Zn,Al hydrotalcites calcined at different temperatures: Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic activity in gas–solid regime

Synergistic effects enabled efficient photocatalytic removal of ofloxacin antibiotic in wastewater by layered double hydroxides loaded lignin-derived carbon fibers

The environmental problems caused by the abuse of antibiotics are raising serious attention, and the removal of antibiotics in wastewater is meaningful yet challenging. In this work, lignin-derived carbon fibers loaded layered double hydroxides (LDH@LCF) has been prepared for the removal of ofloxacin (OFX) from wastewater via photocatalysis, which exhibit a high degradation efficiency of 96 % under visible light and maintained 90 % after five reuses. The effects of Zn2+/Fe3+ in the samples and other parameters affecting the photocatalytic efficiency of OFX have been systematically investigated. Results demonstrated that the enhanced photocatalytic efficiency is derived from the synergistic effect of the Zn2+ and Fe3+ in the LDH with a reduced band gap of the catalyst, higher number of oxygen and metal unsaturated coordination sites, and rapid removal of photogenerated electrons. The working mechanism and degradation pathways for OFX by LDH@LCF are also elucidated in detail.

Study of the effect of the LDH cations precursors in the removal of arsenic in aqueous solution

Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are anionic clays, mainly used as adsorbents, ion exchange material, and catalysts. Generally, they present high specific surface areas, alkaline character, high metallic dispersion, and high thermal stability. If they contain a transitional element in their structure, the solid may present redox properties. LDH were synthesized with the following combinations: MgAl, MgFe, and ZnMgFe, aiming to determine the effect of cationic nature in the structure and the functionality of the synthesized clay as adsorbents in polluted aqueous effluents. The textural properties were determined by nitrogen adsorption isotherms. Crystalline structure was studied by XRD and the presence of the anions of the interlayer was determined by FTIR spectroscopy. The studies of removal of As(III) and As(V) from aqueous solutions, using the LDH, show that after 24 h the solids reach a high removal efficiency. ZnMgFe solid removed both species of arsenic with values of 95 and 98% for As(II) and As(V), respectively. The MgFe solid showed some selectivity to the uptake of As(V), while the MgAl only removed As(V). This selective behaviour can be beneficial in studies of arsenic speciation.

Selective preparation and reaction kinetics of dimethyl carbonate from alcoholysis of methyl carbamate with methanol over ZnAl-LDO

Possible reaction mechanism of synthesis of DMC from MC and methanol over the ZnAl-LDO catalyst.

Activity in the Photodegradation of 4-Nitrophenol of a Zn,Al Hydrotalcite-Like Solid and the Derived Alumina-Supported ZnO

A Zn,Al layered double hydroxide (LDH), with the hydrotalcite structure and the mixed oxide obtained upon its calcination at 650 °C, was tested in the adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of 4-Nitrophenol in aqueous solution. The Zn,Al LDH was fast and easily obtained by the coprecipitation method. Hydrothermal treatment under microwave irradiation was applied to compare the effect of the ageing treatment on the photocatalytic behavior. The efficiency of the synthetized solids was compared to that of a commercial ZnO. The ageing treatment did not improve the performance of the original samples in the degradation of 4-nitrophenol. The activity of the synthetized solids tested exceeded that observed for the reaction with commercial ZnO. The photocatalytic performance of the original non-calcined hydrotalcite is similar to that of commercial ZnO. The calcined hydrotalcite showed a better performance in the adsorption-degradation of the contaminant than ZnO, and its reusability would be possible as it recovered the hydrotalcite-like structure during the reaction.

Ni, Zn and Fe hydrotalcite-like catalysts for catalytic biomass compound into green biofuel

In this study, the deoxygenation pathway was proposed to eliminate oxygen species from biomass-derived oil, thereby producing a high quality of hydrocarbon chains (green fuel). The catalytic deoxygenation reaction of bio-oil model compound (oleic acid) successfully produced green gasoline (C8–C12) and diesel (C13–C20) via activated hydrotalcite-derived catalysts (i.e. CMgAl, CFeAl, CZnAl and CNiAl). The reaction was performed under inert N2 condition at 300 °C for 3 h, and the liquid products were analysed by GC–MS and GC–FID analyses to determine the hydrocarbon yield and product selectivity. The activity of the catalysts towards the deoxygenation reaction presented the following increasing order: CNiAl > CMgAl > CZnAl > CFeAl. CNiAl produced a hydrocarbon yield of up to 89 %. CNiAl demonstrated the highest selectivity with 83 % diesel production, whereas CMgAl showed the highest gasoline selectivity with 30 %. These results indicated that catalysts with a high acidic profile facilitate C–O cleavage via deoxygenation, producing hydrocarbons (mainly diesel-range hydrocarbons). Meanwhile, highly basic catalysts exhibit significant selectivity towards gasoline-range hydrocarbons via cracking and lead to the occurrence of C–C cleavage. The large surface area of CNiAl (117 m2 g−1) offered high approachability of the reactant with the catalyst’s active sites, thereby promoting high hydrocarbon yield. Consequently, the hydrocarbon yield and selectivity of the deoxygenation products were predominantly influenced by the acid–base properties and structural behaviour (porosity and surface area) of the catalyst.

