Enhanced performance of hydroxyl and cyano group functionalized graphitic carbon nitride for efficient removal of crystal violet and methylene blue from wastewater.

This work reports the synthesis of an innovative multifunctional carbon nitride based adsorbent and its successful application for the removal of crystal violet (CV) and methylene blue (MB) from wastewater. The functionalized graphitic carbon nitride (f/g-CN) adsorbent was produced by the pyrolysis of melamine followed by thermal alkali treatment to introduce OH, NH x , and CN groups onto the graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) surface. Experimental data obtained from batch tests revealed that the maximum adsorption capacities of g-CN and f/g-CN were found to be 28.9 and 239.0 mg g-1 for MB, and 163.0 and 532.0 mg g-1 for CV, respectively, at pH 8, 25 °C and after 90 min. This increase in adsorption capacity of f/g-CN can be explained by the presence of multiple functional groups in its structure. f/g-CN showed 100% removal for MB and CV with concentrations lower than 100 ppm and the equilibrium time required for the 100% removal of 500 ppb dye is 60 seconds. Additionally, the experimental data fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm model (R 2 = 0.992) and pseudo second order kinetic model (R 2 = 0.999) suggesting that the mechanism of adsorption is based on π-π stacking and electrostatic interactions between the NH x and OH groups of f/g-CN and dye molecules with monolayer formation. Moreover, a reusability test showed that the adsorption capacity remained at around 90% after 7 cycles. This work highlights the merits of the prepared adsorbent f/g-CN which is an eco-friendly, stable, efficient, and reusable adsorbent for removing cationic dyes from wastewater.

Utilization of rice husk and waste aluminum cans for the synthesis of some nanosized zeolite, zeolite/zeolite, and geopolymer/zeolite products for the efficient removal of Co(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) ions from aqueous media.

In this paper, rice husk and waste aluminum cans were exploited as silicon and aluminum sources, respectively for the low-cost synthesis of some nanosized zeolite, zeolite/zeolite, and geopolymer/zeolite products. XRD confirmed that the synthesized geopolymer/zeolite products are geopolymer/zeolite A (has a crystallite size of 58.44 nm & abbreviated as G1) and geopolymer/faujasite (has a crystallite size of 25.58 and 20.26 nm & abbreviated as G2 and G3, respectively). Also, the synthesized zeolite products are sodium aluminum silicate hydrate (has a crystallite size of 27.65 and 41.85 nm & abbreviated as H1 and H2, respectively). Besides, the synthesized zeolite/zeolite product is sodium aluminum silicate hydrate/zeolite A (has a crystallite size of 66.01 nm and abbreviated as H3). Moreover, the synthesized products were characterized using other tools such as HR-TEM, FE-SEM, EDX, and FT-IR. The synthesized products were efficiently applied for removing Co(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) ions from aqueous media and wastewater which was taken from Abuzaabal- Qalyubiyah-Egypt. The maximum uptake capacity of G3 sample toward Co(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) ions is 134.24 ± 1.26, 126.26 ± 0.32, and 131.93 ± 0.87 mg/g, respectively. The uptake of the studied metal ions is spontaneous, chemical, exothermic, and fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-2nd-order kinetic model.

Facile fabrication of bimetallic Fe-Mg MOF for the synthesis of xanthenes and removal of heavy metal ions.

This work reported the preparation of Mg-MOF, Fe-MOF and Fe-Mg MOF by a solvothermal technique and their characterization with FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM and S BET analyses. The nanoparticle diameter ranged from 3.1 to 10.9 nm. The acidity of the MOFs was measured by nonaqueous potentiometric titration of n-butylamine. It was observed that the formation of a bimetallic MOF sharply increases the surface acidity and the catalytic activity. The catalytic results of the Fe-Mg MOF catalyzing the synthesis of 14-aryl-14-H-dibenzo[a,j]xanthenes in comparison with those of parent MOFs showed a higher yield of the desired product in a lower time and among various Fe : Mg, the (0.6 : 1) Fe-Mg MOF showed the highest catalytic activity and acidity. Even after the 4th run, the Fe-Mg MOF catalyst still maintained nearly the initial catalytic activity. The adsorption performance of Mg-MOF, Fe-MOF and Fe-Mg MOF was evaluated by batch experiments. The effect of contact time, the solution pH, the adsorbent dose and the initial concentration of the heavy metal ions was discussed. It was found that the capacity of the bimetallic Fe-Mg MOF for Pb(ii), Cu(ii) and Cd(ii) adsorption was higher than that of the Mg-MOF and Fe-MOF, the kinetic data followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the isothermal data obeyed the Langmuir isotherm model. The mechanism of the removal of the heavy metal ions was discussed.

A lysosome-targeting nanosensor for simultaneous fluorometric imaging of intracellular pH values and temperature.

Lysosomal pH and temperature are two crucial physiological parameters that are involved in regulating intracellular homeostasis, and their precise measurements are extremely important in understanding this process and diseases diagnosis. A lysosome-targeting nanosensor has been designed for simultaneous imaging of pH values and temperature in HeLa cells. Three dyes were covalently immobilized either inside or on silica nanoparticles. The nanosensors have an average diameter of 95 nm. The large surface area of these nanomaterials provides abundant sites for multi-functionality. The surface of nanosensors has been modified with positively-charged amino groups in order to facilitate endocytosis and targeting lysosome. Fluorescein is used as the indicator probe for pH measurement, rhodamine B is the probe for temperature, and a europium complex acts as the reference dye. The dual nanosensor responds to pH values in the range from 3.0 to 9.0, and to temperature in the range from 20 to 60 °C. Owing to its good biocompatibility and good sensitivity, the dual nanosensor has been used to monitor changes in local pH values and temperature in the lysosome of HeLa cells. Graphical abstract A dual nanosensor for simultaneously imaging of pH values and temperature inside the lysosome of HeLa cells was constructed by labelling three luminophores in/on silica nanoparticles. It shows high sensitivity and selectivity, good photostability, and good biocompatibility.

