• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.107-113
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• 2009

This study investigated the decomposition activities of toluene on 10 mol% Al-W-incorporated mesoporous titano (15 mol %) silicates. The mesopore sizes observed in the transmission electron microscopy images ranged from 2.0 to 5.0 nm, and the pores were irregular on the addition of 10 mol% Al or W ions, but changed to regular hexagonal forms with the simultaneous additions of Al and W. The X-ray photon spectroscopy results showed a shift of the special peak for Ti2p in Al-incorporated mesoporous titanosilicates to a stronger binding energy compared to those of mesoporous titanosilicates and Al-incorporated mesoporous titanosilicates. Three O1s peaks in the spectra of the Al and W coexisted samples were observed at 530.5 and 531.7, 533, and 533.7eV, which were assigned to $Ti-Os\;in\;TiO_2\;and\;Ti_2O_3,\;Si-O\;in\;SiO_2\;and\;Al-O\;in\;Al_2O_3$, respectively. The toluene molecules desorbed at lower temperatures over W-incorporated mesoporous titanosilicates, and the amounts of toluene desorbed were also small; however, Al-incorporated mesoporous titanosilicates adsorbed much more toluene, particular over $Al_7.5-W_2.5-Ti_15-Si_75$. The photocatalytic decomposition of toluene was more enhanced over $Al_7.5-W_2.5-Ti_15-Si_75$ than over Al- or W-incorporated mesoporous titanosilicates only.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.237-242
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• 2019

In this study, ultrasonic spray pyrolysis combined with salt-assisted decomposition, a process that adds sodium nitrate ($NaNO_3$) into a titanium precursor solution, is used to synthesize nanosized titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) particles. The added $NaNO_3$ prevents the agglomeration of the primary nanoparticles in the pyrolysis process. The nanoparticles are obtained after a washing process, removing $NaNO_3$ and NaF from the secondary particles, which consist of the salts and $TiO_2$ nanoparticles. The effects of pyrolysis temperature on the size, crystallographic characteristics, and bandgap energy of the synthesized nanoparticles are systematically investigated. The synthesized $TiO_2$ nanoparticles have a size of approximately 2-10 nm a bandgap energy of 3.1-3.25 eV, depending on the synthetic temperature. These differences in properties affect the photocatalytic activities of the synthesized $TiO_2$ nanoparticles.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.1195-1208
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• 2022

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have potential applications in medicine, photocatalysis, agriculture, and cosmetic fields due to their unique physicochemical properties and strong antimicrobial activity. Here, AgNPs were synthesized using actinobacterial SL19 strain, isolated from acidic forest soil in Poland, and confirmed by UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy, TEM, and zeta potential analysis. The AgNPs were polydispersed, stable, spherical, and small, with an average size of 23 nm. The FTIR study revealed the presence of bonds characteristic of proteins that cover nanoparticles. These proteins were then studied by using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and identified with the highest similarity to hypothetical protein and porin with molecular masses equal to 41 and 38 kDa, respectively. Our AgNPs exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The combined, synergistic action of these synthesized AgNPs with commercial antibiotics (ampicillin, kanamycin, streptomycin, and tetracycline) enabled dose reductions in both components and increased their antimicrobial efficacy, especially in the case of streptomycin and tetracycline. Furthermore, the in vitro activity of the AgNPs on human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, A375, A549, and HepG2) showed cancer-specific sensitivity, while the genotoxic activity was evaluated by Ames assay, which revealed a lack of mutagenicity on the part of nanoparticles in Salmonella Typhimurium TA98 strain. We also studied the impact of the AgNPs on the catalytic and photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO). The decomposition of MO was observed by a decrease in intensity of absorbance within time. The results of our study proved the easy, fast, and efficient synthesis of AgNPs using acidophilic actinomycete SL19 strain and demonstrated the remarkable potential of these AgNPs as anticancer and antibacterial agents. However, the properties and activity of such particles can vary by biosynthesized batch.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.907-912
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• 2011

Development of visible light responsive photocatalysts is a promising research area to facilitate utilization of solar energy for hydrogen production via photocatalytic water splitting. In this study two groups of samples, nitrogen (N)-doped niobium pentoxide ($Nb_2O_5$) and titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) ($Nb_2O_5-N$, $HNb_3O_8-N$, $TiO_2-N$) and N-undoped ones ($Nb_2O_5$ and $TiO_2$) were tested. In order to utilize visible light, nitrogen atoms were doped in selected photocatalysts by using urea. A shift of the absorption edges of the Ndoped samples in the visible light region was observed. Under visible light irradiation, N-doped samples were more prominent photocatalytic activities than the N-undoped samples. Specifically, 99.7% of rhodamine B (RhB) was degraded after 60 minutes of visible light irradiation with $TiO_2-N$. Since $TiO_2-N$ shows the highest activity of RhB degradation, it was supposed to generate the highest current response. However, $HNb_3O_8-N$ showed the highest current response ($63.7mA/cm^2$) than $TiO_2-N$. More interestingly, when we compare the hydrogen production, $Nb_2O_5-N$ produced $19.4{\mu}mol/h$ of hydrogen.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.540-547
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• 2021

Background: Indoor air pollutants are caused by a number of factors, such as coming in from the outside or being generated by internal activities. Typical indoor air pollutants include nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide from household items such as heating appliances and volatile organic compounds from building materials. In addition there is carbon dioxide from human breathing and bacteria from speaking, coughing, and sneezing. Objectives: According to recent research results, most indoor air pollution is known to be greatly affected by internal factors such as burning (biomass for cooking) and various pollutants. These pollutants can have a fatal effect on the human body due to a lack of ventilation facilities. Methods: We fabricated a polydopamine (PDA) layer with Ti substrates as a coating on supported glass fiber fabric to enhance its photo-activity. The PDA layer with TiO₂ was covalently attached to glass fiber fabric using the drop-casting method. The roughness and functional groups of the surface of the Ti substrate/PDA coated glass fiber fabric were verified through infrared imaging microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The obtained hybrid Ti substrate/PDA coated glass fiber fabric was investigated for photocatalytic activity by the removal of ammonia and an epidermal Staphylococcus aureus reduction test with lamp (250 nm, 405 nm wavelength) at 24℃. Results: Antibacterial properties were found to reduce epidermal staphylococcus aureus in the Ti substrate/PDA coated glass fiber fabric under 405 nm after three hours. In addition, the Ti substrate/PDA coated glass fiber fabric of VOC reduction rate for ammonia was 50% under 405 nm after 30 min. Conclusions: An electron-hole pair due to photoexcitation is generated in the PDA layer and transferred to the conduction band of TiO₂. This generates a superoxide radical that degrades ammonia and removes epidermal Staphylococcus aureus.