Project description:Over the past decade, CdS QDs have become versatile semiconductors. Surface modification of CdS QDs has become an interesting case study, as it can eliminate surface defects and improve their photochemical properties. In this study, we report a new strategy of using carbon quantum dots containing a large number of thiol groups (CQDs-SH) as a passivating agent for the stabilization of CdS quantum dots (QDs). Various characterization techniques have clearly revealed that the CdS QDs have been successfully passivated by CQDs-SH. The photocatalytic performance of CQDs-SH/CdS QDs was investigated for the degradation of the insecticide imidacloprid from an aqueous solution. Parameters affecting the photodegradation process, including the light source, photocatalyst amount, initial concentration of the pollutant, radiation time, pH, oxidizing agent, and temperature, were investigated. Furthermore, the HPLC technique was applied to quantitatively analyze imidacloprid and its degradation products. The results of the HPLC analysis revealed that under simulated visible light at pH 9, imidacloprid scarcely existed after 90 min of irradiation (90.13% degradation). The LC-MS method was also used to detect the degradation products and investigate the mechanism of photodegradation of the pesticide. The results showed that the CQDs-SH/CdS QDs composite was a promising photocatalyst for the degradation of imidacloprid in wastewater.
Project description:Chemotherapeutic agents with low toxicity to normal tissues are a major goal in cancer research. In this regard, the therapeutic activities of cationic dyes, such as rhodamine 6G, toward cancer cells have been studied for decades with observed toxicities toward normal and cancer cells. Herein, we report rhodamine 6G-based organic salts with varying counteranions that are stable under physiological conditions, display excellent fluorescence photostability, and more importantly have tunable chemotherapeutic properties. Our in vitro studies indicate that the hydrophobic compounds of this series allow production of nanoparticles which are nontoxic to normal cells and toxic to cancer cells. Furthermore, the anions, in combination with cations such as sodium, were observed to be nontoxic to both normal and cancer cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that both the cation and anion play an extremely important and cooperative role in the antitumor properties of these compounds.
Project description:In the title compound, bis({6-ethylamino-10-[2-(methoxycarbonyl)phenyl]-2,7-dimethylxanthen-3-ylidene}ethanaminium) hexachloridotin(IV) acetonitrile disolvate, (C(27)H(29)N(2)O(3))(2)[SnCl(6)]·2C(2)H(3)N, the octa-hedral SnCl(6) (2-) anion lies on an inversion center. The xanthene ring system is essentially planar, with an average deviation of 0.020 Å, and the substituent benzene ring forms a dihedral angle of 85.89 (2)° with it. The Sn-Cl distances are in the range 2.4237 (3)-2.4454 (3) Å. There are N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds between SnCl(6) (2-) ions and rhodamine 6G cations as well as π-π stacking inter-actions between rhodamine 6G cations (inter-planar distance of 3.827 Å).
Project description:The increasing global requirement for clean and safe drinking water has necessitated the development of efficient methods for the elimination of organic contaminants, especially dyes, from wastewater. This study reports the synthesis of magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles via a simple precipitation approach and their thorough characterization using various techniques, including XRD, FT-IR, XPS, TGA, DLS, and FESEM. Synthesized MgO nanoparticles' photocatalytic effectiveness was evaluated towards rhodamine B and rhodamine 6G degradation under both UV and visible light irradiation. The results indicated that the MgO nanoparticles possess a face-centered cubic structure with enhanced crystallinity and purity, as well as an average crystallite size of approximately 3.20 nm. The nanoparticles demonstrated a significant BET surface area (52 m2/g) and a bandgap value equal to 5.27 eV. Photocatalytic experiments indicated complete degradation of rhodamine B dye under UV light within 180 min and 83.23% degradation under visible light. For rhodamine 6G, the degradation efficiency was 92.62% under UV light and 38.71% under visible light, thus verifying the MgO catalyst's selectivity towards degradation of rhodamine B dye. Also, reusability of MgO was investigated for five experimental photocatalytic trials with very promising results, mainly against rhodamine B. Scavenging experiments confirmed that •OH radicals were the major reactive oxygen species involved in the photodegradation procedure, unraveling the molecular mechanism of the photocatalytic efficiency of MgO.
