Sharif Digital Repository

Enzymatic decolorization of the monoazo dye, acid orange 7 (AO7) by the fungal peroxidase from Coprinus cinereus NBRC 30628 is a complex system, which is greatly affected by temperature, pH, enzyme activity and the concentrations of H2O2 and dye concentration. The study of these factors and investigating the combined interactions between them by applying one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) method and two other statistical methods including 2-factorial method and response surface methodology (RSM) were aimed in this work. Through OFAT analysis the optimized conditions were a temperature of 25 °C, pH 9.0 with H2O2 concentration of about 3.9 mM and AO7 concentration of 40 mg/l. A complete... 

Hollow silver microspheres are synthesized in an easy and environmentally friendly process by a sacrificial templating method. Carbonaceous microspheres (CMSs) are used as hard templates, which have been synthesized previously by a hydrothermal carbonization process. Hollow silver spheres (HSSs) are synthesized by thermal removal of the core carbon component. The thickness of shell could be controlled by the concentration of precursors. Depending on the thickness, uniform or discontinuous shells are formed. The spheres are coated with SiO 2, and then added into the electrolyte of a dye solar cell. The enhancement of 50% is achieved in short-circuit current density (JSC) due to the scattering... 

We present a new TiO2 morphology, featuring highly crystalline anatase structure, synthesized by a two consecutive hydrothermal operation for the manufacture of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This construct is a one-dimensional (1D) nanostructure (i.e., nanowire) with interconnected nanoparticles on the surface with a large percentage of reactive facets, so called corn-like nanowire. Such morphology is produced by a surface modification concept using surface tension stress mechanism. The double layer DSSC made of anatase-TiO2 nanoparticles as the under-layer and corn-like TiO 2 nanowires as the over-layer (as light scattering layer) shows higher conversion efficiency of 7.11% and short... 

Zeolite-based Ag/AgBr and Ag/AgBr/TiO 2 photocatalysts were prepared by sol-gel and deposition methods and were characterized. Their photocatalytic activities were evaluated by inactivation of Escherichia (E.) coli and the photodegradation of Acid Blue 92 and potassium permanganate. The composites containing Ag/AgBr showed the antibacterial activity in the dark by releasing Ag ions into the medium. The results for inactivation of E. coli indicated that Ag/AgBr/TiO 2 modified photocatalyst had better antibacterial activity than Ag/AgBr/zeolite, while zeolite and TiO 2/zeolite did not show any antibacterial activity under visible light and dark conditions. Photodecolarization rate was affected... 

In this paper, the effect of plasma sputtering treatment on the natural dyeing properties of wool and the possibility of substituting it for mordant treatment have been studied. We used madder and weld as natural dyes and copper sulfate (CuSO4) as a metal mordant. We also used, copper as the electrode material, in a DC magnetron plasma sputtering device. The color strength of samples was analyzed using a Reflective Spectrophotometer and washing and light fastnesses were investigated according to I.S.O. standard recommendations. The results show that, the color strength and fastness of dyed wool samples have been improved after plasma treatment. The antibacterial counting test was also used... 

Photocatalysts that are used for waste water treatment are often suspended in the waste water during processing and then must be removed from the water after treatment. To reduce the post-degradation expenses and time, separation is facilitated by an immobilization process. The effect of immobilized TiO2 geometries on the photocatalytic behavior of the photocatalyst is investigated in this work. Powder, fiber, film, and network-shaped TiO2 nanocatalysts were produced by using different templates. The cellulose fiber and ceramic templates were used as substrates for fiber and film/network geometry production. The products were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD),... 

