A Low-Cost Digital Colorimetry Setup to Investigate the Relationship between Water Color and Its Chemical Composition.

Developments in digital image acquisition technologies and citizen science lead to more water color observations and broader public participation in environmental monitoring. However, the implications of the use of these simple water color indices for water quality assessment have not yet been fully evaluated. In this paper, we build a low-cost digital camera colorimetry setup to investigate quantitative relationships between water color indices and concentrations of optically active constituents (OACs). As proxies for colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and phytoplankton, humic acid and algae pigments were used to investigate the relationship between water chromaticity and concentration. We found that the concentration fits an ascending relationship with xy chromaticity values and a descending relationship with hue angle. Our investigations permitted us to increase the information content of simple water color observations, by relating them to chemical constituent concentrations in observed waters.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Reaction at Air-Liquid-Solid Joint Interfaces.

Semiconductor photocatalysis has long been considered as a promising approach for water pollution remediation. However, limited by the recombination of electrons and holes, low kinetics of photocatalysts and slow reaction rate impede large-scale applications. Herein, we addressed this limitation by developing a triphase photocatalytic system in which a photocatalytic reaction is carried out at air-liquid-solid joint interfaces. Such a triphase system allows the rapid delivery of oxygen, a natural electron scavenger, from air to the reaction interface. This enables the efficient removal of photogenerated electrons from the photocatalyst surface and minimization of electron-hole recombination even at high light intensities, thereby resulting in an approximate 10-fold enhancement in the photocatalytic reaction rate as compared to a conventional liquid/solid diphase system. The triphase system appears an enabling platform for understanding and maximizing photocatalyst kinetics, aiding in the application of semiconductor photocatalysis.

A room temperature approach for the fabrication of aligned TiO2 nanotube arrays on transparent conductive substrates.

A novel solution approach is reported for the fabrication of TiO2 nanotube arrays on transparent conductive substrates via in situ conversion from nanowires. The as-prepared nanotube arrays not only demonstrate a larger surface area in comparison with the primary NWs, but also longer charge carrier lifetime than that of randomly packed nanoparticle films.