Decoration of titania nanofibres with anatase nanoparticles as efficient photocatalysts for decomposing pesticides and phenols.

Using a series of partial phase transitions, an effective photocatalyst with fibril morphology was prepared. The catalytic activities of these materials were tested against phenol and herbicide in water. Both H-titanate and TiO(2)-(B) fibres decorated with anatase nanocrystals were studied. It was found that anatase coated TiO(2)-(B) fibres prepared by a 45 h hydrothermal treatment followed by calcination were not only superior photocatalysts but could also be readily separated from the slurry after photocatalytic reactions due to its fibril morphology.

Surface modification of alumina nanofibres for the selective adsorption of alachlor and imazaquin herbicides.

The effective removal of pollutants using a thermally and chemically stable substrate that has controllable absorption properties is a goal of water treatment. In this study, the surfaces of thin alumina (γ-Al(2)O(3)) nanofibres were modified by the grafting either of two organosilane agents, 3-chloro-propyl-triethoxysilane (CPTES) and octyl-triethoxysilane (OTES). These modified materials were then trialed as absorbents for the removal of two herbicides, alachlor and imazaquin from water. The formation of organic groups during the functionalisation process established super hydrophobic sites on the surfaces of the nanofibres. This super hydrophobic group is a kind of protruding adsorption site which facilitates the intimate contact with the pollutants. OTES grafted substrate were shown to be more selective for alachlor while imazaquin selectivity is shown by the CPTES grafted substrate. Kinetics studies revealed that imazaquin was rapidly adsorbed on CPTES-modified surfaces. However, the adsorption of alachlor by OTES grafted surface was achieved more slowly.

Sodium niobate adsorbents doped with tantalum (TaV) for the removal of bivalent radioactive ions in waste waters.

Sodium niobates doped with different amounts of tantalum (Ta(V)) were prepared via a thermal reaction process. It was found that pure nanofibrils and bar like solids can be obtained when tantalum is introduced into the reaction system. For the well crystallized fibril solids, the Na(+) ions are difficult to exchange, and the radioactive ions such as Sr(2+) and Ra(2+) just deposit on the surface of the fibers during the sorption process, resulting in lower sorption capacity and distribution coefficients (K(d)). However, the bar like solids are poorly crystallized and have many exchangeable Na(+) ions. They are able to remove highly hazardous bivalent radioactive isotopes such as Sr(2+) and Ra(2+) ions. Even in the presence of many Na(+) ions, they also have higher K(d). More importantly, such sorption finally intelligently triggers considerable collapse of the structure, resulting in permanent entrapment of the toxic bivalent cations in the solids, so that they can be safely disposed of. This study highlights new opportunities for the preparation of Nb-based adsorbents to efficiently remove toxic radioactive ions from contaminated water.

Alumina nanofibers grafted with functional groups: a new design in efficient sorbents for removal of toxic contaminants from water.

A new design in efficient sorbents for the removal of trace pollutants from water was proposed: grafting the external surface of gamma-alumina (gamma-Al(2)O(3)) nanofibers with functional groups that have a strong affinity to the contaminants. This new grafting strategy greatly improves the accessibility of these sorption sites to adsorbates and thus efficiency of the fibrous sorbents. The product sorbents could capture the pollutants selectively even when the concentration of the contaminants is extremely low. Two types of gamma-Al(2)O(3) nanofibers with different size were prepared via facile hydrothermal methods. Thiol groups were then grafted on the gamma-Al(2)O(3) fibers by refluxing the toluene solution of 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS). The thiol group modified fibers not only can efficiently remove heavy metal ions (Pb(2+) and Cd(2+)) from water at a high flux, but also display high sorption capacity under sorption equilibrium conditions. Similar result was obtained from the nanofibers grafted with octyl groups which are employed to selectively adsorb highly diluted hydrophobic 4-nonylphenol molecules from water. This study demonstrates that grafting nanofibers is a new and effective strategy for developing efficient sorbents.

MCM-48-like large mesoporous silicas with tailored pore structure: facile synthesis domain in a ternary triblock copolymer-butanol-water system.

Assembly of mesostructured silica using Pluronic P123 triblock copolymer (EO(20)-PO(70)-EO(20)) and n-butanol mixture is a facile synthesis route to the MCM-48-like ordered large mesoporous silicas with the cubic Iad mesostructure. The cubic phase domain is remarkably extended by controlling the amounts of butanol and silica source correspondingly. The extended phase domain allows synthesis of the mesoporous silicas with various structural characteristics. Characterization by powder X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy reveals that the cubic Iad materials possess high specific surface areas, high pore volumes, and readily tunable pore diameters in narrow distribution of sizes ranging from 4 to 12 nm. Moreover, generation of complementary pores between the two chiral channels in the gyroid Iad structure can be controlled systematically depending on synthesis conditions. Carbon replicas, using sucrose as the carbon precursor, are obtained with either the same Iad structure or I4(1)/a (or lower symmetry), depending on the controlled synthesis conditions for silica. Thus, the present discovery of the extended phase domain leads to facile synthesis of the cubic Iad silica with precise structure control, offering vast prospects for future applications of large-pore silica materials with three-dimensional pore interconnectivity.