Comparative photocatalytic dye and drug degradation study using efficient visible light-induced silver phosphate nanoparticles

Spectroscopy and visible-light driven photocatalytic properties of a microcrystalline Cu-complex derived from a novel Gabapentin Schiff base

A novel Gabapentin derivative Schiff base Gasa was synthesized by condensing Gabapentin with salicylaldehyde, which was further coordinated with Cu2+ in methanol to give a microcrystalline Cu(II) complex Cu(Gasa)2. The synthesized Gasa and Cu(Gasa)2 were further characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as the FT-IR, Raman, electronic and fluorescence spectra. Cu(Gasa)2 exhibited excellent visible-light driven photocatalytic activities in removal of Congo red (CR) and Methylene blue (MB) dyes from aqueous solution in the presence of H2O2 as oxidant. It was revealed that ∙OH radicals played the most important role in the photodegradation processes of organic dyes, and the photodegradation of CR and MB fitted well with the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. In addition, solid state luminescent properties of Gasa and Cu(Gasa)2 were also studied in detail.

A novel electrochemically enhanced homogeneous PMS-heterogeneous CoFe2O4 synergistic catalysis for the efficient removal of levofloxacin

A novel electrochemically enhanced homogeneous-heterogeneous catalytic system was constructed by placing the prepared heterogeneous catalyst (CoFe₂O₄/NF) in parallel between the anode and the cathode for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to remove levofloxacin (LVF) in this work. Over 90% of LVF could be effectively removed by the constructed system after 40 min's degradation. And the electrical energy consumption was only 2.51 kWh/m³, which was lower than 54.5% of the traditional electrochemical advanced oxidation process. Besides, the system broadened the response range of pH and overcame the inhibitory effect of alkaline conditions on degradation. These activities were mainly due to the high generation ability of free radical (SO₄^·-, ·OH and O₂^·-) and non-radical (¹O₂). And the SO₄^·- was found to be the main radical for LVF degradation. The high SO₄^·- generation ability was demonstrated to be resulted from the dual effects of synergy of CoFe₂O₄/PMS and enhancement of electrochemistry in EC/CoFe₂O₄/PMS system. In detail, electrochemistry could effectively promote the continuous circulation of Co²⁺/Co³⁺ and Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ redox cycles on the surface of CoFe₂O₄ to enhance the activation of PMS, thereby generating SO₄^·-. This work can provide a promising and cost-effective approach to construct highly efficient organic pollutant degradation system.