Modification of Sugar Cane Bagasse with CTAB and ZnO for Methyl Orange and Methylene Blue Removal.

Sugar cane bagasse (SB) was modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), followed by impregnation with zinc oxide (ZnO) to create a synergistic adsorption and photocatalytic system for methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) removal. The presence of CTAB and ZnO was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, and energy dispersive X-ray (for Zn and O). Modification of SB with CTAB (CSB) generated more positive sites on the surface of SB, which enhanced MO removal compared with that of pristine SB. ZnO impregnation induces a decrease in MO removal due to the ZnO presence on the CSB surface, which might reduce the positive sites on the CSB. In addition, the positive sites on CSB can interact with Zn2+ and O2- to form ZnO and lead to a decrease in MO removal. In contrast, the presence of ZnO facilitated good removal of MB compared to CSB, indicating that the photocatalytic process plays a greater role in removing MB. However, the addition of H2O2 can improve MO and MB removal under irradiation due to the formation of external •OH. The photocatalytic performance of MO and MB was also observed to be favored under acidic and alkaline conditions, respectively.

Rapid analysis to distinguish porcine and bovine gelatin using PANI/NiO nanoparticles modified Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensor.

Rapid analysis to distinguish porcine and bovine gelatin using a modified Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensor has been studied. The PANI was deposited on the sensor surface using electropolymerization, and then nickel nanoparticles were deposited by layer by layer (LbL) technique. The modified QCM sensor's performance was compared to an unmodified sensor in porcine and bovine gelatin at neutral, acidic, and alkaline conditions. The result shows that the unmodified sensor cannot distinguish between porcine and bovine gelatin, whereas the modified QCM sensor produces a different response. Porcine gelatin shows an increasing frequency response, but in contrast, bovine gelatin decreases frequency response at the alkaline condition. The time response was 2 min with a detection limit of 51.2 ppm and 8.7 ppm for porcine and bovine gelatin, respectively. Further investigation shows that the modified sensor can analyze porcine gelatin contamination in the a mixed gelatin sample.