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14 pages, 4655 KB

Open AccessArticle

In Situ Synthesis of Bi₂S₃/BiFeO₃ Nanoflower Hybrid Photocatalyst for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants

by Rentao Zhou, Xinman Tu, Peng Zheng, Li Zhang and Zhenxing Zeng

Molecules 2023, 28(24), 8007; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28248007 - 8 Dec 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1915

Abstract

Photocatalytic degradation of Malachite Green oxalate (MG) in a water body is of significant importance to our health protection, as it could cause various serious diseases. However the photocatalytic activity of most catalysts is still unsatisfactory, due to the poor reactive oxygen species production as a result of sluggish charge separation. Here, innovative nanoflower-shaped Bi₂S₃/BiFeO₃ heterojunctions are prepared via a facile sol–gel method, exhibiting an enhanced reactive oxygen species generation, which leads to the excellent photocatalytic performance toward MG degradation. We verify that interfacing BiFeO₃ with Bi₂S₃ could form a fine junction and offers a built-in field to speed up charge separation at the junction area; as a result, this shows much higher charge separation efficiency. By virtue of the aforementioned advantages, the as-prepared Bi₂S₃/BiFeO₃ heterojunctions exhibit excellent photocatalytic performance toward MG degradation, where more than 99% of MG is removed within 2 h of photocatalysis. The innovative design of nanoflower-like Bi₂S₃/BiFeO₃ heterojunctions may offer new viewpoints in designing highly efficient photocatalysts for environmentally related applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Advanced Oxidation Processes for Wastewater Purification)

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19 pages, 4828 KB

Open AccessArticle

Eco-Friendly Gelatin–Cerium–Copper Sulphide Nanoparticles for Enhanced Sunlight Photocatalytic Activity

by Kannaiyan Meena and Manohar Shanthi

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15325; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215325 - 18 Nov 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2532

Abstract

Using a semiconductor catalyst with sunlight can make the photodegradation of pollutants an economically viable process since solar energy is an abundant natural energy source. Solar photocatalysis can provide clean and green eco-friendly technology for the analysis of industrial effluents. Photocatalytic deterioration of the aqueous solution of malachite green oxalate dye (MGO dye) was studied using gelatin–cerium–copper sulphide (Ge-Ce-CuS) nanoparticles under the sunlight source. The nanoparticles were synthesised by a hydrothermal process. The structural properties of the nanoparticles have been characterised by XRD, SEM, EDS, HR-TEM, and XPS. The effects of the initial concentration of dye, dosage of photocatalyst, reaction time, and pH on dye removal efficiency were studied. The mineralisation of MGO dye has been confirmed by chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements. The reusability of the catalyst was proved. The antibacterial activity has been studied for the synthesised nanoparticles. The higher photocatalytic degradation efficiency of Ge-Ce-CuS is explained by its reduced electron-hole recombination and sunlight activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Semiconducting Nanomaterials for Effective Environmental Remediation and Organic Synthesis)

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15 pages, 2556 KB

Open AccessArticle

Selection and Application of ssDNA Aptamers for Fluorescence Biosensing Detection of Malachite Green

by Miaojia Xie, Zanlin Chen, Fengguang Zhao, Ying Lin, Suiping Zheng and Shuangyan Han

Foods 2022, 11(6), 801; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11060801 - 10 Mar 2022

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4381 | Correction

Abstract

Malachite green oxalate (MG) is a kind of veterinary drug, which is freely soluble in water and hazardous to aquatic products, resulting in food toxicity and human health problems. The demand for effective and sensitive detection of MG residues is increasing in food safety. In this work, three DNA aptamers MG-36-12/16/17 targeting MG with good affinity (K_d values were 169.78, 71.94, and 102.46 μM, respectively) were obtained by Capture-SELEX. Furthermore, MG-36-12, MG-76-16-6A, and MG-36-17 were found to perform sensitively and specifically to detect MG as a sensing probe in a FRET fluorescent aptasensor, where the FAM-labeled aptamer and GO were employed as efficient energy donor–acceptor pair. The linear range of this aptasensor using aptamer MG-36-12 was from 1.71 to 514.29 ng/mL and the LOD was as low as 0.79 ng/mL. Additionally, the fluorescent assay using aptamer MG-36-17 to detect MG exhibited a linear relationship from 1.71 to 857.14 ng/mL and a LOD of 2.13 ng/mL. Meanwhile, the aptasensor showed high specificity to MG with no cross-reactivity to other veterinary drugs and had a mean recovery of 81.54% to 100.96% in actual water samples from the aquatic product market. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance of Rapid Analysis Technology for Detecting Food Contaminants)

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13 pages, 3573 KB

Open AccessArticle

Photodynamic Eradication of Trichophyton rubrum and Candida albicans

by Anton Valkov, Michael Zinigrad and Marina Nisnevitch

Pathogens 2021, 10(3), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030263 - 25 Feb 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3480

Abstract

Conventional methods of onychomycosis treatment are ineffective in some cases because the cure of onychomycosis very often depends on the patient’s individual response to the treatment; therefore, there is a crucial need to research and develop new methods of onychomycosis therapy. One of the most innovative treatments is photodynamic therapy (PDT) using photosensitizers (PSs). However, effective treatment depends on the correct choice of photosensitizer and substances that improve the characteristics of the final formulation. The aim of our work was to find an effective formulation for the treatment of onychomycosis. To achieve this goal, we tested the effect of three types of PSs, rose Bengal (RB), malachite green oxalate (MGO), and methylene blue (MB), on Candida albicans. The most effective PS was RB, and so the study was continued with Trichophyton rubrum. Additional comparative studies were carried out on substances included in the formulation (urea and thiourea), focusing on their antifungal activity, which can improve penetration through the nail plate. The composition of the formulation that achieved 100% eradication of Trichophyton rubrum under our conditions consisted of 150 μM RB, 5% urea, and 0.5% thiourea in glycerol/water (70/30%, w/w) solution. A white luminescent lamp was used as a light source (1.9 ± 0.1 mW cm⁻²). Stability of the formulation was checked. The selected formulation shows potential for future simplification and acceleration of PDT treatment of onychomycosis. Full article

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