Showing papers by "Yaobin Zhang published in 2014"
TL;DR: Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed that the abundances of hydrogen-consuming microorganisms including homoacetogens and hydrogenotrophic methanogens with ZVI were higher than the control, which reduced the H2 accumulation to create a beneficial condition for the sludge digestion in thermodynamics.
479 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a single layer g-C3N4 was fabricated by a simple mechanical exfoliation method and the single layer exhibited high photocatalytic disinfection performance.
Abstract: •Atomic single layer g-C3N4 was fabricated by a simple mechanical exfoliation method.•The single layer g-C3N4 exhibited high photocatalytic disinfection performance.•Photocataytic disinfection over a simple metal-free photocatalyst is achieved.•This study will facilitate development of safe and reliable disinfection technology.
392 citations
TL;DR: This work highlights the appealing application of an inexpensive metal-free photocatalyst in aqueous ammonia treatment and reports for the first time that a new type of atomic single layer graphitic-C(3)N(4) (SL) has an excellent photocatalytic activity for total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) removal from water.
Abstract: Direct utilization of solar energy for photocatalytic removal of ammonia from water is a topic of strong interest. However, most of the photocatalysts with effective performance are solely metal-based semiconductors. Here, we report for the first time that a new type of atomic single layer graphitic-C3N4 (SL g-C3N4), a metal-free photocatalyst, has an excellent photocatalytic activity for total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) removal from water. The results demonstrated that over 80% of TAN (initial concentration 1.50 mg·L–1) could be removed in 6 h under Xe lamp irradiation (195 mW·cm–2). Furthermore, the SL g-C3N4 exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity in alkaline solution than that in neutral or acidic solutions. The investigation suggested that both photogenerated holes and hydroxyl radicals were involved the TAN photocatalytic oxidation process and that the major oxidation product was NO3–-N. In addition, SL g-C3N4 exhibited good photocatalytic stability in aqueous solution. This work highlights the appea...
191 citations
TL;DR: PCR-DGGE proved that the addition of rusty scrap could enhance diversity of acetobacteria and enrich iron-reducing bacteria to enhance degradation of complex substrates.
137 citations
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that Fenton-coagulation process can comprehensively reduce the acute toxicity and genotoxicity as well as the COD of the dye effluent.
55 citations
TL;DR: A photoelectrochemical immunosensor was developed by incorporating graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and highly oriented silicon nanowires (SiNWs) for the determination of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) in water samples.
Abstract: A photoelectrochemical immunosensor was developed by incorporating graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and highly oriented silicon nanowires (SiNWs) for the determination of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) in water samples. The GQDs/SiNWs heterostructure was employed for signal transduction and biocompatible nanoscaffold for antibody (Ab) immobilization. The results showed that the fabricated GQDs/SiNWs electrode exhibited better photoelectrochemical performance than that of SiNWs. The specific recognition of MC-LR affected the optoelectronic properties of the Ab/GQDs/SiNWs electrode, leading to the photocurrent decreases. In the linear range from 0.1 μg L −1 to 10 μg L −1 , the photocurrent decrease was proportional to the concentration of microcystin-LR and the linear regression equation was Y = 59.67 − 6.08 X with a limit of detection of 0.055 μg L −1 . The immunosensor possessed good sensitivity, selectivity and acceptable reusability for the determination of microcystin-LR, which was successfully applied in determining MC-LR in real water samples.
47 citations
TL;DR: The synthesis of clickable azido periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) and their use as adsorbents for the adsorption of antibiotics demonstrate the great potential of PMOs for environmental applications.
Abstract: Pharmaceutical antibiotics are not easily removed from water by conventional water-treatment technologies and have been recognized as new emerging pollutants. Herein, we report the synthesis of clickable azido periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) and their use as adsorbents for the adsorption of antibiotics. Ethane-bridged PMOs, functionalized with azido groups at different densities, were synthesized by the co-condensation of 1,2-bis(trimethoxysilyl) ethane (BTME) and 3-azidopropyltrimethoxysilane (AzPTMS), in the presence of nonionic-surfactant triblock-copolymer P123, in an acidic medium. Four different alkynes were conjugated to azide-terminated PMOs by means of an efficient click reaction. The clicked PMOs showed improved adsorption capacity (241 mu g g(-1)) for antibiotics (ciprofloxacin hydrochloride) compared with azido-functionalized PMOs because of the enhanced pi-pi stacking interactions. These results indicate that click reactions can introduce multifunctional groups onto PMOs, thus demonstrating the great potential of PMOs for environmental applications.
46 citations
TL;DR: Experimental results demonstrated that the large interface area and smooth carrier transfer pathway were significant for heterojunction materials to provide better photogenerated charge separation properties.