Project description:The involvement of G-quadruplex (G4) structures in nucleic acids in various molecular processes in cells such as replication, gene-pausing, the expression of crucial cancer-related genes and DNA damage repair is well known. The compounds targeting G4 usually bind directly to the G4 structure, but some ligands can also facilitate the G4 folding of unfolded G-rich sequences and stabilize them even without the presence of monovalent ions such as sodium or potassium. Interestingly, some G4-ligand complexes can show a clear induced CD signal, a feature which is indirect proof of the ligand interaction. Based on the dichroic spectral profile it is not only possible to confirm the presence of a G4 structure but also to determine its topology. In this study we examine the potential of the commercially available Rhodamine 6G (RhG) as a G4 ligand. RhG tends to convert antiparallel G4 structures to parallel forms in a manner similar to that of Thiazole Orange. Our results confirm the very high selectivity of this ligand to the G4 structure. Moreover, the parallel topology of G4 can be verified unambiguously based on the specific induced CD profile of the G4-RhG complex. This feature has been verified on more than 50 different DNA sequences forming various non-canonical structural motifs.
Project description:As a model for the removal of complex organic contaminants from industrial water effluents, the heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamin 6G was studied using TiO2-derived catalysts, incorporated in water as suspension as well as supported in raschig rings. UV and Visible light were tested for the photo-degradation process. TiO2 catalysts were synthesized following acid synthesis methodology and compared against commercial TiO2 catalyst samples (Degussa P25 and Anatase). The bandgap (Eg) of the TiO2 catalysts was determined, were values of 2.97 and 2.98 eV were obtained for the material obtained using acid and basic conditions, respectively, and 3.02 eV for Degussa P25 and 3.18 eV for anatase commercial TiO2 samples. Raschig rings-supported TiO2 catalysts display a good photocatalytic performance when compared to equivalent amounts of TiO2 in aqueous suspension, even though a large surface area of TiO2 material is lost upon support. This is particularly evident by taking into account that the characteristics (XRD, RD, Eg) and observed photodegradative performance of the synthesized catalysts are in good agreement with the commercial TiO2 samples, and that the RH6G photodegradation differences observed with the light sources considered are minimal in the presence of TiO2 catalysts. The presence of additives induce changes in the kinetics and efficiency of the TiO2-catalyzed photodegradation of Rh6G, particularly when white light is used in the process, pointing toward a complex phenomenon, however the stability of the supported photocatalytic systems is acceptable in the presence of the studied additives. In line with this, the magnitude of the chemical oxygen demand, indicates that, besides the different complex photophysical processes taking place, the endproducts of the considered photocatalytic systems appears to be similar.
