ABSTRACT
The massive and careless use of glyphosate (GLY) in agricultural production raises many questions regarding environmental pollution and health risks, it is then important to develop simple methods to detect it. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is an effective analytical tool for characterizing properties at the electrode/electrolyte interface. It is useful as an analytical procedure, but it can also help in the interpretation of the involved fundamental electrochemical and electronic processes. In this study, the impedance data obtained experimentally for a microsensor based on molecularly imprinted chitosan graft on 4-aminophenylacetic acid for the detection of glyphosate was analyzed using an exact mathematical model based on physical theories. The procedure for modeling experimental responses is well explained. The analysis of the observed impedance response leads to estimations of the microscopic parameters linked to the faradic and capacitive current. The interaction of glyphosate molecules with the imprinted sites of the CS-MIPs film is observed in the high frequency range. The relative variation of the charge transfer resistance is proportional to the log of the concentration of glyphosate. The capacitance decreases as the concentration of glyphosate increases, which is explained by the discharging of the charged imprinted sites when the glyphosate molecule interacts with the imprinted sites through electrostatic interactions. The phenomenon of adsorption of the ions in the CMA film is observed in the low frequency range, this phenomenon being balanced by the electrostatic interaction of glyphosate with the imprinted sites in the CS-MIPs film.
ABSTRACT
A novel electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) microsensor was implemented for the dosage of traces of glyphosate, in real and synthetic water samples. Molecularly imprinted chitosan was covalently immobilized on the surface of the microelectrode previously modified with 4-aminophenylacetic acid (CMA). The characterization of the resulting microelectrodes was carried out by using cyclic voltammetry measurement (CV), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrochemical impedance spectrometry (EIS). EIS responses of the CS-MIPs/CMA/Au microsensor toward GLY was well-proportional to the concentration in the range from 0.31 × 10-9 to 50 × 10-6 mg/mL indicating a good correlation. The detection limit of GLY was 1 fg/mL (S/N = 3). Moreover, this microsensor showed good reproducibility and repeatability, high selectivity, and can be used for the detection of GLY in river water.
ABSTRACT
In this present study, an abundant, available lignocellulosic biomass, sunflower seed shells, SSS, was used as a precursor to prepare an effective eco-adsorbent by treatment with H2SO4. A study of the surface characteristics of raw and acid-treated SSS (ACS) has shown that the addition of H2SO4 greatly affected the physicochemical properties of the obtained eco-adsorbent, improving the BET surface area from 6.106 to 27.145 m2 g-1 and surface oxygen-rich functional groups. Batch experiments were performed to assess the removal efficiency of a phenolic compound, bisphenol A (BPA), on the adsorbents. Several parameters were evaluated and are discussed (contact time, pollutant concentration, adsorbent dosage, and pH), determining that the adsorption efficiency of BPA onto SSS was notably improved, from 20.56% to 87.81% when a sulfuric acid solution was used. Different canonical and stochastic isotherm models were evaluated to predict the experimental behaviour. A dynamic study was performed based on the models of reaction kinetics and those of mass transfer. The results showed that the adsorption kinetics of BPA obey the fractal like-kinetic model of Hill for all experimental conditions. The equilibrium data are well suited to the Hill-Sips isotherm model with a determination coefficient >0.999. The kinetic modelling also indicates that the adsorption processes of BPA onto ACS are exothermic and proceed through a physical mechanism. A mass transfer study, using simplified models, proved that the process is controlled by intraparticle and film resistances to mass transfer of the BPA.
ABSTRACT
The preparation of titanium dioxide (TiO2) supported on a glass plate by heat attachment method is presented. With the use of response surface methodology based on a central composite design we investigated the influence of the experiment parameters of the TiO2 deposition (temperature of calcination (T), time of calcination (ts) and the concentration of TiO2 ((TiO2))) on photocatalytic activity of the semiconductor for the degradation of a model pollutant: methylene blue. The analysis of variance results showed that the selected quadratic model with interaction (R2 = 0.9802) was statistically significant. The experimental results showed that the degradation quantity of methylene blue increased when the ts value increased and T decreased. We have evaluated the photocatalytic activity of this supported catalyst (TiO2-GP) with a laboratory reactor under natural condition; the maximum removal (96.03%) was obtained at ts = 331 min, T = 559 °C and (TiO2) = 2.38 g/l. The method of desirability function was used to obtain the best combination of factor settings for achieving the maximum of degradation quantity ((TiO2) = 2.6 (g/l), T = 600 (°C) and ts = 240 (min)). The additional tests on the catalyst plates confirmed that the deposits keep their catalytic activity for several cycles of use.
