Search Results (3)

In recent years, nanomaterials have gained special attention for removing contaminants from wastewater. Nanoparticles (NPs), such as carbon-based materials and metal oxides, exhibit exceptional adsorption capacity and antimicrobial properties for wastewater treatment. Their unique properties, including reactivity, high surface area, and tunable surface functionalities, make them highly effective adsorbents. They can remove contaminants such as organics, inorganics, pharmaceuticals, medicine, and dyes by adsorption mechanisms. In this review, the effectiveness of different types of carbon-based NPs, including carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene-based nanoparticles (GNPs), carbon quantum dots (CQDs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), and carbon nanospheres (CNSs), and metal oxides, including copper oxide (CuO), zinc oxide (ZnO), iron oxide (Fe₂O₃), titanium oxide (TiO₂), and silver oxide (Ag₂O), in the removal of different contaminants from wastewater has been comprehensively evaluated. In addition, their synthesis methods, such as physical, chemical, and biological, have been described. Based on the findings, CNPs can remove 75 to 90% of pollutants within two hours, while MONPs can remove 60% to 99% of dye in 150 min, except iron oxide NPs. For future studies, the integration of NPs into existing treatment systems and the development of novel nanomaterials are recommended. Hence, the potential of NPs is promising, but challenges related to their environmental impact and their toxicity must be considered. Full article

Self-doped CuS nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized via microwave-assisted polyol process to act as co-catalysts to TiO₂ nanofiber (NF)-based photoanodes to achieve higher photocurrents on visible light-assisted water electrolysis. The strategy adopted to perform the copper cation sulfidation in polyol allowed us to overcome the challenges associated with the copper cation reactivity and particle size control. The impregnation of the CuS NPs on TiO₂ NFs synthesized via hydrothermal corrosion of a metallic Ti support resulted in composites with increased visible and near-infrared light absorption compared to the pristine support. This allows an improved overall efficiency of water oxidation (and consequently hydrogen generation at the Pt counter electrode) in passive electrolyte (pH = 7) even at 0 V bias. These low-cost and easy-to-achieve composite materials represent a promising alternative to those involving highly toxic co-catalysts. Full article

Simple and inexpensive electrospinning and hydrothermal techniques were used to synthesize titania nanofibers (TiO₂ NFs) (composite NFs) decorated with copper nanoparticle (Cu NPs). The fabricated composite NFs have been tested as a photocatalytic material to degrade methylene blue (MB) as a model dye under visible light. The introduced composite NFs have shown good photocatalytic activity compared with pristine TiO₂ NFs; 100% and 50% of dye were degraded in 120 min for composite NFs and pristine TiO₂ NFs, respectively. Furthermore, composite NFs demonstrated good stability for four cycles. In addition, the fabricated Cu-TiO₂ NFs have shown good photocatalytic activity for the production of H₂ from sodium borohydride. Full article