Zinc oxide hollow spheres decorated with cerium dioxide. The role of morphology in the photoactivity of semiconducting oxides

The photochemical activity of the recently proposed CeO2-ZnO photocatalytic material active under visible light has been improved by means of significant modifications of its morphology. A polymeric templating agent (Pluronic) has been used in the synthesis obtaining a particle morphology based on hollow spheres that is better defined in the case of high template concentration. The charge separation ability and the light-induced surface electron transfer under irradiation with visible polychromatic light in various ranges of frequency has been investigated by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance. The reactivity of the photogenerated holes has been monitored by the spin trapping technique in the presence of DMPO. The hollow spheres morphology achieved through the synthesis here reported leads to systems with a higher photoactivity under visible irradiation than the same system displaying the classic platelets morphology. A parallel increase of the photocatalytic activity of this novel system in pollution remediation reactions is therefore predictable.

Synthesis of Fluorescent Dansyl Derivatives of Methoxyamine and Diphenylhydrazine as Free Radical Precursors

Starting from dansyl-chloride, in reaction with 1,1-diphenylhydrazine and methoxyamine, two new fluorescent derivatives 1 and 2 were obtained and characterized by NMR, IR, UV-Vis, HR-MS, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The single-crystal X-ray structure was obtained for compound 2. Both compounds generate free radicals by oxidation, as demonstrated by ESR spectroscopy. Compound 1 generates the corresponding hydrazyl-persistent free radical, evidenced directly by ESR spectroscopy, while compound 2 generates in the first instance the methoxyaminyl short-lived free radical, which decomposes rapidly with the formation of the methoxy radical, evidenced by the ESR spin-trapping technique. By oxidation of compounds 1 and 2, their fluorescence is quenched.

Photo-Reduction of CO2 by VIS Light on Polythiophene-ZSM-5 Zeolite Hybrid Photo-Catalyst

A new hybrid photo-catalyst based on ZSM-5 zeolite suitable for reduction of carbon dioxide was synthesized. The photo-catalyst was prepared by oxidative polymerization of thiophene with FeCl3 in the presence of ZSM-5 with participation of ultrasound. The synthesized photo-catalyst strongly absorbs light radiation up to approx. 650 nm, with the absorption edge in the NIR region. Reactive radicals were generated by VIS light irradiation in an aqueous suspension consisting of the photo-catalyst with CO2. Formic acid and acetic acid were generated as the main products of the CO2 reduction. EPR spin trapping technique was applied to identify the reactive radical intermediates. In this work, the mechanism of product formation is also discussed.

New insights into the decomposition mechanism of chlorine dioxide at alkaline pH

The mechanism of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) decomposition in an alkaline medium has been investigated. The formation of radicals and chlorinated species was studied in aqueous solutions containing ClO2 and simple model compounds of lignin or cellulose (vanillin, vanillyl alcohol, veratryl alcohol, methylglucoside and cellobiose) at acidic and alkaline pHs. Because hypochlorite (ClO−) is an intermediate occurring in the course of the reaction mechanism, similar experiments were carried out with solutions of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) at alkaline and acidic pHs. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy based on the spin-trapping technique revealed the presence of hydroxyl radicals (HO˙) at alkaline pH with ClO2 alone or with model compounds. At the same pH, only a small amount of HO˙ was detected with ClO−. Chlorite (ClO2−) and chlorate (ClO3−) ions were dosed with iodometric titrations, both during ClO2 alkaline decomposition and during reactions with model compounds. Vanillin and vanillyl alcohol were oxidized by ClO2. The intermediate ClO2− was either inert or reacted with the aldehyde function of vanillin. Cellobiose was attacked only in an alkaline medium, either directly by ClO2 or indirectly by HO˙ radicals. This resulted in the formation of glucose, which was then degraded by ClO2− ions. The generation of HO˙ could be one reason for cellulose degradation by ClO2 at alkaline pH, but possibly not the unique one, as it was not proved in this article, whether or not ClO2 is able to directly attach the OH functions of anhydrosugars at alkaline pH.

Evaluation of Methanol Induced Free Radicals in Mice Liver

Methanol induced oxidative stress (OS) models in mice were successfully established and evaluated by the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin trapping technique. The capacity for removal of reactive oxygen species (ROS) free radicals by rhubarb and vitamin C (Vc) as candidate materials was also investigated. EPR was employed to determine the free radicals generated from a spin trapping agent, α-phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone (PBN), that reacted with the ROS. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) were also evaluated by enzyme assays. The results indicated that methanol clearly promoted the generation of ROS free radicals in the liver of mice. The activity of SOD and GSH-PX was reduced significantly, although the level of MDA was increased as a result of the harmful effect of methanol. In addition, rhubarb and Vc exhibited a protective effect on the mice liver under acute OS.