Jing Zheng

Synthesis of hierarchical nickel anchored on Fe3O4@SiO2 and its successful utilization to remove the abundant proteins (BHb) in bovine blood

A hierarchical nickel shell anchored on silica coated magnetic Fe3O4@SiO2 nanospheres (MNPs) has been designed and constructed, which combines the capacity of effective adsorption of protein bovine hemoglobin (BHb) and selective deletion of BHb from real bovine blood samples. Firstly, –NH2 modified silica/magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2–NH2) were synthesized by combining a sol–gel method and a refluxing process. The Fe3O4@SiO2–NH2 composites revealed a core–shell structure, and the thickness of the silica shell can be easily adjusted by controlling the amount of ammonium solution. Then, the hierarchical nickel shells were anchored on the surface of Fe3O4@SiO2–NH2 by reducing Ni2+ between the solid Fe3O4@SiO2–NH2 and nickel solution with NaBH4. By taking advantage of the high affinity of Ni2+ on the shell surface toward His-tagged proteins and the fast response toward an assistant magnet, the hetero-nanoparticles can be applied to selectively bind to and magnetically separate BHb from the bovine blood. Significantly, it is expected that this approach can be extended to other bimolecular separation and purification processes.

Adsorptive Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution using a Ni-Metal Organic Framework Material

A specific metal organic framework (MOF) material was synthesized based on Ni(Ac)2 · 4H2O and 1-H-benzimidazole-5-carboxylic acid through hydrothermal method. It was a promising candidate as adsorbent due to its large surface areas, porous structure, ordering and controllable properties. In this paper, it was characterized by XRD, SEM, FTIR, TGA and N2 adsorption isotherm. Meanwhile MOF was treated as adsorbent for absorption of methylene blue. Using this material to remove methylene blue, which is low cost, simple and high efficiency. It shows great potential in removing other dyes and the adsorption rate could reach 85.08%. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Zwitterionic surfactant assisted fabrication of mesoporous silica coated carbon nanotubes for organic pollutants

A phospholipid surfactant was used to coat carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with mesoporous silica (m-silica), in which the pore characteristics can be well controlled by varying the ratio of phospholipids and other traditional surfactants (cationic, anionic and nonionic surfactants). Based on the analysis of the interaction between phosphatidylcholines and other surfactants, the mechanism of the m-silica/CNTs formation was investigated. After calcination in an inert atmosphere, the m-silica/CNTs exhibited high specific surface areas and the pore sizes were tunable by varying the experimental parameters. Importantly, the as-prepared m-silica/CNTs were found to be an effective adsorbent for organic pollutants.

Rheological phase synthesis and electrochemical performance of Co3O4 for supercapacitors

Co3O4 was prepared by rheological phase reaction, and the effect of pyrolyzing temperature on the electrochemical performance of Co3O4 was investigated. XRD shows that higher temperature treatment results in sharper diffraction peaks, indicating an increase of particle size of Co3O4. The result of TEM shows that the particle sizes of Co3O4 are about 200 nm. The optimum pyrolyzing temperature is confirmed to be 600°C, and Co3O4 prepared at this temperature exhibits 390.8 F g−1 of specific capacitance in 6 M KOH electrolyte at the scan rate of 5 mV s−1. Co3O4 prepared at the temperature of 600°C shows an excellent cyclability.