Expanded use of antibiotics may increase the ability of pathogenic bacteria to develop antimicrobial resistance. Greater attention must be paid to applying more sustainable techniques for treating wastewater contaminated with antibiotics. Semiconductor photocatalytic processes have proven to be the most effective methods for the degradation of antibiotics. Thus, constructing durable and highly active photocatalytic hybrid materials for the photodegradation of antibiotic pollutants is challenging. Herein, FeTiO3/Fe-doped g-C3N4 (FTO/FCN) heterojunctions were designed with different FTO to FCN ratios by matching the energy level of semiconductors, thereby developing effective direct Z-type heterojunctions. The photodegradation behaviors of the FTO/FCN hybrids were systematically explored toward spiramycin (SPY) destruction under visible-irradiation. Using the FTO/FCN (1:2) photocatalyst, the photodegradation efficiency of the bare FTO boosted from 41.6 % to 96.6 %, which was due to suitable band positions of both photocatalysts and thus Z-type heterojunction transfer pathway to prevent the recombination of photo-charge carriers. More importantly, the FTO/FCN hybrid photocatalysts show broad applicability, as they can decompose other organic contaminants including ibuprofen (IBU), ciprofloxacin (CIP), bisphenol A (BPA), and Rhodamine B (RhB). The photodegradation rates of IBU, CIP, BPA and RhB were 90.9 %, 93.4 %, 80.6 %, and 86.2 %, respectively, after 120 min. The trapping analyses were performed and exhibited that the key reactive-species in the SPY photodegradation were •O2 and h+, while •OH and electrons were secondary species in the reaction. The FTO/FCN composite photocatalyst has the properties of high photo-stability and recycling (the SPY photodegradation and mineralization efficiencies decreased only by 4 % and 5.2 %, respectively).
The adsorption process of 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) drugs on Aluminum nitride nanotubes surface (AlNNTs) have been evaluated through density functional theory (DFT). The DFT results show that the interaction of AlNNTs with the F atoms of 5FU drugs is strong due to the fact that the amount of adsorption energy was about − 29.65 kcal.mol−1. Conversely, the interaction of the 5FU through O atoms with the AlNNTs was weaker due to the lower value of adsorption energy. Also, based on the values of Gibbs free energy, the 5FU adsorption on the surfaces of AlNNTs was spontaneous. In addition, based on natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis, the direction of charge transfer was from fluorine’s σ orbitals of the drug to nitrogen’s and aluminum’s n*
... Show MoreWhen the guard honey bees, Apis mellifera L., form a clump at the hive entrance or on the flight board, the oriental hornet, Vespa orientails L., either creeps toward the clump or hovers over it in order to take a bee. Once the hornet creeps, only few bees facing the hornet become alert, rock their heads and antennae, open their wings, and take a posture of defense. The rest of the clump stays listless without any signal of concern. However, the clump stays dense and the defending bees do not detach themselves neither from the rest of the clump nor from each other. For this reason, it is very difficult for the hornet to grab a bee unless the latter makes a “mistake” by detaching herself from other adjacent bees. If the hornet grabs s
... Show MoreProsthetic is an artificial tool that replaces a member of the human frame that is absent because of ailment, damage, or distortion. The current research activities in Iraq draw interest to the upper limb discipline because of the growth in the number of amputees. Thus, it becomes necessary to increase researches in this subject to help in reducing the struggling patients. This paper describes the design and development of a prosthesis for people able and wear them from persons who have amputation in the hands. This design is composed of a hand with five fingers moving by means of a gearbox ism mechanism. The design of this artificial hand has 5 degrees of freedom. This artificial hand works based on the principle of &n
... Show MoreThe influence of Cr3+ doping on the ground state properties of SrTiO 3 perovskite was evaluated using GGA-PBE approximation. Computational modeling results infered an agreement with the previously published literature. The modification of electronic structure and optical properties due to Cr3+ introducing into SrTiO 3 were investigated. Structural parameters assumed that Cr3+ doping alters the electronic structures of SrTiO 3 by shifting the conduction band through lower energies for the Sr and Ti sites. Besides, results showed that the band gap was reduced by approximately 50% when presenting one Cr3+ atom into the SrTiO 3 system and particularly positioned at Sr sites. Interestingly, substituting Ti site by Cr3+ led to eliminating the ban
... Show MoreSolutions of dyes Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) and Coumarin480(C480) were prepared at five concentrations (1x10-3, 5x10-4, 1x10-4, 5x10-5 and1x10-5) mol/l, the mixing was stirred to obtain on a homogenous solution, the(poly methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA) was solved by chloroform solvent with certain ratio, afterward (PMMA+Rh6G) and (PMMA+C480) thin films were prepared by casting method on glass block which has substrate with dimensions (7.5 x2.5)cm2, the prepared samples were left in dark place at room temperature for 24 hours to obtain uniform and homogenous thin films. UV-VIS absorption spectra, transmission spectra and fluorescence spectra were done to measure linear refractive index and linear absorption coefficient. The nonlinear optical proper
... Show MoreThis contribution investigates structural, electronic, and optical properties of cubic barium titanate (BaTiO3) perovskites using first-principles calculations of density functional theory (DFT). Generalized gradient approximations (GGA) alongside with PW91 functional have been implemented for the exchange–correlation potential. The obtained results display that BaTiO3 exhibits a band gap of 3.21 eV which agrees well with the previously experimental and theoretical literature. Interestingly, our results explore that when replacing Pd atom with Ba and Ti atoms at 0.125 content a clear decrease in the electronic band gap of 1.052 and 1.090 eV located within the visible range of electromagnetic wavelengths (EMW). Optical parameters such as a
... Show MoreThis research paper studies the use of an environmentally and not expensive method to degrade Orange G dye (OG) from the aqueous solution, where the extract of ficus leaves has been used to fabricate the green bimetallic iron/copper nanoparticles (G-Fe/Cu-NPs). The fabricated G‑Fe/Cu-NPs were characterized utilizing scanning electron microscopy, BET, atomic force microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and zeta potential. The rounded and shaped as like spherical nanoparticles were found for G-Fe/Cu‑NPs with the size ranged 32-59 nm and the surface area was 4.452 m2/g. Then the resultant nanoparticles were utilized as a Fenton-like oxidation catalyst. The degradation efficiency of
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