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Portillo-Cortez K, Caudillo-Flores U, Sánchez-López P, Smolentseva E, Dominguez D, Fuentes-Moyado S. Photocatalytic Activity of Ag Nanoparticles Deposited on Thermoexfoliated g-C 3N 4. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2024; 14:623. [PMID: 38607157 PMCID: PMC11013134 DOI: 10.3390/nano14070623] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
The limited access to fresh water and the increased presence of emergent pollutants (EPs) in wastewater has increased the interest in developing strategies for wastewater remediation, including photocatalysis. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is a 2D non-metal material with outstanding properties, such as a 2.7 eV bandgap and physicochemical stability, making it a promising photocatalyst. This work reports the process of obtaining high-surface-area (SA) g-C3N4 using the thermal-exfoliation process and the posterior effect of Ag-nanoparticle loading over the exfoliated g-C3N4 surface. The photocatalytic activity of samples was evaluated through methylene blue (MB) degradation under visible-light radiation and correlated to its physical properties obtained by XRD, TEM, BET, and UV-Vis analyses. Moreover, 74% MB degradation was achieved by exfoliated g-C3N4 compared to its bulk counterpart (55%) in 180 min. Moreover, better photocatalytic performances (94% MB remotion) were registered at low Ag loading, with 5 wt.% as the optimal value. Such an improvement is attributed to the synergetic effect produced by a higher SA and the role of Ag nanoparticles in preventing charge-recombination processes. Based on the results, this work provides a simple and efficient methodology to obtain Ag/g-C3N4 photocatalysts with enhanced photocatalytic performance that is adequate for water remediation under sunlight conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Uriel Caudillo-Flores
- Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ensenada CP 22860, Mexico; (K.P.-C.); (P.S.-L.); (E.S.); (D.D.); (S.F.-M.)
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Caudillo-Flores U, Sayago R, Ares-Dorado A, Fuentes-Moyado S, Fernández-García M, Kubacka A. Green Thermo-Photo Catalytic Production of Syngas Using Pd/Nb-TiO 2 Catalysts. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 2023; 11:3896-3906. [PMID: 36911875 PMCID: PMC9993398 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c07285] [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] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In this contribution, a series of Pd-promoted Nb-doped titania samples were essayed in the gas-phase thermo-photo production of syngas from methanol/water mixtures. The Pd loading was tested in the 0.1 to 2.5 wt % range, leading to the presence of metallic nanoparticles under reaction. Reaction rates exceeding 52 mmol H2 g-1 h-1 and quantum efficiencies above 33% were obtained. The optimum sample having a 0.5 wt % of Pd provided an outstanding synergy between light and heat under reaction conditions, facilitating the boost of activity with respect to the single-source processes and achieving high selectivity to syngas. The spectroscopic analysis of the physico-chemical ground of the activity unveiled that the noble metal interaction with the Nb-doped anatase support triggers a cooperative effect, promoting the evolution of formic acid-type methanol-derived carbon-containing species and rendering a significant enhancement of syngas production. The proposed thermo-photo system is thus a firm candidate to contribute to the new green circular economy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uriel Caudillo-Flores
- Centro
de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ensenada 22800, Mexico
| | - Rocío Sayago
- Instituto
de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, CSIC, C/Marie Curie 2, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Alejandro Ares-Dorado
- Instituto
de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, CSIC, C/Marie Curie 2, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Sergio Fuentes-Moyado
- Centro
de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ensenada 22800, Mexico
| | | | - Anna Kubacka
- Instituto
de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, CSIC, C/Marie Curie 2, Madrid 28049, Spain
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Caudillo-Flores U, Ares-Dorado A, Alonso-Nuñez G, Tudela D, Fernández-García M, Kubacka A. Role of alkali-cyano group interaction in g-C3N4 based catalysts for hydrogen photo-production. Catal Today 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2021.06.