Temperature-dependent in-situ Raman spectroscopy is used to investigate the phase transformation of zinc metastannate (ZnSnO 3 ) to zinc orthostannate (Zn 2 SnO 4 ) induced upon annealing in the ambient. ZnSnO 3 microcubes (MCs) were synthesized at room temperature using a simple aqueous synthesis process, followed by characterization using electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Annealing of the ZnSnO 3 MCs was carried out up to 1000°C, while recording the Raman spectra in-situ at regular intervals. Phase transformation from metastannate to orthostannate was found to begin around 500°C with an activation energy of~0.965 eV followed by the recrystallization into the inverse spinel orthostannate phase at~750°C. Results from this study provide detailed understanding of the phase transformation behavior of perovskite ZnSnO 3 to inverse spinel Zn 2 SnO 4 upon thermal annealing.
Composite poly(ether
sulfone) membranes integrated with ZnO nanostructures
either directly blended or grown in situ have enhanced antibacterial
activity with improved functionality in reducing the biofouling in
water treatment applications. The pore structure and surface properties
of the composite were studied to investigate the effect of the addition
of ZnO nanostructures. The hydrophilicity of the blended membranes
increased with a higher content of ZnO nanoparticles in the membrane
(2–6%), which could be further controlled by varying the growth
conditions of ZnO nanorods on the polymer surface. Improved water
flux, bovine serum albumin rejection, and inhibition of Escherichia coli bacterial growth under visible light
irradiation was observed for the membranes decorated with ZnO nanorods
compared to those in the membranes simply blended with ZnO nanoparticles.
No regrowth of E. coli was recorded
even 2 days after the incubation.
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