Microwave assisted modification of cellulose by gallic acid and its application for removal of aluminium from real samples.

Microwave assisted preparation of cellulose modified with gallic acid (MA-Cell-GA) was developed for high efficient adsorption of Al3+. The as-prepared modified cellulose has been characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and zeta potential measurements. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrum was utilized to proof the adsorption of Al3+. The effect of various experimental factors, as pH, amount of adsorbent, shaking time, initial metal ion concentration, temperature, concomitant ions and desorption conditions on the extraction efficiency was investigated and optimized in batch mode experiments. The adsorption capacity and the surface area of MA-Cell-GA were 59.6mgg-1 and 160m2g-1, respectively which were significantly higher than those of the sorbent obtained via traditional reflux procedure. The thermodynamic factors (ΔH° and ΔG°) values for adsorption of Al3+ on MW-Cell-GA confirmed the non-spontaneousity and exothermic character of the adsorption process. It was indicated that the prepared adsorbent can be regenerated easily using EDTA. The procedure was successfully applied for the preconcentration of Al3+ in water, rocks, blood and soil samples prior to the determination using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).

Ion-imprinted modified chitosan resin for selective removal of Pd(II) ions.

In this work, a selective Pd(II) ions chelating resin based on 2-aminobenzaldehyde modified chitosan Schiff's base (Pd-CAZ) was synthesized through ion-imprinting technique. All the performed chemical and morphological changes during the modification and Pd(II) ion-imprinting process were investigated using instrumental techniques including FTIR, (1)H NMR, XRD and SEM. In addition, the mechanism of Pd(II) binding to the synthesized polymeric active sites was elucidated using both XPS and FTIR spectra, and the results indicated that Pd(II) ions coordinated in square planar geometry. Also, the selective extraction experiments with respect to Pd-CAZ and control non-imprinted NI-CAZ resins were performed to obtain the fundamental thermodynamic, kinetic and isotherm parameters. In all cases the adsorption was endothermic, spontaneous, fit well with pseudo-second order kinetic model and Langmuir adsorption isotherm model with maximum adsorption capacities of 275±0.4 and 114±0.2 mg/g for Pd-CAZ and NI-CAZ, respectively. Moreover, the regeneration and recovery experiments indicated that the resin maintain about 96% of its original activity after the fifth adsorption-desorption cycle, revealing the high economic value.

Removal and separation of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions using nano-silver chitosan/polyacrylamide membranes.

In the present study, adsorption of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions was evaluated using new thin adsorptive membranes modified with silver nanoparticles. Membranes were prepared from chitosan/polyacrylamide polymer blend. The variation of adsorption process was investigated in batch sorption mode. Infrared absorption spectra were applied for chemical characterization of the prepared polymer blend. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that addition of polyacrylamide to chitosan increased its thermal stability. The kinetics and thermodynamic parameters of Cu(II) ions adsorption onto the membranes were studied by removal experiments of Cu(II) ions from standard aqueous solutions. The kinetic data fitted to the traditional Lagergren adsorption kinetic equations. Thermodynamic studies indicated endothermic (ΔH°> 0) and spontaneous (ΔG°< 0) adsorption together with entropy generation (ΔS°> 0) at the solid/liquid interface process. Regeneration experiments showed that the newly prepared membranes could be reconditioned without significant loss of its initial properties even after three adsorption-desorption cycles. The results suggest that the prepared composite membranes can be efficiently applied for the adsorptive removal of Cu(II) ions from natural water samples. Antimicrobial activity was tested against two gram negatives, two gram positives and Candida sp. microbes and they showed a remarkable bioactivity indicating the capability of applying such membranes for a dual action.

Adsorption of Cr(VI) and As(V) ions by modified magnetic chitosan chelating resin.

Cross-linked magnetic chitosan anthranilic acid glutaraldehyde Schiff's base (CAGS) was prepared for adsorption of both As(V) and Cr(VI) ions and their determination by ICP-OES. Prepared cross-linked magnetic CAGS was investigated by means of SEM, FTIR, wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXRD) and TGA analysis. The adsorption properties of cross-linked magnetic CAGS resin toward both As(V) and Cr(VI) were evaluated. Various factors affecting the uptake behavior such as pH, temperature, contact time, initial concentration of metal ions, effect of other ions and desorption were studied. The equilibrium was achieved after about 110 min and 120 min for As(V) and Cr(VI), respectively at pH=2. The adsorption kinetics followed the mechanism of the pseudo-second order equation for all systems studied, evidencing chemical sorption as the rate-limiting step of adsorption mechanism and not involving a mass transfer in solution. The equilibrium data were analyzed using the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Tempkin isotherm models. The best interpretation for the equilibrium data was given by Langmuir isotherm, and the maximum adsorption capacities were 58.48 and 62.42 mg/g for both Cr(VI) and As(V), respectively. Cross-linked magnetic CAGS displayed higher adsorption capacity for Cr(VI). The adsorption capacity of the metal ions increased with increasing temperature under optimum conditions in case of Cr(VI), but decreased in case of As(V). The metal ion-loaded cross-linked magnetic CAGS were regenerated with an efficiency of greater than 88% using 0.2M sodium hydroxide (NaOH).