Latest ArticlesIn this paper, a novel mesoporous silica gel evenly doped by Prussian blue nanoparticles (PBMSG) was successfully synthesized by using N, N-dimethylamide as template with a large Barrett-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 505 m2/g and an average pore size of 2.9 nm. The static adsorption experiments showed that the equilibration time of PBMSG for Cs+ was about 30 min. The adsorption isotherm of PBMSG for Cs+ accorded with Langmuir model and the theoretical maximum adsorption capacity was 80.0±2.9 mg/g. When the initial concentration of Cs+ was 1.00 mg/L, the adsorption partition coefficient Kd could reach 3.5×104 mL/g After adsorption, Cs+ could be eluted by dilute hydrochloric acid (pH 2) with an efficiency of 89.8%, while no K+, Fe3+, Fe2+ was eluted. PBMSG exhibited good selectivity toward Cs+ and Rb+. In the presence of high concentration of K+, the selective adsorption of PBMSG could change the mass ratio of K+, Rb+ and Cs+ from 96.63:0.83:1.00–1.12:0.73:1.00. The separation of Cs+ and Rb+ from K+ with similar concentration (100 mg/g) was realized by column experiment. This indicated that PBMSG was suitable for rapid recovery of low concentration of rubidium and cesium from complex matrixes, such as wastewater and salt lake brine, etc.
This study demonstrated interesting ultrafast activation of molecular O2 by copper oxide (CuO) particles and very rapid elimination of aqueous 2, 4-dichlorophenol (2, 4-DCP) within reaction time of 30 s. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) characterization indicated that ·OH, Cu3+, 1O2 and O2·- were generated in the CuO/O2 systems, wherein O2·- would be the main reactive species responsible for 2, 4-DCP degradation. It was further found that the catalytic ability of CuO for O2 activation was highly size dependent and nano-CuO was far reactive than micro-CuO. H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analyses revealed that both the quantity and the reactivity of the surface reaction sites (surface Cu+ and O2) could determine the catalytic ability of CuO affecting efficient Cu+-based molecular oxygen activation. Moreover, the O2 activation ability of CuO would depend on not only the dimension, but also crystalline factors, for example, the exposed facets.
Electrochemical analysis is a promising technique for detecting biotoxic and non-biodegradable heavy metals. This article proposes a novel composite electrode based on a polyaniline (PANi) framework doped with bismuth nanoparticle@graphene oxide multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Bi NPs@GO-MWCNTs) for the simultaneous detection of multiple heavy metal ions. Composite electrodes are prepared on screen-printed electrodes (SPCEs) using an efficient dispensing technique. We used a SM200SX-3A dispenser to load a laboratory-specific ink with optimized viscosity and adhesion to draw a pattern on the work area. The SPCE was used as substrate to facilitate cost-effective and more convenient real-time detection technology. Electrochemical techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry, were used to demonstrate the sensing capabilities of the proposed sensor. The sensitivity, limit of detection, and linear range of the PANi-Bi NPs@GO-MWCNT electrode are 2.57×102 μA L μmol-1 cm-2, 0.01 nmol/L, and 0.01 nmol/L–5 mmol/L and 0.15×10-1 μA L μmol-1 cm-2, 0.5 nmol/L, and 0.5 nmol/L–5 mmol/L for mercury ion (Hg(Ⅱ)) and copper ion (Cu(Ⅱ)) detection, respectively. In addition, the electrode exhibits a good selectivity and repeatability for Hg(Ⅱ) and Cu(Ⅱ) sensing when tested in a complex heavy metal ion solution. The constructed electrode system exhibits a detection performance superior to similar methods and also increases the types of heavy metal ions that can be detected. Therefore, the proposed device can be used as an efficient sensor for the detection of multiple heavy metal ions in complex environments.
