FlatChem最新文献

{"title":"Effect of anionic, cationic and non-ionic surfactants on graphene nanoplatelet enhanced organic phase change material: A comparative thermal performance evaluation","authors":"N.K. Noran ,&nbsp;A.K. Pandey ,&nbsp;Jeyraj Selvaraj ,&nbsp;Norridah Amin ,&nbsp;B. Kalidasan","doi":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100828","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100828","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phase change materials (PCM)s is the predominant substance that facilitates thermal energy storage (TES) in the form of latent heat. PCMs stores and releases thermal energy during phase transition, making it expedient to manage temperature fluctuation in TES systems. However, the application of PCMs in various industrial fields is limited due to their low thermal conductivity and low melting enthalpy. The inclusion of thermally conductive nano-fillers resolves the issue of low thermal conductance of PCMs. However, the effectiveness of nano-fillers inclusion is subjected to uniform dispersion without any agglomeration. Surfactants is required to enhance the overall effectiveness and performance of PCM nano composites by preventing phase separation and preserving the stability of the nano-filler that are dispersed in PCM matrix. RT44HC of organic PCM is selected has the advantage of high melting enthalpy (250 J/g) on the contrary suffers from poor thermal conductivity. Herein, this research investigates the thermal performance of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) nano-filler dispersed in RT44HC with anionic, cationic, and non-ionic surfactants to evaluate their performance in overcoming the issue of agglomeration. In this regard, four surfactants: sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) as an anionic surfactant, cetyl tri-methyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as a cationic surfactant, Tween 60 and gum Arabic as a non-ionic surfactant were investigated at varied weight fractions of 0.5 %, 0.7 %, and 1.0 % equivalent to that of nano-filler. A two-step synthesis with extensive ultrasonication was applied to reach a homogeneous mixture. The result shows that utilising GNP and SDBS surfactant in RT44HC demonstrates 103.33 % increase in thermal conductivity of PCM from 0.210 W/(m·K) to 0.427 W/(m·K). The improvement in thermal conductivity owing to well-developed thermal network channels facilitating thermal conductance. The melting enthalpy of RT44HC does not affect severely as it reduces 3.63 % for the optimum thermal conductivity nanocomposite. Furthermore, UV–Vis results were tremendous, as GNP lowered the light transmittance from 94.19 % to 17.77 %, indicates high absorbance capability. After 500 thermal cycles, the melting enthalpy remains stable within ±7.5 % uncertainty, indicating that the composite is reliable for long-term performance. Research highlights the RT44HC/GNP composite, with surfactant enhancement, as a promising candidate for medium-temperature solar thermal applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":316,"journal":{"name":"FlatChem","volume":"50 ","pages":"Article 100828"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"NIR-II cascade-driven synergistic photodynamic and photothermal cancer therapies via 5-aminolevulinic acid-functionalized titanium carbide hexagonal nanorods","authors":"Wu Yanlin ,&nbsp;Zhang Jingjing ,&nbsp;Abdul Wahab ,&nbsp;Zahoor Ahmad ,&nbsp;Kamran Ali ,&nbsp;Rahman Md Saidur ,&nbsp;M. Zubair Iqbal ,&nbsp;Xiangdong Kong","doi":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100826","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100826","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Photo-stimuli-responsive therapeutic nanomaterials hold significant promise for advancing cancer treatment due to their innovative mechanisms of action. In this study, we present Ti₃C₂ hexagonal nanorods (HNRs) as a versatile platform for combined photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Ti₃C₂ HNRs were synthesized via a two-step process involving aluminum etching from Ti₃AlC₂ and subsequent hydrothermal treatment, yielding high-purity, uniform hexagonal nanorods with an average size of ∼50 nm. Functionalized with 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) and folic acid (FA) to enhance cancer cell targeting and therapeutic efficacy, the Ti₃C₂ HNRs demonstrated dual functionalities. The HNRs solution achieved a temperature of 65.4 °C under 1064 nm laser irradiation (1.5 W/cm², 250 μg/mL), suitable for PTT, compared to 45 °C under 808 nm laser irradiation (300 μg/mL), which was insufficient. Additionally, the Ti₃C₂-5-ALA-FA HNRs generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) under NIR laser irradiation, enabling PDT. This