Rapid Photodegradation of Methyl Orange (MO) Assisted with Cu(II) and Tartaric Acid

A novel cationic covalent organic framework as adsorbent for simultaneous removal of methyl orange and hexavalent chromium

The simultaneous removal of toxic, carcinogenic organic dyes and metal ions from water by one material offers significant advantages when fast, facile, and robust water purification is required. Ionic covalent organic frameworks (ICOFs) have the combined properties of COFs and ion exchange resins and are expected to achieve simultaneous capture of heavy metal ions and organic dyes from water. Herein, a novel guanidinium-based ICOF was synthesized using a solvothermal method. Benefitting from the cationic character, porosity and nanoscale pore size of ICOFs, the adsorbent exhibited high simultaneous adsorption capacities of 290 mg g-1 and 158 mg g-1 for methyl orange (MO) and Cr(vi), respectively, and retained more than 90% adsorption capacity after six adsorption-desorption cycles. In addition, based on dual control of size-exclusion and charge-selection, precisely selective adsorption is achieved towards diverse mixed anionic and cationic pollutants. This strategy offers a practical solution for COFs to confront environmental pollution issues.

Investigation of Catalytic and Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange Using Doped LaMnO3 Compounds

LaMnO3 and 1% Pd-, Ag-, or Y-doped perovskite type nanomaterials were prepared by the sol-gel method, followed by heat treatment at a low temperature (600 °C for 6 h). The investigation through X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy indicated that all samples were well crystallized, without secondary phases, and that the transition metal doping changed the crystal structure from the R-3c space group for the undoped LaMnO3 to the Pm-3m space group for the doped perovskite compounds. In this research paper, the efficiencies of the perovskite LaMnO3 materials for methyl orange removal were analyzed, wherein the effect of the doping ions and of the pH on the catalytic activity were studied together with a kinetic approach for the LaMnO3 materials at different values of the pH. Moreover, in the catalytic activity, it should be noted that a slightly better performance was obtained for the Ag-doped materials compared to the Y- and Pd-doped perovskite samples. The results presented for the perovskite LaMnO3 nanomaterials reinforce the interest in these multifunctional materials to be used in industrial applications; e.g., in water treatment.

Enhancing the photocatalytic properties of PbS QD solids: the ligand exchange approach

Surface engineering of nanomaterials is a promising tool towards the design of new materials for conversion of solar energy into chemical energy. In this work, we examine the influence of ligand exchange on the photocatalytic performance of solution-processed PbS films. We test different ligands such as oleylamine (OAm), 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT), 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) and tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI). The study demonstrates that PbS films capped with MPA and EDT exhibit 3.5-fold enhanced photocatalytic performance for the photodecomposition of methyl orange upon sunlight exposure. Both band energy alignment and charge carrier transport have a strong impact on the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which play a key role in the photodecomposition process. Moreover, the stability and reusability of the photocatalysts are clearly improved after ligand exchange. We prove how both MPA and EDT provide much more stability to PbS QD films to operate very efficiently up to 8 cycles of photocatalysis. As observed in XPS, the oxidation of PbS is prevented after ligand exchange. We demonstrate how surface chemistry engineering of solution-processed QD films can open a new approach towards the design of highly efficient and stable visible-light-driven photocatalysts, which paves the way to low cost and large area fabrication of high-performance photocatalytic devices.

Polyaniline–single walled carbon nanotube composite – a photocatalyst to degrade rose bengal and methyl orange dyes under visible-light illumination

PANI–SWCNT composites with varying SWCNT content were synthesized, investigated and compared with PANI as photocatalysts under visible light irradiation towards the degradation of Rose Bengal (RB) and Methyl Orange (MO) dyes.