Metal oxide-Carbon composites have been developed tailoring towards specific functionalities for removing pollutants from contaminated environmental systems. In this study, we synthesized a novel CaO-MgO hybrid carbon composite for removal of phosphate and humate by co-pyrolysis of dolomite and sawdust at various temperatures. Increasing of pyrolysis temperature to 900 °C generated a composite rich in carbon, CaO and MgO particles. Phosphate and humate can be removed efficiently by the synthesized composite with the initial solution in the range of pH 3.0-11.0. The phosphate adsorption was best fitted by pseudo-second-order kinetic model, while the humate adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order and the intra-particle diffusion kinetic models. The maximum adsorption capabilities quantified by the Langmuir isotherm model were up to 207 mg phosphorus (or 621 mg phosphate) and 469 mg humate per one-gram composite used, respectively. Characterization of composites after adsorption revealed the contributions of phosphate crystal deposition and electrostatic attraction on the phosphate uptake and involvement of π - π interaction in the humate adsorption. The prepared composite has great potential for recovering phosphorus from wastewater, and the phosphate sorbed composite can be employed as a promising phosphorus slow-releasing fertilizer for improving plant growth.
The reactions of different silver(I) reagents AgX (X(-) =iodide, trifluoroacetate, triflate) with selenoethers R2 Se (R=Me, tBu) in a variety of solvents were investigated in relation with their use as precursors for Ag2 Se nanomaterials. Different reaction conditions led to different reactivities and afforded either molecular complexes or metal selenide nanoparticles. The reactions leading to in situ formation of the metal selenide nanoparticles were then extended in the presence of commercial TiO2 (P25) to prepare silver selenide-titania nanocomposites with different Ag/Ti ratios. These nanocomposites, well characterized by elemental analysis (Ag, Se), PXRD, TEM, BET, XPS and UV/Vis studies, were investigated as photocatalysts for the degradation of formic acid (FA) solution. The xAg2 Se-TiO2 nanocomposites (x=0.01, 0.13 and 0.25 mol %) exhibited a much higher catalytic activity as compared to P25, which is an established benchmark for the photocatalysis under UV light, and retained a good photocatalytic stability after recycling for several times.
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