synergistic PTT-PDT approach achieved a 95 % cancer cell death rate, highlighting its potential for future in vivo studies and clinical applications as a transformative cancer therapy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":316,"journal":{"name":"FlatChem","volume":"50 ","pages":"Article 100826"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Preparation, characterization, and in vitro release studies of multifunctional nanoformulations designed by functionalized graphene nanosheets with natural compounds","authors":"Khaled AbouAitah ,&nbsp;Yingjie Bu ,&nbsp;Mukesh Sharma ,&nbsp;Beom Soo Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100824","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100824","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The use of graphene-based nanomaterials in nanomedicine continues to expand, particularly in drug delivery nanoplatforms that provide advantages like multifunctional designs, prolonged release of drugs, cancer targeting, etc. There is a lack of data to develop graphene nanosheets for natural compounds with anticancer properties. To achieve the targeted delivery system's final objective, we prepared two different types of nanosheets: nano-sized graphene (NG) and nanosized graphene oxide (NGO). They were functionalized with PEG-NH₂ and formulated with three natural anticancer compounds: piperine (PIP), artemisinin (ART), and emodin (EMO). Finally, folic acid-conjugated enteric coating (Eudragit S100 polymer) was achieved (ES100-FA). The enteric coating changed the mean size distribution of the two materials by less than 280 nm and all nanoformulations displayed negative zeta potential. The PEG-NH₂ nanosheets demonstrated a high drug loading rate, loading capacity, and entrapment efficiency. Compared to ART nanoformulations (&lt; 24 h), PIP and EMO-nanoformulations showed long-term sustained release throughout 96 h, according to in vitro drug release experiments. The release profiles of PIP, ART, and EMO-based nanoformulations showed a pH-dependent release effect and different release properties. This developed system showed the potential of graphene nanosheets to construct multifunctional nanoplatform and sustain the release of plant-derived natural therapeutic compounds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":316,"journal":{"name":"FlatChem","volume":"50 ","pages":"Article 100824"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Construction of BiOI/Bi2Fe4O9 heterojunction for visible-light-activated antibacterial: Photocatalytic sterilization of one plus one is greater than two","authors":"Song Li ,&nbsp;Jinhua Li ,&nbsp;Zdenek Sofer ,&nbsp;Li Tao ,&nbsp;Huaijuan Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100823","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100823","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Semiconductor photocatalysts with narrow band gaps are usually handicapped in scenarios involving visible-light photocatalytic sterilization due to the rapid recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, sluggish carrier transfer kinetics, and limited reaction active sites. To address these issues, heterojunction engineering was employed to construct heterojunction photocatalyst by coupling two visible-light-activated layered photocatalysts (i.e., an n-type layered BiOI semiconductor and a p-type layered Bi₂Fe₄O₉ semiconductor) for pathogen photoinactivation, aiming at achieving “one plus one is greater than two” photocatalytic antibacterial effect. The bacterial survival rates for single BiOI and Bi₂Fe₄O₉ irradiated under visible light for 60 min were 54.4 % and 55.8 %, respectively. In contrast, the flower-like BiOI/Bi₂Fe₄O₉ heterojunction with optimized component ratio possessed the lowest bacterial survival rate (2.2 %), indicating that the antibacterial activity of the coupled heterojunction photocatalyst is more than twice that of each single component photocatalyst. The instrumental results and density functional theory calculations reveal that the synergistic effect among (i) high sunlight absorption from two visible-light-activated photocatalysts, (ii) high specific surface area from the two layered materials and flower-like nanostructure, and (iii) the formation of the built-in electric field at the interface of BiOI/Bi₂Fe₄O₉ heterojunction contributes to boosting photocatalytic antibacterial performance. Finally, we elucidate the mechanism behind the improved charge separation and transfer kinetics, •O₂⁻ and •OH production, and photocatalytic sterilization activity. This work offers a novel material design concept of “one plus one is greater than two”, which may pave the way for the development of heterojunction photocatalysts for wastewater treatment and purification.