Sayaka Yanagida

Various factors affecting photodecomposition of methylene blue by iron-oxides in an oxalate solution

The effect of various factors on the photodecomposition of methylene blue (MB) by iron oxides calcined at various temperatures in various concentrations of oxalate solutions was investigated by illuminating with UV, visible and solar radiation. Iron oxides were prepared by a gel evaporation method and calcined at 200-700 degrees C. XRD showed that the as-synthesized iron oxides were amorphous, but formed maghemite (gamma-Fe(2)O(3)) at 200-400 degrees C and hematite (alpha-Fe(2)O(3)) at > or =500 degrees C. The effect of the various iron oxides, their contents, the oxalate concentration and wavelength of the light source (UV, visible and solar) were all found to strongly influence MB photodecomposition. The optimal contents of the iron oxides increased greatly from 25 to 2000 mg/L at higher calcining temperatures. The MB photodecomposition rate at each optimal iron oxide content was related to the calcining temperature in the order 700 degrees C<uncalcined<500 degrees C<400 degrees C<300 degrees C. The MB degradation was confirmed to occur by visible light illumination. Excellent photodecomposition was found at pH 2-5, but the photodegradation decreased greatly at pH>6, consistent with the presence of iron-oxalate complexes. A much higher concentration of hydroxyl radicals was generated in the present system compared with those from a commercial TiO(2) (ST-01), as determined by the coumarin method. Since this process does not require the addition of hydrogen peroxide and shows good efficiency even under solar light, it is an economically viable method for pre-treating and/or decolorizing wastewaters containing dyes.

Synthesis of rutile-type solid solution Ni1−xCoxTi(Nb1−yTay)2O8 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1, 0 ≤ y ≤ 1) and its optical property

Abstract Rutile-type solid solutions; Ni1−xCoxTi(Nb1−yTay)2O8 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1, 0 ≤ y ≤ 1) were prepared by high temperature solid state reaction. The solid solutions of noibates (y = 0) had a rutile-type structure and those of tantalates (y = 1.0) had a trirutile-type one. The trirutile-type structure appeared in the composition of y ≥ 0.4. The crystal structures of these solid solutions for niobates and tantalates were refined by using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data and the R-factors were Rwp = 1.76–1.92% and Rp = 1.13–1.19% for niobates and Rwp = 10.3–12.2% and Rp = 6.78–9.14% for tantalates. Their lattice parameters for noibates ranges from a = 4.69413(2) to 4.70411(2) Å and c = 3.02187(1) to 3.03242(1) Å and those for tantalates ranges from a = 4.6946(2) to 4.7065(2) Å and c = 9.0829(3) to 9.1164(4) Å. The optical band gap for these solid solutions ranged from 1.63 to 2.50 eV and only NiTiTa2O8 exhibited photocatalytic activity for phenol decomposition under UV light irradiation. The dielectric constants for four end members, NiTiNb2O8, CoTiNb2O8, NiTiTa2O8 and CoTiTa2O8 were 25–75 in the temperature range from room temperature to 300 °C.

Photocatalytic Destruction of 1,4-Dioxane in Aqueous System by Surface-Roughened TiO2 Coating on Stainless Mesh

This study investigated the effect of surface roughness on a coating of TiO2 submicron powders that had been applied on a stainless steel mesh using electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Roughness was provided to the surface of EPD coating using UV pre-illumination to the suspension prepared by isopropyl alcohol and commercial TiO2 powder. The Ra value was increased around 20% by this treatment. The rough coating provided a higher photocatalytic decomposition rate of 1,4-dioxane in water than a smooth coating obtained from the suspension without UV pre-illumination. That increase is attributable to the increase of the reaction field on the coating surface.

