scholarly journals Cost-Effective Production of TiO2 with 90-Fold Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity Via Facile Sequential Calcination and Ball Milling Post-Treatment Strategy

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5072
Author(s):  
Anantha-Iyengar Gopalan ◽  
Jun-Cheol Lee ◽  
Gopalan Saianand ◽  
Kwang-Pill Lee ◽  
Woo-Young Chun ◽  
...  

Titanium dioxide (TiO2), the golden standard among the photocatalysts, exhibits a varying level of photocatalytic activities (PCA) amongst the synthetically prepared and commercially available products. For commercial applications, superior photoactivity and cost-effectiveness are the two main factors to be reckoned with. This study presents the development of simple, cost-effective post-treatment processes for a less costly TiO2 to significantly enhance the PCA to the level of expensive commercial TiO2 having demonstrated superior photoactivities. We have utilized sequential calcination and ball milling (BM) post-treatment processes on a less-costlier KA100 TiO2 and demonstrated multi-fold (nearly 90 times) enhancement in PCA. The post-treated KA100 samples along with reference commercial samples (P25, NP400, and ST01) were well-characterized by appropriate instrumentation and evaluated for the PCA considering acetaldehyde photodegradation as the model reaction. Lattice parameters, phase composition, crystallite size, surface functionalities, titanium, and oxygen electronic environments were evaluated. Among post-treated KA100, the sample that is subjected to sequential 700 °C calcination and BM (KA7-BM) processes exhibited 90-fold PCA enhancement over pristine KA100 and the PCA-like commercial NP400 (pure anatase-based TiO2). Based on our results, we attribute the superior PCA for KA7-BM due to the smaller crystallite size, the co-existence of mixed anatase-srilankite-rutile phases, and the consequent multiphase heterojunction formation, higher surface area, lattice disorder/strain generation, and surface oxygen environment. The present work demonstrates a feasible potential for the developed post-treatment strategy towards commercial prospects.

Catalysts ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofei Liu ◽  
Yanglong Guo ◽  
Wangcheng Zhan ◽  
Tian Jin

The development of scalable hydrogen production technology to produce hydrogen economically and in an environmentally friendly way is particularly important. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a clean, renewable, and potentially cost-effective pathway to produce hydrogen, but it requires the use of a favorable electrocatalyst which can generate hydrogen with minimal overpotential for practical applications. Up to now, ruthenium phosphide Ru2P has been considered as a high-performance electrocatalyst for the HER. However, a tedious post-treatment method as well as large consumption of solvents in conventional solution-based synthesis still limits the scalable production of Ru2P electrocatalysts in practical applications. In this study, we report a facile and cost-effective strategy to controllably synthesize uniform ultrasmall Ru2P nanoparticles embedded in carbon for highly efficient HER. The key to our success lies in the use of a solid-state ball milling-assisted technique, which overcomes the drawbacks of the complicated post-treatment procedure and large solvent consumption compared with solution-based synthesis. The obtained electrocatalyst exhibits excellent Pt-like HER performance with a small overpotential of 36 mV at current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH, providing new opportunities for the fabrication of highly efficient HER electrocatalysts in real-world applications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1299-1303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingying Pan ◽  
Guangrui Chen ◽  
Guoju Yang ◽  
Xiaoxin Chen ◽  
Jihong Yu

A cost-effective post-treatment strategy has been developed to prepare hierarchical SAPO-34 catalysts by triethylamine etching with a hydrothermal recrystallization process.


NANO ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 08 (06) ◽  
pp. 1350059 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARYAM KARBASI ◽  
MEHDI RAZAVI ◽  
MINA AZADI ◽  
LOBAT TAYEBI

In this study, SiC – Al 2 O 3– Al ceramic matrix nanocomposite powder was successfully synthesized employing mechanical alloying technique, through mechanochemical reaction among Silicon dioxide (SiO2), Carbon (C) and Aluminum (Al). For the commercial purposes, the materials ( SiO 2, C and Al powders) and also the method of synthesis (mechanical alloying) is considered to be cost effective for the production of SiC – Al 2 O 3– Al nanocomposite. Addition of alumina ( Al 2 O 3) and aluminum to silicon carbide (SiC) in a nancomposite form can improve the fracture toughness, strength and fatigue crack resistance of SiC and make it a leading material for many commercial applications specially by considering the cost-effective method of production. The structural evaluation of powder particles after different milling times was conducted by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that during ball milling the SiO 2, C and Al reacted with a combustion mode producing SiC – Al 2 O 3– Al nanocomposite after 24 h ball milling and annealing at the temperature of 920°C. The crystallite sizes of phases remained in nanometric scale after annealing at 920°C for 1 h. Based on our investigation, it was revealed that ball milling and annealing process decreases the temperature of reaction between SiO 2 and C from 1500°C to 920°C.