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Jedidi W, Arfaoui J, Caudillo-Flores U, Muñoz-Batista MJ, Ksibi Z, Kubacka A, Ghorbel A, Fernández-García M. Photodegradation of 2-propanol in gas phase over zirconium doped TiO2: Effect of Zr content. J Photochem Photobiol A Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2022.113774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Rivas-Moreno FK, Luna-Flores A, Cruz-González D, González-Coronel VJ, Sánchez-Cantú M, Rodríguez-López JL, Caudillo-Flores U, Tepale N. Effect of Pluronic P103 Concentration on the Simple Synthesis of Ag and Au Nanoparticles and Their Application in Anatase-TiO 2 Decoration for Its Use in Photocatalysis. Molecules 2021; 27:127. [PMID: 35011359 PMCID: PMC8746532 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27010127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Silver and gold nanoparticles were synthesized under environmentally-friendly reaction conditions by using a biodegradable copolymer and water as a solvent. The triblock copolymer Pluronic P103 was utilized as a stabilizing agent or soft template to produce Ag and Au nanoparticles (NPs) of different sizes. Moreover, in the synthesis of Au NPs, the polymer acted as a reducing agent, decreasing the number of reagents used and consequently the residues produced, hence, rendering the procedure less complicated. It was observed that as the concentration of the polymer increased, the size of the metallic NPs augmented as well. However, AgNPs and AuNPs prepared with 1 and 10 wt% Pluronic P103, respectively, showed a significant decrease in particle size due to the presence of polymeric soft templates. The hybrid materials (metal/polymer) were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, DLS, and TEM. The pre-synthesized nanoparticles were employed to decorate anatase-TiO2, and the composites were characterized by DRS, XRD, BET surface area measurements, the TEM technique with the EDS spectrum, and XPS spectroscopy to demonstrate NPs superficial incorporation. Finally, methylene blue was used as a probe molecule to evidence the effect of NPs decoration in its photocatalytic degradation. The results showed that the presence of the NPs positively affected methylene blue degradation, achieving 96% and 97% removal by utilizing TAg0.1 and TAu10, respectively, in comparison to bare anatase-TiO2 (77%).
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Affiliation(s)
- Frida Karem Rivas-Moreno
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Avenida San Claudio y 18 Sur, Puebla 72570, Mexico
| | - Adan Luna-Flores
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Avenida San Claudio y 18 Sur, Puebla 72570, Mexico
| | - Daniel Cruz-González
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Avenida San Claudio y 18 Sur, Puebla 72570, Mexico
| | | | - Manuel Sánchez-Cantú
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Avenida San Claudio y 18 Sur, Puebla 72570, Mexico
| | - José Luis Rodríguez-López
- Advanced Materials Department, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica A.C., Camino a la Presa de San José 2055, Lomas 4 Sección, San Luis Potosi 78216, Mexico
| | - Uriel Caudillo-Flores
- Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ensenada 22860, Mexico
| | - Nancy Tepale
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Avenida San Claudio y 18 Sur, Puebla 72570, Mexico
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Khan M, García MF, Javed M, Kubacka A, Caudillo-Flores U, Halim SA, Khan A, Al-Harrasi A, Riaz N. Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic, Bactericidal, and Molecular Docking Analysis of Cu-Fe/TiO 2 Photocatalysts: Influence of Metallic Impurities and Calcination Temperature on Charge Recombination. ACS Omega 2021; 6:26108-26118. [PMID: 34660971 PMCID: PMC8515581 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c03102] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
This research evaluated the potential photocatalytic efficiency of synthesized Cu-Fe/TiO2 photocatalysts against organic contaminants and biocontaminants through various synthesis methods (Cu-to-Fe ratio, metal loading, and calcination temperature) and reaction parameters (photocatalyst dose, irradiation time, and different initial methyl orange (MO) concentrations). In addition, the best photocatalysts were characterized through Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis techniques. The best metal loading was 1 wt % with 5:5 Cu/Fe ratio and 300 °C calcination temperature (5Cu-5Fe/TiO2-300) having 97% MO decolorization. Further analysis indicates that the metal presence does not generate new channels for de-excitation but clearly affects the intensity and decreases charge recombination. The behavior of the photoluminescence intensity is (inversely) proportional to the activity behavior through the series, indicating that the main catalytic effect of Fe and Cu relates to charge recombination and that the Cu-Fe bimetallic catalyst optimizes such function. Moreover, the best-engineered photocatalysts asserted impactful bacteriostatic efficacy toward the tested Escherichia coli strain (in 30 min), and therefore, molecular docking studies were used to predict the inhibition pathway against E. coli β-lactamase enzyme. The photocatalyst had a high negative docking score (-5.9 kcal mol-1) due to intense interactions within the active site of the enzyme. The molecular docking study revealed that the ligand could inhibit β-lactamase from producing its bactericidal activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad
Saqib Khan
- Department
of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University
Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan
