed that surface area and pore volume of the M-MIL-101@Free (i.e. modified MIL-101(Cr) with using any modulator) which were 4293 m2/g and 2.43 cm3/g, greatly elevated up to 37.2% and 71.6% against... 

To improve the thermal stability of starch in water-based drilling fluid, monoethanolamine (MEA) was added, and the effect was investigated by laboratory experiment. The experimental results show that the addition of monoethanolamine (MEA) increases the apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, dynamic shear force, and static shear force of the drilling fluid, and reduces the filtration rate of drilling fluid and thickness of mud cake apparently. By creating hydrogen bonds with starch polymer, the monoethanolamine can prevent hydrolysis of starch at high temperature. Starch, as a natural polymer, is able to improve the rheological properties and reduce filtration of drilling fluid, but it works...