Abstract: Due to their build-in electric fields locating at interfaces of different materials, heterojunctions have shown excellent carrier separation ability and received wide attention in photocatalysis and photovoltaics. In general, larger interface area and smoother carrier transfer pathway are favorable for heterojunctions to achieve larger active area of build-in electric fields and longer photogenerated charge lifetime, respectively, and sequentially the heterojunctions may show optimized separation ability. However, there is hardly any report about this topic. In this paper, we design a new heterojunction material where a graphene (Gr) layer is close-fitting as the surface of the ZnIn2S4 microspheres (ZnIn2S4@Gr) in virtue of the electrostatic interaction between the functional groups of GO and the amino groups of ZnIn2S4 microspheres. Benefiting from the effective contact of Gr and ZnIn2S4 at their interface as well as the superior charge transfer ability of Gr, this structure displays good photocatalytic capability. The kinetic constant of phenol degradation on ZnIn2S4@Gr was 3.03 h(-1), which was 8.4-fold and 1.5-fold higher than those on ZnIn2S4 and ZnIn2S4-Gr composites, respectively. Furthermore, the excellent performance was stable according to the result of the consecutive cycling experiment. These experimental results demonstrated that the large interface area and smooth carrier transfer pathway were significant for heterojunction materials to provide better photogenerated charge separation properties.
45 citations
TL;DR: Results indicate that the aquatic environmental factors and Cl(-) in particular played an important role in the photochemical transformation process of PBDEs, providing insight into the likely fate ofPBDEs in the marine environment.
22 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a durable and convenient electrosorption device was designed in continuous flow mode to investigate the adsorption of PFOA on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) from water under electrochemical assistance.
Abstract: It is important to develop efficient technologies on removal of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) from water due to their wide distribution and potential threat to human health. In this work, a durable and convenient electrosorption device was designed in continuous flow mode to investigate the adsorption of PFOX (X = A and S) on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) from water under electrochemical assistance. The electrosorption experiments were conducted under different influent and electrolyte concentrations, hydraulic retention time (HRT) and electrode distance to optimize the operation. The results showed that the highest removal efficiencies toward both PFOA and PFOS could come up to 90 % at 1 V. Compared with open circuit (OC) adsorption under the same conditions, the removal efficiencies were improved by 4.9 times (PFOA) and 4.2 times (PFOS) respectively. In addition, the MWNTs electrode was found to be reusable. These findings provide an efficient method to remove PFOX from water by electrosorption in continuous flow mode.
17 citations
TL;DR: A newly enrichment approach for electrochemically active iron reducing bacteria (IRB) through dosing Fe(III) into a MEC combined anaerobic reactor (R1) for dye wastewater treatment was described in this article.
TL;DR: A vertically columnar boron doped diamond (BDD) array electrode was fabricated by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition as discussed by the authors, and the results of electrochemistry measurement showed that the columnar BDD array electrode possessed high oxygen evolution potential and low background current.
TL;DR: The results indicated that the azo dye serving as an electron acceptor could avoid H2 accumulation and accelerate anaerobic digestion of VFAs.
Abstract: Accumulation of hydrogen during anaerobic processes usually results in low decomposition of volatile organic acids (VFAs). On the other hand, hydrogen is a good electron donor for dye reduction, which would help the acetogenic conversion in keeping low hydrogen concentration. The main objective of the study was to accelerate VFA composition through using azo dye as electron acceptor. The results indicated that the azo dye serving as an electron acceptor could avoid H 2 accumulation and accelerate anaerobic digestion of VFAs. After adding the azo dye, propionate decreased from 2400.0 to 689.5 mg/L and acetate production increased from 180.0 to 519.5 mg/L. It meant that the conversion of propionate into acetate was enhanced. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed that the abundance of propionate-utilizing acetogens with the presence of azo dye was greater than that in a reference without azo dye. The experiments via using glucose as the substrate further demonstrated that the VFA decomposition and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal increased by 319.7 mg/L and 23.3% respectively after adding the azo dye. Therefore, adding moderate azo dye might be a way to recover anaerobic system from deterioration due to the accumulation of H 2 or VFAs.
TL;DR: The synthesis of clickable SBA-15 is described and its feasibility as a screening material for the adsorption of antibiotics based on similar adsorptive trends on materials with similar functional groups obtained by a click reaction and cocondensation/grafting methods is demonstrated.
Abstract: Pharmaceutical antibiotics, as emerging contaminants, are usually composed of several functional groups that endow them with the ability to interact with adsorbents through different interactions. This makes the preparation of adsorbents tedious and time-consuming to screen appropriate functionalized materials. Herein, we describe the synthesis of clickable SBA-15 and demonstrate its feasibility as a screening material for the adsorption of antibiotics based on similar adsorption trends on materials with similar functional groups obtained by a click reaction and cocondensation/grafting methods.