Zinc oxide (ZnO) powders with diverse morphologies were synthesized with various solvothermal techniques. Water, 1-butanole and ethylene glycol were used as the solvents, while the temperature of the solvothermal synthesis was varied from 90 to 120 °C. Resazurin and caffeine were used for the evaluation of the photocatalytic activity of all the prepared samples, and in particular, to compare ZnO with commercial titanium dioxide photocatalytic material (P25, Evonik Degussa) using UV–vis spectroscopy. The composition, crystallinity, and morphology of the prepared materials were investigated with FTIR, XRD, TEM and FEGSEM techniques. The band gaps of the obtained semiconductors were measured because the band gap of hydrozincite, determined in this study to be 4.1 eV, has not been reported previously. The specific surface area (BET) and the porosity of the prepared particles were estimated. The crystal size in one dimension was estimated and was found to play an important role in the photocatalytic activity, which increased with a smaller size. A higher degree of aggregation caused the opposite effect. Thus, a more aggregated material with a larger surface area than a less aggregated one exhibited a lower photocatalytic activity. The particle morphology strongly influenced the photocatalytic process.
COBISS.SI-ID: 5188890
The article reported the two-step procedure for the preparation of low-temperature Ni1-xO pigment coatings with low haze appropriate for flexible substrates. With this procedure, first, the Ni1-xO pigment was prepared from nickel acetate reacting with H2O2-urea solution and using thermal treatment at 400°C. The so-prepared pigment was milled with zirconia beads in water or water with added nickel oxyhydroxy precipitate acting simultaneously as the dispersant and coating binder. The prepared suspensions were spin coated on FTO glass or flexible ITO-PET foils, respectively, and cured at 150 °C. Potential cycling was performed in LiClO4/propylene carbonate and TBA+ triflate/propylene carbonate electrolytes, revealing that the pigment coatings exhibited electrochemical and electrochromic activity also in lithium free electrolyte, while variations of the oxidation and reduction reaction peaks at various scan rates confirmed the presence of surface electrochemical reactions.
COBISS.SI-ID: 5335578
The main objective of this study was to broaden the assortment of I-/I3- redox ionic liquids using polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) acting as nanobuilding blocks for the construction of functionalized 1,3-alkylimidazolium iodide solid and room temperature ionic liquids. The structural characteristics of the synthesised final ionic liquids and the corresponding intermediates were determined using 1H, 29Si NMR and IR spectroscopy. Raman spectra were next reported, to demonstrate the presence of polyiodides formed after the addition of iodine and the formation of redox electrolytes. Ionic conductivity values obtained from the impedance spectra were determined in the temperature interval from room temperature to 100°C. Finally, a hybrid electrochromic cell was constructed from room temperature MePrIm+I-xI07T8 (x= 1, 1.2, 3 and 5) ionic liquids encapsulated between a lithiated W03 working and Pt counter electrode, and colouring-bleaching changes assessed for 1000 cycles.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4830746
We decsribed the wetting properties of the hydrophobic bis-ureapropyl-triethoxysilylpropyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane 1000 (PDMSU) sol−gel hybrid, which forms washing-resistant water repellent finishes on cotton fabrics. The addition of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFOTES) to PDMSU resulted in a low-energy surface on aluminum. The regenerative nature of the water- and oil repellent properties of washed PFOTES−PDMSU finished cotton fabrics was attributed to the surface mobility of the T8 PFOTES based polyhedra.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4133146
Degradation of dimethoate under UV irradiation using TiO(2)/polymer films prepared by the layerbylayer (LbL) method was investigated. The degradation was monitored using HPLC analysis and TOC measurements as a function of irradiation time, to see the change in concentration of dimethoate and mineralization, respectively. Complete degradation of dimethoate was achieved under TiO2 optimum loading of 4 g/L at an UV irradiation time of 180 min. The degradation byproducts were analyzed and confirmed by GCMS. Toxicity of the irradiated samples was measured using the luminescence of bacteria Vibrio fischeri after 30 min of incubation and the results showed more toxicity than the parent compound.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1972987