2000 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.F. Sevimli ◽  
A.F. Aydin ◽  
Ì. Öztürk ◽  
H.Z. Sarikaya

The aim of this study is to characterize the wastewater from an opium alkaloid processing plant and to evaluate alternative treatment techniques to upgrade an existing full-scale biological activated sludge treatment plant having problems of high residual COD and unacceptable dark brown color. In this content firstly, long term operational records of the two stage aerobic activated sludge treatment plant of the opium alkaloid factory located in Afyon province of Turkiye were evaluated. The operating results for the last three years were statistically analyzed and median and 95-percentile values were determined for the parameters including chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD and BOD5) and treatment efficiencies. Specific wastewater generation was found as 6.7 m3 per ton of the opium capsule processed. In the following stage of the study, three additional treatment processes were experimentally tested: anaerobic pretreatment, post treatment of aerobically treated effluents with lime and ozone. Pilot scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASBR) experiments have demonstrated that about 70 percent of the incoming COD can be removed anaerobically. Chemical treatability studies with lime for the aerobically treated effluent have shown that about 78 percent color and 46 percent COD removals can be obtained with lime dosage of 25 gl−1. Post treatment of the effluents of the existing two stage aerobic treatment with ozone also resulted in significant color and COD reduction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antimo Graziano ◽  
Shaffiq Jaffer ◽  
Mohini Sain

Blends of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) have always been the subject of intense reasearch for encouraging polymer waste recycling while producing new materials for specific applications in a sustainable way. However, being thermodynamically immiscible, these polyolefins form a binary system usually exhibiting lower performances compared with those of the homopolymers. Many studies have been carried out to better understand the PE/PP blend compatibilization for developing a high-performance and cost-effective product. Both nonreactive and reactive compatibilization promote the brittle to ductile transition for a PE/PP blend. However, the final product usually does not meet the requirements for high demanding commercial applications. Therefore, further PE/PP modification with a reinforcing filler, being either synthetic or natural, proved to be a good method for manufacturing high-performance reinforcend polymer blend composites, with superior and tailored properties. This review summarizes the recent progress in compatibilization techniques applied for enhancing the interfacial adhesion between PE and PP. Moreover, future perspectives on better understanding the influence of themodynamics on PE/PP synergy are discussed to introduce more effective compatibilization strategies, which will allow this blend to be used for innovative industrial applications.


Author(s):  
Malcolm Stein ◽  
Chien-Fan Chen ◽  
Matthew Mullings ◽  
David Jaime ◽  
Audrey Zaleski ◽  
...  

Particle size plays an important role in the electrochemical performance of cathodes for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. High energy planetary ball milling of LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC) cathode materials was investigated as a route to reduce the particle size and improve the electrochemical performance. The effect of ball milling times, milling speeds, and composition on the structure and properties of NMC cathodes was determined. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that ball milling decreased primary particle (crystallite) size by up to 29%, and the crystallite size was correlated with the milling time and milling speed. Using relatively mild milling conditions that provided an intermediate crystallite size, cathodes with higher capacities, improved rate capabilities, and improved capacity retention were obtained within 14 μm-thick electrode configurations. High milling speeds and long milling times not only resulted in smaller crystallite sizes but also lowered electrochemical performance. Beyond reduction in crystallite size, ball milling was found to increase the interfacial charge transfer resistance, lower the electrical conductivity, and produce aggregates that influenced performance. Computations support that electrolyte diffusivity within the cathode and film thickness play a significant role in the electrode performance. This study shows that cathodes with improved performance are obtained through use of mild ball milling conditions and appropriately designed electrodes that optimize the multiple transport phenomena involved in electrochemical charge storage materials.


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