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The visible light driven water oxidation reaction (WOR) by the organic electron acceptor 2,3,5,6-Tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyano-quinodimethane (TCNQF4) was studied at the water|butyronitrile interface. The WOR was performed at neutral pH, and without...

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The plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) technique was used to prepare photocatalytic S-TiO coatings on Ti sheets; the incorporation of the S ions was possible from the electrolyte for modifying the structural and optics characteristics of the material. In this work, substrates of Ti (ASME SB-265 of 20 × 20 × 1 mm) were used in a PEO process in 10 min, using constant voltage pulses of 340 V with frequency of 1 kHz and duty cycles of 10% and of 30%. Solutions with HSO (0.1 M) and CHNS (52 and 79 mM) were used as electrolytes. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were utilized to analyze the surface morphology, crystalline phase, and chemical composition of the samples. According to the results, the catalyst coatings had microporous structure and contained anatase-rutile TiO nanocrystalline mixture, until 73.2% rutile and 26.8% anatase in the samples grown with 30% duty cycle and the lowest concentration of CHNS. From the EDS measurements, the incorporation of sulfur ions to the coatings was 0.08 wt%. 99.5% reduction efficiency of Cr(VI)-EDTA with sunlight was observed after 2 h; it was determined by diphenyl carbazide spectrophotometric method. These coatings have potential for effective sunlight heterogeneous photoreduction of this toxic, cumulative, and non-biodegradable heavy metal that contaminates the soil and water and is a serious risk to sustainability, ecosystems, and human health.

Surface modification of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) has been reported to play a significant role in determining their interactions with cell membranes. In this research, the interactions between polymer functionalized (chitosan, CHI or diethylamino-ethyl dextran, DEAE-D) Fe3O4 MNPs, pharmaceutical drugs and model cell membranes were investigated by Langmuir isotherms and adsorption measurements. In this study, 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate (DSPA) phospholipid monolayers were used as cell membrane models. Insertion experiments demonstrate that diclofenac (DCFN) is not absorbed at the air–water interface, whereas triflupromazine (TFPZ) has a MIP (maximum insertion pressure) of 35 m Nm−1. The insertion of composites MNPs:TFPZ or DCFN has larger MIP values, indicating that the MNPs are adsorbed on the monolayer with the drugs. An Fe3O4@CHI:DCFN composite presented an MIP of 39 m Nm−1 and Fe3O4@DEAE-D:DCFN presented an impressive MIP of 67 mNm−1. In the case of TFPZ, the enhancement in the MIP values is also evident, being 42 mNm−1 for Fe3O4@CHI:TFPZ and 40 mNm−1 for Fe3O4@DEAE-D:DCFN composite. All MNPs:drugs composites have MIP values greater than commonly accepted membrane pressure values, indicating that MNPs:drugs can penetrate a cellular membrane. The fact that the composite MNPs:drugs present greater MIP values than separated compounds indicates that polymer-coated MNPs can act as good drug delivery systems.

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