Cr3+ substituted Zn-Al layered double hydroxides as UV-Vis light photocatalysts for NO gas removal from the urban environment

The ZnAl-CO₃, ZnAlCr-CO₃ and ZnCr-CO₃ LDH samples were studied as De-NOx photocatalysts in this work. Samples without Cr and increasing the presence of Cr³⁺ in the LDH framework in the 0.06, 0.15 and 0.3 Cr/Zn ratio were prepared by co-precipitation method, all of them constituted by pure LDH phase. The increase of chromium content in the LDH framework leads to lower crystallinity and higher specific surface area in the samples. Moreover, the CrO₆ octahedron centres expand the photo-activity from UV to Visible light and assist to decrease the recombination rate of the electrons and holes. The favourable textural, optical and electronic properties of Cr-containing LDH samples explain the good NO removal efficiency (55%) and outstanding selectivity (90%) found for the analysed De-NOx process.

Thermal Stability Evaluation of Polystyrene-Mg/Zn/Al LDH Nanocomposites

A series of samples of Mg/Zn/Al LDHs (layered double hydroxides) materials was prepared by the co-precipitation and urea hydrolysis methods. They were modified with organic surfactants (acrylate and oleate anions) and characterized by X-ray diffraction, which corroborated the intercalation of anionic species into the interlayer space. The hydrophobized materials were incorporated at low contents (10 and 15 wt.%) to polystyrene, which was synthesized by emulsion polymerization techniques. The polymeric composites were analyzed by thermogravimetry to determine the decomposition temperature. The results demonstrated that the materials with Zn presented the greatest increment in the degradation temperature (7 °C < T < 54 °C). Moreover, the Friedman, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa, and Coats–Redfern models were compared to obtain the kinetic parameters of degradation process. The obtained order of decomposition of the Coats–Redfern model showed that the decomposition process occurs in at least two stages. Finally, the addition of environmentally friendly modified Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) nanomaterials to the polystyrene (PS) matrix allowed for obtaining polymeric composites with higher thermal stability, retarding the decomposition process of PS.

Eco-friendly nanostructured Zn–Al layered double hydroxide photocatalysts with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Zn–Al layered double hydroxides (Zn–Al LDHs) with various reaction times were synthesized by a hydrothermal method at constant pH, and they were tested for the removal of RhB with or without post-calcination treatment.

ZnO/ZnAl₂O₄ Nanocomposite with 3D Sphere-Like Hierarchical Structure for Photocatalytic Reduction of Aqueous Cr(VI)

Three dimensional (3D) ZnO/ZnAl₂O₄ nanocomposites (Zn_nAl-MMO) were synthesized by a simple urea-assisted hydrothermal process and subsequent high-temperature calcination. The as-prepared samples and their precursors were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and Photoluminescence spectra (PL). It was observed that the morphology of Zn_nAl-MMO nanocomposites could be tuned from cubic aggregates, hierarchically flower-like spheres to porous microspheres by simply changing the molar ratio of metal cations of the starting reaction mixtures. The photocatalytic performance of ZnO/ZnAl₂O₄ nanocomposites in the photoreduction of aqueous Cr(VI) indicated that the as-prepared 3D hierarchical sphere-like Zn_nAl-MMO nanocomposite showed excellent photocatalytic activity of Cr(VI) reduction under UV light irradiation. The results indicated that the maximum removal percentage of aqueous Cr(VI) was 98% within four hours at 10 mg/L initial concentration of Cr(VI), owing to the effective charge separation and diversion of photogenerated carriers across the heterojunction interface of the composite. Our study put forward a facile method to fabricate hierarchical ZnO/ZnAl₂O₄ composites with potential applications for wastewater treatment.

Cu(ii) Schiff base complex intercalated into layered double hydroxide for selective oxidation of ethylbenzene under solvent-free conditions

A new heterogeneous catalyst was prepared by intercalation of NNOO donor Cu(ii) Schiff base complex derived from 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde and 4-amino benzoic acid into Zn–Al layered double hydroxide {LDH-[NAPABA–Cu(ii)]}. Synthesized catalyst was characterized by Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Transmission electron microscopy, BET surface area, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy. The catalytic performance of LDH-[NAPABA–Cu(ii)] was studied for the liquid phase solvent-free oxidation of ethylbenzene at 393 K, using tert-butylhydroperoxide as an oxidant. In oxidation reaction ethylbenzene was oxidized to acetophenone, benzaldehyde and benzoic acid. The major product was acetophenone. A maximum, 80.54% conversion of ethylbenzene was observed after 7 hours. The catalyst was recycled seven times without significant loss of catalytic activity.

A heterogeneous catalytic system, LDH-[NAPABA–Cu(ii)]/TBHP gave maximum 80.54% conversion and 99.60% selectivity for acetophenone in oxidation of ethylbenzene and catalyst can be reused for seven cycles.

Adsorption of Dicamba herbicide onto a carbon replica obtained from a layered double hydroxide

A carbon replica obtained from a LDH was used for the first time as an adsorbent for the removal of Dicamba herbicide from aqueous solutions.

Precursor preparation of Zn–Al layered double hydroxide by ball milling for enhancing adsorption and photocatalytic decoloration of methyl orange

The higher photocatalytic decoloration efficiency of the precursor than that of LDH because of the synergistic effect of intercalation and catalysis.

Synergetic effect of functionalized carbon nanotubes on ZnCr–mixed metal oxides for enhanced solar light-driven photocatalytic performance

Functionalized CNTs played a key role in facilitating the interfacial charge transfer, which accounted for the significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance.

Ti/ZnO–MxOy composites (M = Al, Cr, Fe, Ce): synthesis, characterization and application as highly efficient photocatalysts for hexachlorobenzene degradation

A series of novel organic–inorganic nanoscale layered materials were synthesized by intercalating the Ti-containing Schiff base complex into the interlayer of the ZnM layered double hydroxides (LDHs, M = Al, Cr, Fe, Ce).