Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were successfully synthesized using the UV irradiation of aqueous solutions containing AgNO(3) and gelatin as a silver source and stabilizer, respectively. The UV irradiation times influence the particles' diameter of the Ag-NPs, as evidenced from surface plasmon resonance (SPR) bands and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. When the UV irradiation time was increased, the mean size of particles continuously decreased as a result of photoinduced Ag-NPs fragmentation. Based on X-ray diffraction (XRD), the UV-irradiated Ag-NPs were a face-centered cubic (fcc) single crystal without any impurity. This study reveals that the UV irradiation-mediated method is a green chemistry and promising route for the synthesis of stable Ag-NPs for several applications (e.g., medical and surgical devices). The important advantages of this method are that it is cheap, easy, and free of toxic materials.
Tungsten-loaded TiO(2) photocatalyst has been successfully prepared and characterized. TEM analysis showed that the photocatalysts were nanosize with the tungsten species forming layers of coverage on the surface of TiO(2), but not in clustered form. This was confirmed by XRD and FT-Raman analyses where tungsten species were well dispersed at lower loading (<6.5 mol%), but were in crystalline WO(3) at higher loadings (>12 mol%). In addition, loading with tungsten could stabilize the anatase phase from transforming into inactive rutile phase and did not shift the optical absorption to the visible region as shown by DRUV-vis analysis. PZC value of TiO(2) was found at 6.4, but the presence of tungsten at 6.5 mol% WO(3), decreased the PZC value to 3. Tungsten-loaded TiO(2) was superior to unmodified TiO(2) with 2-fold increase in degradation rate of methylene blue, and equally effective for the degradation of different class of dyes such as methyl violet and methyl orange at 1 mol% WO(3) loading.
Sonophotocatalysis involves the use of a combination of ultrasonic sound waves, ultraviolet radiation and a semiconductor photocatalyst to enhance a chemical reaction by the formation of free radicals in aqueous systems. Researchers have used sonophotocatalysis in a variety of investigations i.e. from water decontamination to direct pollutant degradation. This degradation process provides an excellent opportunity to reduce reaction time and the amount of reagents used without the need for extreme physical conditions. Given its advantages, the sonophotocatalysis process has a futuristic application from an engineering and fundamental aspect in commercial applications. A detailed search of published reports was done and analyzed in this paper with respect to sonication, photocatalysis and advanced oxidation processes.