In this paper, CuO/CNT nanocomposite was synthesized and its photocatalytic dye degradation ability for colored textile wastewater was studied. The characteristics of the nanocomposite were investigated by XRD, SEM and FTIR. The photodegradation of Direct Red 31 (DR31) and Reactive Red 120 (RR120) by CuO/CNT in presence of H2O2 was investigated. Photocatalytic dye degradation was determined by UV-vis spectrophotometer. Effects of catalyst dosage, initial dye concentration and salt on photodegradation performance were studied. The photocatalytic dye degradation ability of pure CuO and CuO/CNT nanocomposite is 78 % and 89 % for DR31 and 70 % and 87 % for RR120, respectively. The results showed... 

A magnetic nanoparticle@starch-g-poly(vinyl sulfate) nanocomposite (MNP@St-g-PVS) as a new magnetic nano-adsorbent has been prepared based on graft copolymerization of vinyl acetate onto starch in the presence of magnetic nanoparticles, where the acetate groups were converted to hydroxyl groups followed by the sulfation of the hydroxyl groups using chlorosulfonic acid. Characterization of this magnetic nanocomposite was carried out by FTIR, TGA, XRD, VSM, SEM, TEM and elemental analysis. The resulting nanocomposite was used as an adsorbent for the removal of typical cationic dyes, methylene blue (MB) and malachite green (MG), from aqueous solutions. All experimental parameters that can... 

Herein, we report a double-layer photoanode electrode composed of TiO2 nanoparticles active layer and a mixture of nanoparticles and newly proposed skein-like nanotubes (NTs) top layer. Such structure performs well in solar light harvesting due to first, the top layer exhibits superior light scattering and second, the active layer with high dye-loading can make better use of the back-scattered light. The results reveal that 30-40 nm nanoparticles have anatase structure, whereas 5-7 μm skein-like NTs show a mixture of anatase and rutile phases. Photovoltaic measurements demonstrate that by tuning mass ratio between nanoparticles and skein-like NTs, the cells based on single-layer photoanode... 

In the present study, capability of nanodiamond (ND) for the adsorption of anionic (methyl orange, MO) and cationic (methylene blue, MB) dyes from aqueous solution was investigated. Employing fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Boehm titration method and zeta potential, it was found that the simple thermal oxidation of ND at 425 °C, increased the content of carboxylic acid of ND and accordingly the zeta potential of ND decreased considerably. Therefore, a series of oxidized NDs (OND) at various oxidation times and as-received untreated ND (UND) was used as adsorbents of MO and MB. The adsorption experiments exhibited that UND had large adsorption capacity, very fast adsorption... 

A highly water stable metal-organic framework (MOF) based on zirconium, i.e. UiO-66, was synthesized and then employed to adsorptive removal of an anionic dye, methyl orange (MO), and a cationic dye, methylene blue (MB), from aqueous solution. In this work, for the first time, the long term stability of UiO-66 in water was investigated for 12 months. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and N2 adsorption/desorption analysis were employed to monitor the textural alteration of UiO-66 during water aging. The results indicated that the structure of UiO-66 was mostly retained and its adsorption capacity toward dyes exhibited minor loss after long term water... 

In this paper, three metal-organic frameworks (Materials of Institut Lavoisier: MILs-100 (Fe)) as porous nanomaterials were synthesized using FeCl3, Fe(NO3)3 and Fe2(SO4)3 and denoted as MIL-100-1, MIL-100-2 and MIL-100-3, respectively. The synthesized MILs-100 (Fe) were characterized by FTIR, SEM, TEM, XRD, UV–vis DRS and zeta potential. Basic Blue 41 (BB41) was used as a model dye to study the photocatalytic dye degradation ability of the synthesized metal organic frameworks. The results showed that the synthesized nanomaterials decolorized BB41. The decolorization kinetics followed first-order kinetic model. The rate constant was 0.0034, 0.0041, 0.0091 and 0.0289 (1/min) for 0.01, 0.02,... 