Electrochemical detection is an efficient method for the detection of Bisphenol A (BPA). Herein, a sensitive photo-electrochemical sensor based on two-dimensional (2D) TiO2 (001) nanosheets was fabricated and then used for BPA electrochemical detection. Upon light irradiation, the 2D TiO2 (001) nanosheets electrode provided a lower detection limit of BPA detection compared with an ambient electrochemical determination. The low detection limit is ~5.37 nmol/L (S/N=3). Furthermore, profiting from the photoelectric characteristics, the 2D TiO2 (001) nanosheets electrode exhibits a nice regeneration property. After 45 min of light irradiation, the electrochemical signal was regenerated from 14.7% to 82.9% of the original signal at the 6th cycle. This is attributed to the non-selective ·OH mediation produced by the 2D TiO2 (001) nanosheets mineralizing anodic polymeric products and resuming surface reactive sites. This investigation indicates that photo-assistance is an efficient method to improve the electrochemical sensor for detecting BPA in water environments.
It is generally recognized that the formation and accumulation of iron oxides on the surface of zero-valent iron (Fe0) resulting in significant decrease of contaminant degradation rates during the long-term reactions. However, in this study, we found that the removal efficiencies of p-nitrophenol (PNP) by micro zero-valent iron (mFe0) could maintain at the satisfactory level in the process of continuous reactions (20 cycles). The removal rate constant (0.1779 min-1) of the 5th cycle was 6.74 times higher than that of the 1st reaction (0.0264 min-1), even the 20th cycle (0.0371 min-1) was higher than that of the 1st reaction. Interestingly, almost no dissolved iron was detected in the solution, and the total iron concentrations decreased dramatically with the process of continuous reactions. The results of scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the structure and composition of corrosion products change from amorphous to highly crystal with the increase of the number of cycles. The corrosion products were mainly magnetite (Fe3O4) and a small part of maghemite (γ-Fe2O3), which were in the form of microspheres on the surface of mFe0. The formation of surface oxidation shell hindered the release of Fe2+. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results illustrated that partial Fe3O4 could be converted into γ-Fe2O3. Electrochemical analysis proved that the electron transfer rate of mFe0 increased with the formation of the oxides shell. However, the consumption of iron core and thicker oxide film weakened the electron transfer rate. Besides, the quenching experiments indicated that the reaction activity of mFe0 could be enhanced with the addition of scavengers. This study deepened the understanding of the structural transformation and radical production of mFe0 in continuous reactions.
Electrochemical degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and its metabolite acetyl-sulfamethoxazole (Ac-SMX) by Ti/SnO2-Sb/Er-PbO2 were investigated. Results indicated that the electrochemical degradation of SMX and Ac-SMX followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The rate constants of SMX and Ac-SMX were 0.268 and 0.072 min-1 at optimal current density of 10 and 14 mA/cm2, respectively. Transformation products of SMX and Ac-SMX were identified and the possible degradation pathways, including the cleavage of S-N bond, opening ring of isoxazole and nitration of amino group, were proposed. Total organic carbon removal of SMX was nearly 63.2% after 3 h electrochemical degradation. 22.4% nitrogen of SMX was transformed to NO3-, and 98.8% sulfur of SMX was released as SO42-. According to quantitative structure-activity relationship model, toxicities of SMX and Ac-SMX to aquatic organisms significantly decreased after electrochemical degradation. Electric energy consumption for 90% SMX and Ac-SMX degradation was determined to be 0.58-8.97 and 6.88-44.19 Wh/L at different experimental conditions, respectively. Compared with parent compound SMX, the metabolite Ac-SMX is more refractory and toxic, which emphasizes the importance of taking its metabolites into account when investigating the disposal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater.
