An efficient electrochemical degradation of toxic pollutants in wastewater using BiOBr/BiVO4 hierarchical structured electrode material

3D Pt@ZnAl-LDH catalyst on low-grade charcoal: A novel electrochemical platform for efficient textile dye degradation and glycerol oxidation

The development of sustainable and efficient electrochemical processes is crucial for addressing global challenges related to water scarcity. In this study, we present a novel 3D core-shell electrocatalyst, Pt@ZnAl-LDH, supported on low-grade charcoal (LGC), which exhibits exceptional electrocatalytic activity for the degradation and decolorization of dye and the electrocatalytic conversion of glycerol to valuable C3 chemicals. The electrocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye from water was investigated with a focus on the impact of temperature, pH, and dye concentration. The Pt@ZnAl-LDH/LGC anode demonstrates high selectivity for converting glucose into lactate and other C3 products, achieving an impressive 85% conversion rate at 0.5 V vs. Furthermore, the electrode achieves an exceptionally high level of selectivity for C3 products, reaching 86% at 2.2 V vs, significantly outperforming other electrodes. Theoretical calculations and electrochemical in situ techniques reveal that the incorporation of ZnAl-LDH enhances the adsorption of hydroxyl species, leading to improved glucose oxidation reaction performance. The 3D Pt@ZnAl-LDH/LGC catalyst optimizes glycerol adsorption, preventing the formation of unwanted intermediates and ensuring high activity and selectivity for C3 products. This work presents a novel electrocatalytic compound for the degradation of toxic dyes and the production of valuable C3 products using an inexpensive aqueous glucose oxidation method.

Synthesis of novel nanocomposite of g-C3N4 coated ZnO-MoS2 for energy storage and photocatalytic applications

Fabrication of heterostructures for energy storage and environmental remedial applications is an interesting subject of research that has been undertaken in this present investigation. The incorporation of g-C3N4 into ZnO:MoS2 heterojunction nanocomposite was accomplished by wet-chemical route and characterized by various techniques to ascertain its structure, morphology, and study its potential electro-optical characteristics. The g-C3N4@ZnO:MoS2 sample was investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD) which reveals the co-existence of the ZnO, MoS2 and C3N4 phases linked to characteristic crystallographic planes in the spectrum, validating the formation of ternary nanocomposite. The XRD patterns of the pristine samples were also considered as reference to understand the structural evolution and phase transformations. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) study states the formation of heterogeneous nanostructures having nanoparticles embedded on 2-D nanosheets like structures. Studies using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and elemental mapping show that all the elements that are linked to the above hybrid nanocomposite are present. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provided clear insights on the microstructure as we can identify the distribution of ZnO and MoS2 nanostructures on layered g-C3N4 nanosheets. The chemical composition and oxidation states of elements were elucidated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study, which added another layer of confirmation on the structural evolution of the ternary nanocomposite. Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) study revealed the layered structure of sp2 hybridized bonding features of C and N in g-C3N4, besides Zn-O and Mo-S stretching vibrations. The nanocomposite demonstrated improved photodegradation efficacy and decomposed alizarin red and methylene blue dyes significantly with better stability and reusability. MoS2 as a co-catalyst acts as an electron acceptor/accelerator in the Z-scheme composite photocatalysis leading to improved photocatalytic efficiency. The resulting heterostructured material delivered a higher specific capacitance of 10.85 F/g with good capacitance retention. Electrochemical study revealed the energy storage capability of the hybrid system.