Catalytic biofuel production over 3D macro-structured cheese-like Mn-promoted TiO2 isotype: Mn-catalyzed microwave-combustion design

Structural, chemical, optical and photocatalytic properties of Zr co-doped anatase-rutile mixed phase TiO2: Ag nanoparticles

Phase modulation kinetics in TiO2 by manipulating pH: A dynamic of photoactivity at different combination of phase and pH

Particulate matter (PM) in air frequently poses a serious threat to human health. Smaller PM can easily enter into the alveolus and blood vessels with airflow. This work reports the first polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer blend nanofiber filter media for effectively capturing PM. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to investigate the effect of the blending of two polymers on the dipole moment and the electrostatic potential. Based on the DFT calculations of the intermolecular interactions between nanofibers and PM, the PAN/PVP heteromolecular percentage is considered for experimental synthesis, which can provide better performance in the filtration of pollutants. The composite PAN/PVP fiber network was successfully developed and optimized to cope with complex environments during the actual filtration process. The role of the blending ratio of PAN and PVP in wt % was explored on PM2.5 capture, and the refined ratio overcame the conflict between high filtration efficiency and low air pressure resistance. The air filter medium PAN/PVP (6:2) possesses an extremely high air filtration efficiency of 92% under a very low pressure drop of 18 Pa for a 0.5 g m–2 basis weight. Both polar and nonpolar functional groups in blend nanofibers promoted significantly the electrostatic attraction and improved the filtration efficiency under static and dynamic airflow. The PAN/PVP nanofiber membranes maintain outstanding air filtration under different temperature and humidity conditions. This study will shed light on the fabrication of high-efficiency low-basis weight nanofiber filter media as an end product. 

Low-Basis Weight Polyacrylonitrile/Polyvinylpyrrolidone Blend Nanofiber Membranes for Efficient Particulate Matter Capture

Influence of Anatase-Rutile Ratio on Band Edge Position and Defect States of TiO2 Homojunction Catalyst.

Inorganic-organic nanofiber networks with antibacteria properties for enhanced particulate filtration: The critical role of amorphous titania.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with well-controlled properties are the key for photocatalysis water splitting and organic pollutant degradation. A facile template-free synthesis method was utilized to optimize the polymerization temperature of melamine and urea for the preparation of highly active g-C3N4. The polymerization was carried out at different temperatures and ramping rate in tightly sealed crucible system with open air conditions. The crystalline and tri-s-triazine periodicity was significantly improved with increasing polymerization temperature. The results demonstrated that graphitic carbon nitride could not be fully formed below 550 °C. It was also found that the precursors and heating rate had a big influence on the photocatalytic activities. Higher photocatalytic activities were achieved by g-C3N4 synthesized from urea at a lower heating rate.

One-step synthesis of highly reactive g-C3N4

Understanding the effect of polymer concentrations on the phase formation and activity of electrospun nanofibrous photocatalyst

Multifunctional critical nano-composite material assembling Carbon-modified Ag@TiO 2 nanourchin was synthesized to investigate visible light photocatalytic activity. The Carbon-modified Ag@TiO 2 nanourchin was prepared by a facile two-step chemical synthesis through solvothermal and chemical reduction. Carbon nanospheres as the substrate play a key role for three dimensional nanourchin structure as well as carbon doping. The morphology, crystal structure, and chemical states were characterized carefully by different analytical procedures via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), RAMAN spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV–Vis spectroscopy. It shows that the uniform loaded silver (Ag) on TiO 2 surface was metallic Ag 0 state. The exist of interstitial carbon and Ag NPs on TiO 2 nanostructure collectively enhance the visible light photocatalytic activity. The visible light photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) studies revealed that Ag@C 0.1 TiO 2 exhibited enhanced photocatalytic efficiency compared with the pure TiO 2 nanourchin and commercial TiO 2 powder. The improved photocatalytic property can be attributed to lower recombination of the photogenerated e − and h + pairs in catalyst due to the formation of a Schottky barrier between Ag NPs and TiO 2 which improved the surface charge separation greatly and presence of carbon serve as a sensitizer to absorb visible light which inject e - into conduction band (CB) of TiO 2 . 

Pooja P. Sarngan

Papers

Influence of Anatase-Rutile Ratio on Band Edge Position and Defect States of TiO2 Homojunction Catalyst.

Inorganic-organic nanofiber networks with antibacteria properties for enhanced particulate filtration: The critical role of amorphous titania.

One-step synthesis of highly reactive g-C3N4

Understanding the effect of polymer concentrations on the phase formation and activity of electrospun nanofibrous photocatalyst

Carbon-modified TiO2 nanourchin with Ag nanoparticle decoration for environmental remediation