| | | | - Mehraj Javed
- Department
of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University
Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan
| | - Anna Kubacka
- Instituto
de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, CSIC, C/Marie Curie, 2, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Uriel Caudillo-Flores
- Instituto
de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, CSIC, C/Marie Curie, 2, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Sobia Ahsan Halim
- Natural
and Medical Sciences Research Center, University
of Nizwa, P.O. Box 33, Birkat Al Mauz, Nizwa 616, Sultanate of Oman
| | - Ajmal Khan
- Natural
and Medical Sciences Research Center, University
of Nizwa, P.O. Box 33, Birkat Al Mauz, Nizwa 616, Sultanate of Oman
| | - Ahmed Al-Harrasi
- Natural
and Medical Sciences Research Center, University
of Nizwa, P.O. Box 33, Birkat Al Mauz, Nizwa 616, Sultanate of Oman
| | - Nadia Riaz
- Department
of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University
Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan
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Ansari F, Sheibani S, Caudillo-Flores U, Fernández-García M. Titania-decorated copper oxide nanophotocatalyst powder: A stable and promoted photocatalytic active system. J Photochem Photobiol A Chem 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2021.113401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Kubacka A, Barba-Nieto I, Caudillo-Flores U, Fernández-García M. Interpreting quantum efficiency for energy and environmental applications of photo-catalytic materials. Curr Opin Chem Eng 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.coche.2021.100712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Barba-Nieto I, Caudillo-Flores U, Fernández-García M, Kubacka A. Sunlight-Operated TiO 2-Based Photocatalysts. Molecules 2020; 25:E4008. [PMID: 32887383 PMCID: PMC7504741 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25174008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Photo-catalysis is a research field with broad applications in terms of potential technological applications related to energy production and managing, environmental protection, and chemical synthesis fields. A global goal, common to all of these fields, is to generate photo-catalytic materials able to use a renewable energy source such as the sun. As most active photocatalysts such as titanium oxides are essentially UV absorbers, they need to be upgraded in order to achieve the fruitful use of the whole solar spectrum, from UV to infrared wavelengths. A lot of different strategies have been pursued to reach this goal. Here, we selected representative examples of the most successful ones. We mainly highlighted doping and composite systems as those with higher potential in this quest. For each of these two approaches, we highlight the different possibilities explored in the literature. For doping of the main photocatalysts, we consider the use of metal and non-metals oriented to modify the band gap energy as well as to create specific localized electronic states. We also described selected cases of using up-conversion doping cations. For composite systems, we described the use of binary and ternary systems. In addition to a main photo-catalyst, these systems contain low band gap, up-conversion or plasmonic semiconductors, plasmonic and non-plasmonic metals and polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Barba-Nieto
- Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica (CSIC), C/Marie Curie 2, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain; (I.B.-N.); (U.C.-F.)
| | - Uriel Caudillo-Flores
- Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica (CSIC), C/Marie Curie 2, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain; (I.B.-N.); (U.C.-F.)
- Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ensenada 22800, Mexico
| | - Marcos Fernández-García
- Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica (CSIC), C/Marie Curie 2, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain; (I.B.-N.); (U.C.-F.)
| | - Anna Kubacka
- Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica (CSIC), C/Marie Curie 2, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain; (I.B.-N.); (U.C.-F.)
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Caudillo-Flores U, Muñoz-Batista MJ, Kubacka A, Fernández-García M. Pd-Pt bimetallic Nb-doped TiO2 for H2 photo-production: Gas and liquid phase processes. Molecular Catalysis 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mcat.2018.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Caudillo-Flores U, Fernández-García M, Kubacka A. Photocatalytic toluene degradation: braiding physico-chemical and intrinsic kinetic analyses. REACT CHEM ENG 2020. [DOI: 10.1039/d0re00211a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Combined physico-chemical and kinetic analyses of photo-catalytic elimination reactions for quantitative understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anna Kubacka
- Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica
- CSIC
- 28049-Madrid
- Spain
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