Topics in Catalysis最新文献

The use of renewable resources to generate energy is growing, but regrettably, the large amount of CO₂ emissions it releases harms the environment. The main greenhouse gas, CO₂, is a major factor in global climate change, which eventually disrupts the delicate balance of ecosystems within the globe. Therefore, the development of effective and sustainable technology for CO₂ capture and storage is both urgent and compelling. Among many different approaches for CO₂ capture, membrane separation has shown to be one of the most promising, yielding excellent results in terms of effectiveness as well as affordability. Nonetheless, to enhance membrane performance more significantly in CO₂ separation, researchers have focused on ionic liquids, a family of organic salts recognized for their high thermal stability, low volatility, and tuneable characteristics. Because of this, ionic liquids have attracted a lot of attention from the academic and industrial sectors as possible additions to enhance membranes’ capacity for CO₂ separation. This study explores the potential of Tetrahexyl tetradecyl phosphonium chloride incorporated into Pebax-1657 to enhance CO₂/CH₄ separation performance. Ion gel membranes were synthesized with varying ionic liquid concentrations (5, 10, 20 wt%) and characterized for structural and morphological evaluations. Gas separation performance was assessed through permeation experiments, showing increased CO₂/CH₄ selectivity from 19.23 to 21.81 with higher IL concentrations, especially under high pressure. CO₂ permeability increased from 70.01 to 273.61 barrer with the addition of 20% [THTDP][Cl]. Density functional theory calculations provided theoretical insights into the interaction energies between ionic liquid and gas molecules, corroborating experimental findings. The study demonstrates the novelty of integrating phosphonium-based ionic liquid with Pebax-1657, significantly enhancing CO₂/CH₄ selectivity due to strong CO₂ interactions. This research offers a promising approach to developing advanced membranes for efficient and selective CO₂ capture, contributing to sustainable gas separation technologies.

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Rapid electrochemical strategy-based sensor fabricated for measuring vanillin as an important additive compound in the food industry by combining iron oxide/graphene (Fe₃O₄/Gr) nanocomposite as a catalyst and 1-butyl-3-ethyl imidazolium chloride (1B3EICl) as an ionic liquid binder to make a modified carbon paste electrode (Fe₃O₄/Gr/1B3EICl/CPE). For optimization of the proposed sensor, some electrochemical parameters such as pH, scan rate, the ratio of Fe₃O₄/Gr, and 1B3EICl in the sensor matrix were investigated by differential pulse voltammetric method. The obtained results showed a wide dynamic range between 1.0 nM and 220 µM and detection limit of 0.5 nM to monitor vanillin using electrochemical signals. Finally, Fe₃O₄/Gr/1B3EICl/CPE was employed for analysis of real food samples and statistical analyses confirmed the efficiency of Fe₃O₄/Gr/1B3EICl/CPE for the determination of vanillin in real situations.

In the recent years, piezocatalysis process is attracting extensive attention as an emerging technology to remove persistent organic pollutants. Its advantage is that it relies on mechanical energy and is independent of electricity and light source, unlike electrocatalysis or photocatalysis processes. In this research, 2H-MoS₂/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction materials were successfully fabricated via the hydrothermal method and utilized as piezocatalyst in the treatment of Rhodamine B. This material exhibited a highly efficient piezo-catalyst effect, with the piezo-response amplitudes of 78.8 mV, almost doubled compared to 39.8 mV of 2H-MoS₂. The degradation of Rhodamine B by ultrasonic irradiation could reach 75.4% only after 5 s and then 94.9% in 60 s without light assistance. This ultra-rapid degradation rate is attributed to the electron–hole pairs and transfer of the charge-carriers on the surface of 2H-MoS₂ and g-C₃N₄ via S-scheme heterojunction model, which was confirmed by density functional theory study. The piezo-catalytic ability of the material can still be improved for better treatment of other organic pollutants in aqueous environment.