Schiff base functionalized polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer/silica were prepared for the adsorption of aqueous Mn(Ⅱ) and Co(Ⅱ). The effects that influence the adsorption were investigated systematically and the adsorption mechanism was illustrated by theoretical calculation. The optimum adsorption pH are 4 and 6 for Mn(Ⅱ) and Co(Ⅱ). Adsorption kinetics follow pseudo-second-order model and the rate-controlling step is film diffusion process. Adsorption isotherm shows that high initial metal ion concentration facilitates the uptake of metal ions. The adsorption capacity increases first and then decreases in the temperature range of 15–35 ℃. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation demonstrates that Schiff base functionalized PAMAM dendrimer tends to coordinate Mn(Ⅱ) and Co(Ⅱ) with the oxygen atoms of hydroxyl and carbonyl groups, nitrogen of tertiary amine and imino groups. The imino and tertiary amine groups mainly dominate the adsorption. The reproducibility of the adsorbents indicates they can be regenerated by 5% thiourea and 0.5 mol/L HNO3 solution efficiently.
The occurrence of biologically active pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments raised the potential risks to aquatic species. Among these marketed biological active pharmaceuticals, it has been estimated that 40% of them target G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). We have illustrated pharmaceutical activities of GPCR targeted pharmaceuticals in English and Japanese wastewater by the in vitro transforming growth factor-α (TGFα) shedding assay. However, as the most important producer and consumer of pharmaceuticals, the occurrence of GPCR targeted pharmaceuticals in China had remained unclear. In this study, we investigated the pharmaceutical activities of GPCR targeted pharmaceuticals in secondary effluents of Chinese wastewater treatment plants. We discovered antagonistic activities against angiotensin (AT1) receptor at up to 7.2×102 ng-valsartan-equivalent quantity/L in Chinese wastewater for the first time as well as agonistic activities against dopamine (D2) receptor. Furthermore, in parallel with the assay, we determined concentrations of GPCR targeted pharmaceuticals in target wastewater by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Through the comparison of predicted antagonistic activities calculated by concentrations and potency values from the assay, we found that the measured antagonistic activities against AT1 receptor from the assay were higher than the predicted AT1 activities from valsartan, irbesartan, and losartan, indicating the potential existence of other unknown AT1 antagonists in wastewater.
There is a growing need to eliminate antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment and mitigate widespread antibiotic resistance. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was successfully synthesized via facile thermal polymerization approach and its potential for adsorption treatment of ARGs in water was examined. Batch adsorption experimental results revealed that g-C3N4 powders had robust adsorption activity for the gene ampC and ermB. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms were systematically investigated to explain the adsorption mechanism. The apparent adsorption equilibrium could be reached within 180 min. The adsorption process effectively removed ARGs (ampC and ermB) from water with 3.2 log and 4.2 log reductions, respectively. In addition, experimental data were analyzed by several models and simulated well with Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order model. It indicated that adsorption process might be dominated by the chemical rate-limiting step. Moreover, the effects of temperature and pH on the removal of ARGs were conducted and the isoelectric point (IEP) was obtained. Finally, we have demonstrated that the g-C3N4 is a novel adsorbent and can be used as column packing to remove ARGs by filtration.
A magnetic mesoporous expanded perlite-based (EPd-APTES@Fe3O4) composite was designed and synthesized as a novel adsorbent for enrichment of rare earth ions in aqueous solution. Effect of various factors including the pH of solution, contact time and adsorbent dosage on the adsorption behaviors of yttrium(Ⅲ) by the EPd-APTES@Fe3O4 nano-material composites from aqueous solution was investigated. The maximum adsorption capacity of the as-prepared materials for yttrium(Ⅲ) ions was 383.2 mg/g. Among the various isotherm models, the Freundlich isotherm model could well described for the adsorption of the rare earth ions at pH 5.5 and 298.15 K. The kinetic analysis indicated that the adsorption process followed the pseudo-second order kinetics model, and the rate-determining step might be chemical adsorption. Thermodynamic parameters declared that the adsorption process was endothermic. In addition, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the quantum chemical calculation indicated that the yttrium(Ⅲ) ions were captured on the EPd-APTES@Fe3O4 surface mainly by coordination with functional group of -NH2. More importantly, the adsorption-desorption studies indicated that the EPd-APTES@Fe3O4 nano-material composites had a high stability and good recyclability.
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