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":316,"journal":{"name":"FlatChem","volume":"50 ","pages":"Article 100823"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Achieving synchronously high thermal conductivity and breakdown strength in PVA modulated via multiple ordered liquid crystal domains","authors":"Jingyu Di-wu ,&nbsp;Wenying Zhou ,&nbsp;Yandong Wang ,&nbsp;Fanrong Kong ,&nbsp;Yun Wang ,&nbsp;Siyu Zhao ,&nbsp;Xiaojing Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100813","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100813","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composites with concurrently high thermal conductivity (<em>k</em>) and breakdown strength (<em>E</em>_b) are highly desirable in various industry circle, however, high loading of inorganic fillers necessary for achieving a large <em>k</em> inevitably deteriorates the <em>E</em>_b, optical and mechanical performances of the composites. In this work, two kinds of liquid crystal (LC) organic molecules of 4,4′-bis(6-hydroxyloxy) biphenyl (BHHBP) and 4,4′-dihydroxydiphenyl (DOD), were employed to engineer ordered structure in PVA for simultaneously elevated <em>k</em> and <em>E</em>_b along with good mechanical and optical performances. This paper reveals how to achieve this goal via changing the mesogenic units into ordered domains in PVA via a self-assembly process. The findings indicate that the PVA dispersed with BHHBP and DOD showcase evidently higher <em>k</em> owing to the self-assembled ordered domains, paving highways for phonon transport leading to boosted <em>k</em> compared with neat PVA. Further, these multiple domains not only effectively impede long-distance charge migration, but also induce traps to capture charge carriers subsequently resulting in enhanced <em>E</em>_b. Therefore, the high <em>k</em> and <em>E</em>_b coupled with good mechanical flexibility and transparency, are concurrently achieved in PVA via inducing ordered LC domains and regulating their spatial dispersion in host matrix, which cannot be accomplished in traditional PVA composites. The developed PVA films with BHHBP domains present the synchronously high <em>k</em> (0.53 W/(m·K)) and <em>E</em>_b (95.3 kV/mm), low dielectric permittivity (3.0, 10³ Hz) and loss (0.035), along with good mechanical and optical performances, demonstrating promising potential utilizations in high frequency electronics and high-voltage power systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":316,"journal":{"name":"FlatChem","volume":"50 ","pages":"Article 100813"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A critical review on vacuum and atmospheric microwave plasma-based graphene synthesis","authors":"Rosemary Johnson ,&nbsp;Muhammad Adeel Zafar ,&nbsp;Sabu Thomas ,&nbsp;Mohan V Jacob","doi":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100812","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100812","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanotechnology has brought about a paradigm shift in material science, opening a wide range of potential applications in daily uses. Graphene is one of the most important nanomaterials that have applications in electronics, optoelectronics, energy storage, health care and aerospace industries due to its unique and remarkable properties. However, the synthesis of graphene since its discovery has encountered numerous struggles and each method has its advantages and shortcomings. Plasma-based synthesis of graphene, utilising various sources such as radiofrequency (RF) plasma, direct current (DC) plasma, and microwave (MW) plasma, stands out as a promising method due to its controllability, flexibility, and scalability. Among these, microwave plasma-based synthesis is gaining rapid popularity. This method, applicable under both vacuum and atmospheric pressure conditions, offers numerous advantages over other techniques, further enhancing its appeal in the field of graphene production. However, a comprehensive assessment of these methods in terms of equipment, process parameters and their effects on graphene production and quality has not been reported. Therefore, this literature presents a clear comparison of these methods along with the future outlook.