In biotechnological methods for biodegradation, the effectiveness of detoxifying xenobiotics and recalcitrant substances in soil and water has sparked significant interest. Our study takes a unique approach by focusing on immobilizing the white-rot fungus (WRF) Pleurotus sajor-caju onto a Luffa cylindrica plant support. This innovative method aims to facilitate the mycoremediation of agro-industrial pollutant pulp wash generated by the orange industry. The immobilization process significantly increased MnP enzymatic activity, reaching 23 IU.mL⁻¹ and Lac activity at approximately 40.5 IU.mL⁻¹. Qualitative SEM and FTIR analyses provided insights into the microorganism’s attachment mechanism to the support, suggesting that aggregation occurs due to an affinity to the lignocellulosic structure, enhancing the production of polysaccharides responsible for biocatalyst adherence and potential reusability. Furthermore, the production of an enzymatic extract rich in ligninolytic enzymes from P. sajor-caju showcased its ability to reduce the toxicity of pulp wash. An exploration into the toxicity of citrus effluent revealed the generation of embryos with severe deformities and the inhibition of Lactuca sativa germination, even at low concentrations. Notably, post-treatment with the enzymatic extract resulted in a remarkable 90% reduction in toxicity to the trophic level of Danio rerio and lettuce seeds. This research significantly contributes to understanding fungal immobilization strategies in environmental biotechnology, emphasizing the potential of agricultural residues as sustainable inducers for enzyme production and their pivotal role in mitigating the environmental impact of agro-industrial waste.

Pollution from dye-containing industrial wastewater is a major health hazard in many nations, necessitating modern remediation approaches. Herein, zinc oxide (ZnO) was employed to degrade methyl orange (MO) as an organic dye pollutant under UV light irradiation. The performance was observed experimentally and theoretically under optimized conditions including the pH (11), the concentration of the nanoparticle solution (900 ppm), and time (3 h), resulting in a degradation efficiency of 89.6%. Furthermore, the influence of various parameters on MO degradation was evaluated by response surface methodology (RSM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was performed to investigate the crystallinity and morphological behavior of ZnO-NPs. In addition, the surface chemical composition was evaluated by the XPS analysis. This study evaluates the degradation efficiency of ~ 90% using single metal oxide to degrade MO, opening new opportunities for environmental applications.

Two phyllosilicates (montmorillonite and saponite) have been selected as starting materials to synthesize ZrO₂- and Al₂O₃-pillared clays by the insertion of polyoxocations and subsequent calcination. These pillared clays display higher surface area, porosity and available acid sites in comparison to their respective raw clays. These samples were tested in the one-pot process to transform furfural into obtain valuable products. The incorporation of ZrO₂ allows to reach the highest furfural conversion values, with high yields towards furfuryl alcohol (FOL) at shorter reaction times, whereas the formation of i-propyl furfuryl ether (iPFE) is favored at longer times, attaining iPFE yields of about 50% after 24 h at 170 ºC, using isopropanol as sacrificing alcohol.

Over time, industrialization, population expansion, building, and other human-related activities have made water contamination a major problem. As a result, steps towards waste water treatment must be taken. By using piezoelectric materials in the purifying process, a new area of waste water treatment known as piezo-photocatalysis has emerged. To improve the material’s water purification effectiveness, the piezoelectric action is paired with sun irradiation in this case. Up until this point, photocatalysis has served as a sophisticated method for purification. Thus, the piezoelectric materials became the center of attention in the quest for cutting-edge technologies for water purification. Piezoelectric materials have other potential applications outside of water treatment, including hydrogen production and carbon dioxide adsorption. The lead, barium, KNN, and bismuth perovskite compounds that have seen extensive usage in wastewater treatment are covered in this paper. These materials have the potential to achieve an efficiency of almost 100% when they combine the effects of piezoelectricity with photocatalysis. Consequently, the function of piezoelectric materials in wastewater treatment and the mechanism of piezo-photocatalysis are covered extensively in this paper.

In this research, a new non-enzymatic amperometric sensor has been developed for the determination of lactate based on a sepiolite@Pt electrocatalyst. The uniform dispersion of small-sized platinum nanoparticles (NPs) leads to optimized electron transfer kinetics, thereby low lactate detection ability of the modified carbon paste electrode (CPE). The innovative sensing platform demonstrates a linear response to lactate concentrations ranging from 10 to 1100 µM. By using a signal-to-noise ratio of 3σ, a detection limit of 2 µM was established. Moreover, the precise analysis of lactate in human fluids suggests that the proposed method is a highly specific tool for lactate monitoring. Notably, the sensor’s capabilities were extended to include the measurement of lactate concentrations in saliva samples obtained during sport practice. The proposed method offers a cost-effective and efficient means of lactate monitoring, enabling rapid analysis times and streamlined clinical testing procedures.