Magnetically recoverable Ir/IrO2@Fe3O4 core/ SiO2 shell catalyst for the reduction of organic pollutants in water

Fabrication and characterization of new Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2-CPTS-HBAP (FST-CH) nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation and adsorption removal of rhodamine B dye in the aquatic environment

In this study, Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2-CPTS-HBAP (FST-CH) nanoparticle was prepared for the simultaneous adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of aromatic chemical pollutants (Rhodamine B dye) in aqueous solution. FST-CH nanoparticle was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) Fluorescence Spectrometer and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of rhodamine B dye (RhB) was evaluated with a Kerman UV 8/18 vertical roller photoreactor. About 56% of RhB in aqueous medium was adsorbed by FST-CH nanoparticles with only 45 min of stirring in the dark, and about 77.01% was degraded or converted to other structures under the photoreactor for 120 min. The photocatalytic degradation of RhB (apparent rate constant: 0.0026 mg dm-3 min-1) occurred by a pseudo-second order reaction. In addition, the recovery of the prepared magnetic FST-CH nanoparticle by an external magnetic field, exhibiting good magnetic response and reusability, shows that the obtained magnetic FST-CH nanoparticle is stable and maintains high degradation ratio and catalyst recovery even after four cycles. Thus, the prepared FST-CH nanoparticle can be highly recommended for its use in potential applications of water decontamination.

Catalytic innovations: Improving wastewater treatment and hydrogen generation technologies

The effective reduction of hazardous organic pollutants in wastewater is a pressing global concern, necessitating the development of advanced treatment technologies. Pollutants such as nitrophenols and dyes, which pose significant risks to both human and aquatic health, making their reduction particularly crucial. Despite the existence of various methods to eliminate these pollutants, they are not without limitations. The utilization of nanomaterials as catalysts for chemical reduction exhibits a promising alternative owing to their distinguished catalytic activity and substantial surface area. For catalytically reducing the pollutants NaBH4 has been utilized as a useful source for it because it reduces the pollutants quiet efficiently and it also releases hydrogen gas as well which can be used as a source of energy. This paper provides a comprehensive review of recent research on different types of nanomaterials that function as catalysts to reduce organic pollutants and also generating hydrogen from NaBH4 methanolysis while also evaluating the positive and negative aspects of nanocatalyst. Additionally, this paper examines the features effecting the process and the mechanism of catalysis. The comparison of different catalysts is based on size of catalyst, reaction time, rate of reaction, hydrogen generation rate, activation energy, and durability. The information obtained from this paper can be used to steer the development of new catalysts for reducing organic pollutants and generation hydrogen by NaBH4 methanolysis.

Sustainable magnetically recoverable Iridium-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles for enhanced catalytic reduction of organic pollutants in water

The reduction of nitroarenes to aromatic amines is one of the potential pathways to remediate the hazardous impact of toxic nitroarenes on the aquatic environment. Aromatic amines obtained from the reduction of nitroaromatics are not only less toxic than nitroaromatics but also act as important intermediates in the synthesis of dyes, drugs, pigments, herbicides, and polymers. There is a huge demand for the development of cost-effective, and eco-friendly catalysts for the efficient reduction of nitroarenes. In the present study, Fe₃O₄@trp@Ir nanoparticles were explored as efficient catalysts for the reduction of nitroarenes. Fe₃O₄@trp@Ir magnetic nanoparticles were fabricated by surface coating of Fe₃O₄ with tryptophan and iridium by co-precipitation method. As-prepared Fe₃O₄@trp@Ir nanoparticles are environmentally benign efficient catalysts for reducing organic pollutants such as 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), 4-nitroaniline (4-NA), and 1-bromo-4-nitrobenzene (1-B-4-NB). The key parameters that affect the catalytic activity like temperature, catalyst loading, and the concentration of reducing agent NaBH₄ were optimized. The obtained results proved that Fe₃O₄@trp@Ir is an efficient catalyst for reducing nitroaromatics at ambient temperature with a minimal catalyst loading of 0.0025%. The complete conversion of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol took only 20 s with a minimal catalyst loading of 0.0025% and a rate constant of 0.0522 s^-1. The high catalytic activity factor (1.040 s^-1 mg^-1) and high turnover frequency (9 min^-1) obtained for Fe₃O₄@trp@Ir nanocatalyst highlight the possible synergistic effect of the two metals (Fe and Ir). The visible-light photocatalytic degradation of 4-NP was also investigated in the presence of Fe₃O₄@trp@Ir. The photocatalytic degradation of 4-NP by Fe₃O₄@trp@Ir is completed in 20 min with 95.15% efficiency, and the rate of photodegradation of 4-NP (0.1507 min^-1) is about twice the degradation rate of 4-NP in the dark (0.0755 min^-1). The catalyst was recycled and reused for five cycles without significant reduction in the conversion efficiency of the catalyst.

Iridium and IrOx nanoparticles: an overview and review of syntheses and applications

Precious metals are key in various fields of research and precious metal nanomaterials are directly relevant for optics, catalysis, pollution management, sensing, medicine, and many other applications. Iridium based nanomaterials are less studied than metals like gold, silver or platinum. A specific feature of iridium nanomaterials is the relatively small size nanoparticles and clusters easily obtained, e.g. by colloidal syntheses. Progress over the years overcomes the related challenging characterization and it is expected that the knowledge on iridium chemistry and nanomaterials will be growing. Although Ir nanoparticles have been preferred systems for the development of kinetic-based models of nanomaterial formation, there is surprisingly little knowledge on the actual formation mechanism(s) of iridium nanoparticles. Following the impulse from the high expectations on Ir nanoparticles as catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in electrolyzers, new areas of applications of iridium materials have been reported while more established applications are being revisited. This review covers different synthetic strategies of iridium nanoparticles and provides an in breadth overview of applications reported. Comprehensive Tables and more detailed topic-oriented overviews are proposed in Supplementary Material, covering synthesis protocols, the historical role or iridium nanoparticles in the development of nanoscience and applications in catalysis.