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":316,"journal":{"name":"FlatChem","volume":"50 ","pages":"Article 100812"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficient electrochemical synthesis of 2H-MoS2/S-Doped graphene oxide composites for Binder-Free High-Performance supercapacitor electrodes","authors":"Ayse V. Hacinecipoglu,&nbsp;Metin Gencten","doi":"10.1016/j.flatc.2024.100800","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flatc.2024.100800","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The objective of this research is to examine the synthesis and characterization of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) and sulphur-doped graphene oxide (S-GO) composites as potential materials for advanced supercapacitors. The study reports the first use of 2H-MoS₂@SG-based materials, synthesized via an electrochemical method at room temperature, as binder-free electrode materials in supercapacitors. The synthesis of 2H-MoS₂ involved cyclic voltammetry (CV), while sulfur-doped graphene oxide (SGO) was synthesized using chronoamperometry (CA). The materials were comprehensively characterized using various techniques, including Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD), to gain insights into their chemical structure. The surface morphology of the composites was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Additionally, the capacitive behavior changes over numerous cycles were evaluated through cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and cyclic charge/discharge tests. The highest specific capacitance achieved was 532.8 mF cm⁻² at 10 mA cm⁻² (266.4F/g at 0.5 A g⁻¹ current density) with the 2H-MoS₂@SG electrode and 247.4 mF cm⁻² at 10 mA cm⁻² (190.31F/g at 0.5 A g⁻¹ current density) with the SG10 electrode. These values were measured at charge–discharge current rates of 10 mAcm⁻² in a 1.0 M H₂SO₄ electrolyte. Moreover, the capacitive behavior of this electrode was tested over 5000 cycles, showing a capacitance retention of more than 99.2 % at the end of the 5000 cycles. 2H-MoS₂@SG electrodes shows a high coulombic efficiency of 100 % over 5000 cycles at 0.5 A g⁻¹.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":316,"journal":{"name":"FlatChem","volume":"49 ","pages":"Article 100800"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143182918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lateral growth of WSe2 monolayer film in a confined reaction environment via an Au vapor-assisted CVD: A systematic and comparative study with a NaCl-assisted CVD","authors":"Muhammet Ayhan Işık ,&nbsp;Kardelen Çelik ,&nbsp;Mehtap Aygün Çağlar ,&nbsp;Güven Turgut","doi":"10.1016/j.flatc.2024.100796","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flatc.2024.100796","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Two-dimensional (2D) monolayer tungsten diselenide (WSe₂) is of great interest in optoelectronic and photo(electro)catalytic applications due to its direct optical band gap characteristic which is highly dependent on the number of layers. Achieving uniform, high-purity, large-area monolayer WSe₂ with the traditional salt-assisted chemical vapor deposition method (CVD) remains challenging due to the issues controlling the growth mechanisms and number of layers. Recent studies have demonstrated that metal vapor-assisted CVD can achieve uniform development of large-scale WSe₂ monolayers. It is critical to comprehensively examine the influence of metal vapor-assisted CVD parameters on lateral WSe₂ growth relative to salt-assisted CVD and to analyze the underlying mechanisms. Here, we carried out a systematic and comparable study assessing the effect of several CVD parameters on lateral WSe₂ monolayer growth in the presence of a NaCl and an Au vapor catalyst, respectively. Detailed characterization of the grown WSe₂ materials confirmed that using only a gold vapor catalyst in a confined micro-reactor space of sapphires allows for the ultrafast growth of highly crystalline, uniform, and sub-centimeter-sized monolayer WSe₂ films without any residual ions, which can be scalable for reliable high-performance device fabrication and photocatalytic applications. Moreover, we observed that in-situ etching could occur on the film by the increased reaction time. Overall, this study paves the way for future research on fabricating large-area monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides and reaction mechanisms using gold or other metal vapor-assisted CVD in a confined reaction environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":316,"journal":{"name":"FlatChem","volume":"49 ","pages":"Article 100796"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143182862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving the thermoelectric performance of the SnS monolayer by Na doping: A theoretical study","authors":"Q.H. Liu ,&nbsp;H.L. Shi ,&nbsp;Q.Z. Han ,&nbsp;J. Yang ,&nbsp;Y.H. Ren ,&nbsp;Y.H. Zhao ,&nbsp;L.J. Gong ,&nbsp;H. Yang ,&nbsp;Z.T. Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.flatc.2024.100779","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flatc.2024.100779","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aiming at exploring new thermoelectric (TE) materials of high performance, we theoretically calculate the TE transport properties including the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductance, thermal conductance, power factor, and figure of merit <span><math><mrow><mi>Z</mi><mi>T</mi></mrow></math></span> of the SnS monolayer. Different from the heavy-metal doping, the economical and environment-friendly Na doping is adopted to improve the <span><math><mrow><mi>Z</mi><mi>T</mi></mrow></math></span> of the monolayer SnS. It is shown that the Na doping can increase the maximum <span><math><mrow><mi>Z</mi><mi>T</mi></mrow></math></span> along the armchair and zigzag directions, respectively, and the highest <span><math><mrow><mi>Z</mi><mi>T</mi></mrow></math></span> peak is moved to the proximity of chemical potential <span><math><mrow><mi>μ</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0</mn><mspace></mspace><mi>eV</mi></mrow></math></span>, which indicates that the corresponding TE device can work at a low bias voltage. As the temperature increases from 300 K to 800 K, the maximum <span><math><mrow><mi>Z</mi><mi>T</mi></mrow></math></span> of the pristine SnS monolayer is increased from 0.89 to 2.26 (from 1.33 to 2.89) along the armchair (zigzag) direction, and the maximum <span><math><mrow><mi>Z</mi><mi>T</mi></mrow></math></span> of the Na-doped one is increased from 1.24 to 2.45 (from 1.44 to 2.86) along the armchair (zigzag) direction. This implies that the Na-doped SnS monolayer can be utilized to design promising TE devices working in a broad temperature scope and at a lower bias voltage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":316,"journal":{"name":"FlatChem","volume":"49 ","pages":"Article 100779"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143182942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A full carbon-based thermoplastic photocatalyst for organic pollutants abatement: An experimental and computational study","authors":"Lidia Mezzina ,&nbsp;Angelo Nicosia ,&nbsp;Vincenzo Patamia ,&nbsp;Antonio Rescifina ,&nbsp;Luisa D’Urso ,&nbsp;Vincenzo Paratore ,&nbsp;Placido Giuseppe Mineo","doi":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100809","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flatc.2025.100809","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Remediating water pollution utilizing inorganic semiconductor photocatalysts represents the prevailing standard for sustainable depollution. However, the applicability of this method is impeded in underground environments, low Earth orbit outposts, and future lunar bases due to the scarcity of essential materials and the logistical challenges associated with supply provision. Within this framework, developing photocatalytic systems utilizing on-site accessible resources or repurposing plastic or bio-waste materials is deemed more advantageous. In particular, a hybrid fully carbon-based material incorporating a bio-derived chromophore may leverage the electronic interactions between the carbon moiety and the chromophore antenna to induce photocatalytic processes. In the present study, a porphyrin-reduced graphene oxide photocatalytic system was developed through a one-pot synthesis method, allowing the simultaneous covalent attachment of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(<em>p</em>-hydroxyphenyl)-porphyrin to the graphene oxide platform while concurrently reducing the latter. To prevent the dispersion and self-aggregation of the powder during water depollution treatments, the carbon-based photocatalyst was further integrated into polyvinyl acetate using an <em>in-situ</em> polymerization approach, producing various nanocomposites with different weight percentages of photocatalyst loads. The obtained products were characterized by infrared, Raman, absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies, electrochemical analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. Photocatalytic tests, performed with both solar simulating and visible light (&gt;400 nm), showed that the nanocomposites could act efficiently as sequestering agents and photocatalysts for organic pollutants. Finally, computational studies were performed to verify the spectroscopic features of the system and elucidate its photocatalytic mechanism. These studies demonstrated that the constructed photocatalytic system induced a planarization of the porphyrin structure, significantly enhancing its photocatalytic performance by increased light absorption, more efficient charge separation, and greater structural stability, collectively contributing to more robust and efficient catalytic cycles in the observed photocatalytic process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":316,"journal":{"name":"FlatChem","volume":"49 ","pages":"Article 100809"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143182863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}