In this study, graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized via modified Hummer's method and exploited as an ideal enzyme immobilization support due to its exclusive chemical and structural features. Then, laccase from genetically modified Aspergillus was covalently immobilized onto GO (nanobiocatalyst). Enzymatic characterization of the nanobiocatalyst exhibited promising results: laccase loading of 156.5 mg g−1 and immobilization yield of 64.6% at laccase concentration of 0.9 mg/ mL. Further employment of various structural characterization techniques including Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermo-Gravimetric... 

This study introduces a new and bio-friendly adsorbent based on natural and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) modified adsorbent, celery (Apium graveolens) residue for removal of organic pollutants. The adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and pHpzc techniques. Removal applicability and efficiency of this biosorbent were studied using Congo red (CR) as a sample organic pollutant. To reach the best results, main parameters such as pH, adsorbent mass, contact time, initial dye concentration and temperature were optimized through the adsorption experiments in a batch system. The kinetic and isotherm of CR removal... 

Herein, magnetic metal-organic framework nanocomposite (ZIF-8@SiO2@MnFe2O4) was synthesized. The ultrasound-assisted simultaneous adsorption of Malachite Green (MG) and Methyl Orange (MO) as cationic and anionic dyes onto ZIF-8@SiO2@MnFe2O4 magnetic microporous nanocomposite (MMNC) as a novel adsorbent was investigated. The FTIR, FESEM, TEM, XRD, BET and VSM were used to characterize the prepared adsorbent. The analysis of dyes concentration in a binary mixture was investigated using zero-order and first order derivative spectrophotometry. The individual effects and possible interactions between the various parameters were investigated by response surface methodology (RSM). The optimized... 

A new strategy for enhancing the efficiency of TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by design of a new double-layer film doped with Zn ions, with various morphologies and phase compositions, is reported. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that Zn2+ (in the range 0.25-0.1 at.%) was successfully incorporated into the TiO2 lattice without forming secondary phases. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) analyses showed that the synthesized nanoparticles had nanometer grains with different phase compositions and average crystallite sizes in the range of 8-48 nm, depending upon Zn atomic percentage. UV-vis absorption verified that Zn... 

Dye sensitizers loaded on TiO2 decrease the electron excitation energy, thereby improving the photocatalytic performance by causing an increase in sensitivity under visible light irradiation. Three dye sensitizer precursors, Mordant Orange 1, N3 (red dye) and Cobalt (II) Phthalocyanine Tetrasulfonate (CoPcTs), were utilized to load the photocatalyst. The rate of the electron trapping process on platinum is clearly compatible with the migration rate of boundary electrons. Consequently, the migration of boundary electrons from the conduction band towards electron acceptors is increased by loading platinum onto the titanium dioxide. In this research, TiO2 was synthesized from a titanium... 

Hierarchical submicrometer TiO 2 hollow spheres with outer diameter of 300-700 nm and shell thickness of 200 nm are synthesized by liquid phase deposition of TiO 2 over carbon microspheres as sacrificial templates. The final TiO 2 hollow spheres are applied as a scattering layer on top of a transparent nanocrystalline TiO 2 film, serving as the photoanode of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC). In addition to efficient light scattering, the mesoporous structure of TiO 2 hollow spheres provides a high surface area, 74 m 2/g, which allows for higher dye loading. This dual functioning suggests that TiO 2 hollow spheres may be good replacements for conventional TiO 2 spheres as scatterers in DSCs.... 

TiO 2 nanorods, TiO 2 nanorod/TiO 2 nanoparticle and TiO 2 nanorod/ZnO nanoparticle composite structures were integrated as photoanodes in backside illuminated dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Incorporation of TiO 2 nanoparticles into the bare nanorods increased the dye loading and improved the short-circuit current density (J sc) from 2.22 mA/cm 2 to 3.57 mA/cm 2. ZnO nanoparticles electrochemically grown into the TiO 2 nanorod layer could increase the surface area. Nevertheless, this considerably reduced the J sc to 0.57 mA/cm 2 and consequently cell efficiency. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results showed that ZnO incorporated samples have better effective diffusion...