Zaki S. Seddigi

Spectroscopic detection of health hazardous contaminants in lipstick using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technique was applied to determine the concentrations of different toxic elements like lead, chromium, cadmium and zinc in four different lipstick brands sold at local markets in Saudi Arabia. These samples contain toxic elements like lead, cadmium and chromium which are carcinogen dermatitis, allergic and eczematous. Their extraction from human body takes over 40 years and accumulation in the body cause problems like disruption of nervous systems and kidney damage. They could trigger to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In order to test the validity of our LIBS results, standard technique like (ICP-AES) was also applied. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study where LIBS technique was applied for the measurement of toxic substances in lipsticks. The maximum concentration detected in four lipstick brands was much higher than the permissible safe limits for human use and could lead to serious health problems. It is worth mentioning that the lipstick is not a solid rather is in fluid state which is not trivial to analyze using LIBS technique. For this purpose, special treatment of the lipstick samples was necessary to analyze with our LIBS method.

Impact of Metal Ions in Porphyrin-Based Applied Materials for Visible-Light Photocatalysis: Key Information from Ultrafast Electronic Spectroscopy

Protoporphyrin IX-zinc oxide (PP-ZnO) nanohybrids have been synthesized for applications in photocatalytic devices. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and steady-state infrared, absorption, and emission spectroscopies have been used to analyze the structural details and optical properties of these nanohybrids. Time-resolved fluorescence and transient absorption techniques have been applied to study the ultrafast dynamic events that are key to photocatalytic activities. The photocatalytic efficiency under visible-light irradiation in the presence of naturally abundant iron(III) and copper(II) ions has been found to be significantly retarded in the former case, but enhanced in the latter case. More importantly, femtosecond (fs) transient absorption data have clearly demonstrated that the residence of photoexcited electrons from the sensitizer PP in the centrally located iron moiety hinders ground-state bleach recovery of the sensitizer, affecting the overall photocatalytic rate of the nanohybrid. The presence of copper(II) ions, on the other hand, offers additional stability against photobleaching and eventually enhances the efficiency of photocatalysis. In addition, we have also explored the role of UV light in the efficiency of photocatalysis and have rationalized our observations from femtosecond- to picosecond-resolved studies.

Preparation and characterization of Pd doped ceria-ZnO nanocomposite catalyst for methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) photodegradation.

A series of binary oxide catalysts (ceria-ZnO) were prepared and doped with different amounts of palladium in the range of 0.5%-1.5%. The prepared catalysts were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and XPS, as well as by N2 sorptiometry study. The XPS results confirmed the structure of the Pd CeO2-x-ZnO. The photocatalytic activity of these catalysts was evaluated for degradation of MTBE in water. These photocatalyst efficiently degrade a 100ppm aqueous solution of MTBE upon UV irradiation for 5h in the presence of 100mg of each of these photocatalysts. The removal of 99.6% of the MTBE was achieved with the ceria-ZnO catalyst doped with 1% Pd. In addition to the Pd loading, the N2 sorptiometry study introduced other factors that might affect the catalytic efficiency is the catalyst average pore sizes. The photoreaction was determined to be a first order reaction.

Assessment of metal contents in spices and herbs from Saudi Arabia

In the recent years, there has been a growing interest in monitoring heavy metal contamination of spices/herbs. Spices and herbs are sources of many bioactive compounds that can improve the tastes of food as well as influence digestion and metabolism processes. In the present study, the levels of some essential and toxic elements such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd), present in common spices/herbs that were purchased from the local market in Saudi Arabia, were analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy after digestion with nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide mixture. Samples from the following spices/herbs were used: turmeric, cloves, black pepper, red pepper, cumin, legume, cinnamon, abazir, white pepper, ginger, and coriander. The concentration ranges for the studied elements were found as 48.8–231, 4.7–19.4, 2.5–10.5, below detection level (BDL)–1.0, 8.8–490, 1.0–2.6, and BDL–3.7 µg g−1 for Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, and Pb, respectively, while Cd and Co levels were below the detection limit. Consumers of these spices/herbs would not be exposed to any risk associated with the daily intake of 10 g of spices per day as far as metals Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, and Pb are concerned.

The Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Tert-butyl Ether Under Pd/ZnO and Visible Light Irradiation

Methyl tert‐butyl ether is a commonly used fuel oxygenate that is present in gasoline. It was introduced to eliminate the use of leaded gasoline and to improve the octane quality because it aids in the complete combustion of fuel by supplying oxygen during the combustion process. Over the past decade, the use of MTBE has increased tremendously worldwide. For obvious reasons relating to accidental spillage, MTBE started to appear as an environmental and human health threat because of its nonbiodegradable nature and carcinogenic potential, respectively. In this work, MTBE was degraded with the help of an advanced oxidation process through the use of zinc oxide as a photocatalyst in the presence of visible light. A mixture of 200 mg of zinc oxide in 350 mL of 50 ppm MTBE aqueous solution was irradiated with visible light for a given time. The complete degradation of MTBE was recorded, and approximately 99% photocatalytic degradation of 100 ppm MTBE solution was observed. Additionally, the photoactivity of 1% Pd‐doped ZnO was tested under similar conditions to understand the effect of Pd doping on ZnO. Our results obtained under visible light irradiation are very promising, and they could be further explored for the degradation of several nondegradable environmental pollutants.

Nature of the Ftir Band in Acidic Zeolites

The nature of a FTIR band (1490 cm -1 ) in the spectrum of zeolite HZSM-5 after pyridine adsorption was investigated. It is shown that the source of this band is not a combined contribution from Brönsted and Lewis acidic sites as widely believed.

Kinetics and Photodegradation Study of Aqueous Methyl tert-Butyl Ether Using Zinc Oxide: The Effect of Particle Size

Zinc oxide of different average particle sizes 25 nm, 59 nm, and 421 nm as applied in the photodegradation of MTBE. This study was carried out in a batch photoreactor having a high pressure mercury lamp. Zinc oxide of particle size of 421 nm was found to be the most effective in degrading MTBE in an aqueous solution. On using this type of ZnO in a solution of 100 ppm MTBE, the concentration of MTBE has decreased to 5.1 ppm after a period of five hours. The kinetics of the photocatalytic degradation of MTBE was found to be a first order reaction.

Carbonate Doping in TiO2 Microsphere: The Key Parameter Influencing Others for Efficient Dye Sensitized Solar Cell

Four key parameters namely light trapping, density of light harvesting centre, photoinduced electron injection and electron transport without self-recombination are universally important across all kinds of solar cells. In the present study, we have considered the parameters in the context of a model Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC). Our experimental studies reveal that carbonate doping of TiO2 mesoporous microspheres (doped MS) makes positive influence to all the above mentioned key parameters responsible for the enhanced solar cell efficiency. A simple method has been employed to synthesize the doped MS for the photoanode of a N719 (ruthenium dye)-based DSSC. A detail electron microscopy has been used to characterize the change in morphology of the MS upon doping. The optical absorption spectrum of the doped MS reveals significant shift of TiO2 (compared to that of the MS without doping) towards maximum solar radiance (~500 nm) and the excellent scattering in the entire absorption band of the sensitizing dye (N719). Finally, and most importantly, for the first time we have demonstrated that the solar cells with doped MS offers better efficiency (7.6%) in light harvesting compared to MS without doping (5.2%) and also reveal minimum self recombination of photoelectrons in the redox chain.

The Effect of Loading Palladium on Zinc Oxide on the Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl tert‐Butyl Ether (MTBE) in Water

A series of heterogeneous catalysts was prepared by doping zinc oxide with different palladium loadings in the range of 0.5%–1.5%. The prepared catalysts were characterized by SEM, TEM and XRD. These catalysts were applied to study the degradation of Methyl tert‐Butyl Ether (MTBE). An amount of 100 mg of each of these catalysts was added to an aqueous solution of 100 ppm of MTBE. The resulting mixtures were irradiated with UV light for a period of 5 h. A 99.7% removal of MTBE was achieved in the case of the zinc oxide photocatalyst particles doped with 1% Pd. The photoreaction was found to be a first‐order one.

Tetra-μ3-iodo-tetra­kis[(cyclo­hexyl­diphenyl­phosphine-κP)copper(I)]

The molecule of the title compound, [Cu4I4(C18H21P)4], which lies on a crystallographic twofold rotation axis, displays a cubane-like Cu4I4 core.