1
|
Gorgolis G, Kotsidi M, Paterakis G, Koutroumanis N, Tsakonas C, Galiotis C. Graphene aerogels as efficient adsorbers of water pollutants and their effect of drying methods. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8029. [PMID: 38580774 PMCID: PMC10997784 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58651-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Environmental accidents highlight the need for the development of efficient materials that can be employed to eliminate pollutants including crude oil and its derivatives, as well as toxic organic solvents. In recent years, a wide variety of advanced materials has been investigated to assist in the purification process of environmentally compromised regions, with the principal contestants being graphene-based structures. This study describes the synthesis of graphene aerogels with two methods and determines their efficiency as adsorbents of several water pollutants. The main difference between the two synthesis routes is the use of freeze-drying in the first case, and ambient pressure drying in the latter. Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurements are employed here for the characterisation of the samples. The as-prepared aerogels have been found to act as photocatalysts of aqueous dye solutions like methylene blue and Orange G, while they were also evaluated as adsorbents of organic solvents (acetone, ethanol and methanol), and, oils like pump oil, castor oil, silicone oil, as well. The results presented here show that the freeze-drying approach provides materials with better adsorption efficiency for the most of the examined pollutants, however, the energy and cost-saving advantages of ambient-pressure-drying could offset the adsorption advantages of the former case.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G Gorgolis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26504, Patras, Greece.
- Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, 26504, Patras, Greece.
| | - M Kotsidi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26504, Patras, Greece
| | - G Paterakis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26504, Patras, Greece
- Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, 26504, Patras, Greece
| | - N Koutroumanis
- Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, 26504, Patras, Greece
| | - C Tsakonas
- Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, 26504, Patras, Greece
| | - C Galiotis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26504, Patras, Greece.
- Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, 26504, Patras, Greece.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kotsidi M, Gorgolis G, Pastore Carbone MG, Paterakis G, Anagnostopoulos G, Trakakis G, Manikas AC, Pavlou C, Koutroumanis N, Galiotis C. Graphene nanoplatelets and other 2D-materials as protective means against the fading of coloured inks, dyes and paints. Nanoscale 2023; 15:5414-5428. [PMID: 36826806 PMCID: PMC10019573 DOI: 10.1039/d2nr05795f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The present work demonstrates the ability of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and other two-dimensional materials (2DMs) like tungsten disulfide (WS2), molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) to act as protective barriers against the fading of architectural paints and also inks/paints used in art. The results present a new approach for improving the lightfastness of colours of artworks and painted indoor/outdoor wall surfaces taking advantage of the remarkable properties of 2DMs. As shown herein, commercial inks and architectural paints of different colours doped with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and other 2DMs, exhibit a superior resistance to fading under ultraviolet radiation or even under exposure to visible light. A spectroscopic study on these inks and dyes reveals that the peaks which are characteristic of the colour pigments are less affected from aging/fading when the GNPs and the other 2DMs are present. The protection mechanism for the GNPs and the other 2DMs differs. For GNPs, mainly their high surface area which leads to free radicals scavenging (especially hydroxyl radicals), and secondarily their UV absorption, are responsible for their protection effects, while for GO, a transition to rGO structures and consequently to 'smart' paints can be observed after the performed aging routes. In this way, the paint gets improved by time preventing or slowing its own fading and decolorization. For the other 2DMs, the transition-metal dichalcogenides performed better than hBN, even though they all absorb in the UV region. This can be ascribed to the facts that the formers also absorb in the visible, while hBN does not, while most importantly, they can trap reactive oxygen species (ROS) and corrosive gases in their structure as opposed to hBN. By conducting colorimetric measurements, we have discovered that the lifetime of the as-developed 2DM-doped inks and paints can be extended by up to ∼40%.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Kotsidi
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras 265 04, Greece.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras 26504, Greece
| | - G Gorgolis
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras 265 04, Greece.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras 26504, Greece
| | - M G Pastore Carbone
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras 265 04, Greece.
| | - G Paterakis
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras 265 04, Greece.
| | - G Anagnostopoulos
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras 265 04, Greece.
| | - G Trakakis
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras 265 04, Greece.
| | - A C Manikas
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras 26504, Greece
| | - C Pavlou
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras 265 04, Greece.
| | - N Koutroumanis
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras 265 04, Greece.
| | - C Galiotis
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras 265 04, Greece.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras 26504, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kotsidi M, Gorgolis G, Pastore Carbone MG, Anagnostopoulos G, Paterakis G, Poggi G, Manikas A, Trakakis G, Baglioni P, Galiotis C. Preventing colour fading in artworks with graphene veils. Nat Nanotechnol 2021; 16:1004-1010. [PMID: 34211165 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-021-00934-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Modern and contemporary art materials are generally prone to irreversible colour changes upon exposure to light and oxidizing agents. Graphene can be produced in thin large sheets, blocks ultraviolet light, and is impermeable to oxygen, moisture and corrosive agents; therefore, it has the potential to be used as a transparent layer for the protection of art objects in museums, during storage and transportation. Here we show that a single-layer or multilayer graphene veil, produced by chemical vapour deposition, can be deposited over artworks to protect them efficiently against colour fading, with a protection factor of up to 70%. We also show that this process is reversible since the graphene protective layer can be removed using a soft rubber eraser without causing any damage to the artwork. We have also explored a complementary contactless graphene-based route for colour protection that is based on the deposition of graphene on picture framing glass for use when the direct application of graphene is not feasible due to surface roughness or artwork fragility. Overall, the present results are a proof of concept of the potential use of graphene as an effective and removable protective advanced material to prevent colour fading in artworks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Kotsidi
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Patras, Greece
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - G Gorgolis
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Patras, Greece
| | - M G Pastore Carbone
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Patras, Greece
| | - G Anagnostopoulos
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Patras, Greece
| | - G Paterakis
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Patras, Greece
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - G Poggi
- CSGI & Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - A Manikas
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - G Trakakis
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Patras, Greece
| | - P Baglioni
- CSGI & Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - C Galiotis
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Patras, Greece.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
| |
Collapse
|