Crystal structure, photocatalytic and dielectric property of ATiM2O8 (A: Mg, Zn; M: Nb, Ta)

ABSTRACT Four types of oxides, ATiM2O8 (A: Mg, Zn; M: Nb, Ta) were prepared by high-temperature solid-state reaction. MgTiNb2O8, ZnTiNb2O8 and ATiTa2O8 had rutile-type, α-PbO2-type and trirutile-type structures, respectively. The crystal structures of these compounds were refined based on the synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data with the following R-factors: Rwp = 4.34% and Rp = 2.21% for MgTiNb2O8; Rwp = 2.19% and Rp = 1.52% for ZnTiNb2O8; Rwp = 9.03% and Rp = 6.31% for MgTiTa2O8; and Rwp = 5.70% and Rp = 4.16% for ZnTiTa2O8. Their lattice parameters were a = 4.69585(8) and c = 3.04260(6) Å for MgTiNb2O8; a = 4.67138(6), b = 5.65916(7) and c = 5.00745(6) Å for ZnTiNb2O8; a = 4.6876(2) and c = 9.1385(3) Å for MgTiNb2O8; and a = 4.6987(7) and c = 9.1296(1) Å for ZnTiTa2O8. The optical band gap for these compounds ranged from 2.98 to 3.15 eV and every compound exhibited a small amount of photocatalytic activity for phenol decomposition under UV light irradiation. However, no photocatalytic activity was observed under visible light irradiation. The dielectric constants for these compounds were between 25 and 125 at a temperature range of room temperature to 400°C.

Crystal Structure, Thermal Behavior, and Photocatalytic Activity of NaBiO3·nH2O

The crystal structure of NaBiO3· nH2O was refined using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and was assigned to a trigonal unit cell (space group P3̅) consisting of layered structures formed by edge-sharing BiO6 octahedra and consisting of an interlayer composed of water molecules sandwiched between two layers of sodium atoms, perpendicular to the c axis. An intermediate phase was observed during the dehydration of the hydrated compound. Density of state calculations showed hybridization of the Bi 6s and O 2p orbitals at the bottom of the conduction bands for both the hydrated and the dehydrated phases, which narrows the band gap and promotes their photocatalytic activity in the visible region.

Circumstances of La, Eu, Dy, and Yb Cations Intercalated via Ion Exchange in γ-Zirconium Phosphate

Both α- and γ-zirconium phosphate were examined for use as ion exchangers for recovery of rare earth elements. Trivalent rare earth elements can be partially substituted for protons in the interlayer space, and γ-zirconium phosphate shows a much better ion exchange competency than α-zirconium phosphate. The exchanged cation of the rare earth elements might be related to different amounts of oxygen from P-OH and H2O, and these rare earth elements were thus positioned at a different separations from the zirconium phosphate layer. The radial structure function (RSF) curve from extended X-ray absorption fine structure data implied that the calibrated M-O distance and coordination number changed with the ionic radius. The calibrated M-O distances from RSF were 2.52, 2.42, 2.38, and 2.28 for La, Eu, Dy, and Yb, respectively. The coordination numbers of oxygen for Yb were approximately 7 and greater than 10 for La and Eu, respectively. These smaller coordination numbers for smaller cations may result from the strong interaction between the cations and the zirconium phosphate layer. The Debye-Waller factor also increased with an increase in the ionic radius. These factors show a strong relation to the coordination state of rare earth elements in the unit cell of the γ-zirconium phosphate and to the interaction strength.

Formation of Uniform and High-Coverage Monolayer Colloidal Films of Midnanometer-Sized Gold Particles over the Entire Surfaces of 1.5-in. Substrates

We report a simple and facile method for fabricating monolayer colloidal films of alkanethiol-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on glass substrates. The new method consists of two sequential sonication processes. The first sonication is performed to obtain a well-dispersed state of alkanethiol-capped AuNPs in hexane/acetone in the presence of a substrate. After additional static immersion in the colloidal solution for 5 min, the substrate is subjected to sonication in hexane. By using this method, we succeeded in forming uniform and stable assemblies of midnanometer-sized AuNPs (14, 34, and 67 nm in diameter) over the entire surface of 10-mm square glass substrates in a short processing time of less than 10 min. It was also demonstrated that this method can be applied to a 1.5-in. octagonal glass substrate. The mechanism of monolayer colloidal film formation was discussed based on scanning electron microscopy observations at each preparation step. We found that the second sonication was the key process for uniform and high-surface-coverage colloidal film formation of midnanometer-sized AuNPs. The second sonication promotes the migration of AuNPs on top of the monolayer in contact with the substrate surface, decreasing both the multilayer region and the bare surface area. Eventually, a nearly perfect monolayer colloidal film is formed.