Project description:Recently, understanding the origin of induced magnetic characteristics in transition metal atom-doped QDs has been a major focus owing to their potential applications in the area of spintronic devices. A detailed experimental and theoretical investigation was conducted to understand the physical properties of Co-doped ZnS QDs containing different weight percentages of Co atoms [CoxZn1-xS (x = 0.00, 0.03, 0.06, and 0.09)], prepared using chemical co-precipitation techniques. X-ray diffraction studies proved that all the prepared QDs formed an extremely pure cubic zinc blende crystallographic phase free of contaminants. The validation of the quantum dot nature of all the samples was provided by the HRTEM images, BET studies, and blue shift in the absorption spectra. Both the obtained FTIR and PL spectra at room temperature also confirmed the phase purity of the prepared QDs. The observed weak ferromagnetic behavior of the doped samples was due to the presence of p-d hybridization between the 3d levels of Co2+ ions and 3p levels of S2- ions of the host ZnS QDs. Hysteresis loops that were obtained at room temperature validated this weak ferromagnetic nature. These obtained results were also supported theoretically using DFT calculations. FDTD simulations provided a detailed explanation for the observed blue shift in the absorption spectra originating from the quantum confinement effect of doped and undoped ZnS QDs. The dielectric properties of all the samples were examined properly, and it was also found that the grain boundaries contributed effectively to providing the dielectric response. The doped ZnS sample containing more Co dopants at low frequencies showed a progressive rise in polarisation loss. In addition, Co-doped ZnS QDs are efficient photocatalysts. A pH-dependent photodegradation test of ciprofloxacin (CIP) antibiotic was conducted using 9% Co-doped ZnS QDs. It was observed that 9% Co-doped ZnS nanocatalysts has sufficient capability to degrade CIP to around 94.7% in a solution of pH 10 within one hour. Therefore, besides showing photocatalytic effects, Co-doped ZnS QDs act as ideal dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) and will undoubtedly become excellent candidates for the microelectronics industry because of their special ability to exhibit spin-dependent magneto-electro-optical properties that find use in spin-polarized light-emitting diodes, solid-state lasers, and spin-transistor devices.
Project description:The dye rhodamine 6G can act as a photocatalyst through photoinduced electron transfer. After electronic excitation with green light, rhodamine 6G takes an electron from an electron donor, such as N,N-diisopropylethylamine, and forms the rhodamine 6G radical. This radical has a reduction potential of around -0.90 V and can split phenyl iodide into iodine anions and phenyl radicals. Recently, it has been reported that photoexcitation of the radical at 420 nm splits aryl bromides into bromide anions and aryl radicals. This requires an increase in reduction potential, hence the electronically excited rhodamine 6G radical was proposed as the reducing agent. Here, we present a study of the mechanism of the formation and photoreactions of the rhodamine 6G radical by transient absorption spectroscopy in the time range from femtoseconds to minutes in combination with quantum chemical calculations. We conclude that one photon of 540 nm light produces two rhodamine 6G radicals. The lifetime of the photoexcited radicals of around 350 fs is too short to allow diffusion-controlled interaction with a substrate. A fraction of the excited radicals ionize spontaneously, presumably producing solvated electrons. This decay produces hot rhodamine 6G and hot rhodamine 6G radicals, which cool with a time constant of around 10 ps. In the absence of a substrate, the ejected electrons recombine with rhodamine 6G and recover the radical on a timescale of nanoseconds. Photocatalytic reactions occur only upon excitation of the rhodamine 6G radical, and due to its short excited-state lifetime, the electron transfer to the substrate probably takes place through the generation of solvated electrons as an additional step in the proposed photochemical mechanism.
Project description:The long-lived room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) originating from thiophene boronate polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has enabled the creation of metal-ion-responsive RTP films doped with spirolactam ring-containing rhodamine 6G (1). In this study, RTP-active PVA films, namely, TDB@PVA and ATB@PVA, were prepared through boronate esterification of thiophene-2,5-diboronic acid (TDB) and 5-acetylthiophene-2-boronic acid (ATB) with the diol units of PVA. The delayed emission properties were evaluated, revealing an emission band at 477 nm with a turquoise afterglow for TDB@PVA and at 510 nm with a green afterglow for ATB@PVA after UV light irradiation ceased. The photophysical properties were assessed using TD-DFT and DFT calculations at the B3LYP/cc-pVDZ level. N-(rhodamine-6G)lactam dye with a salicylimine unit (1) was doped into the RTP-based PVA films, producing a multicolored afterglow upon the addition of metal ions. This phenomenon is explained by a triplet-to-singlet Förster-type resonance energy transfer process from the cross-linked thiophene boronate in PVA to the metal-ion-activated colored form of 1. This photophysical feature finds applicability in encryption techniques. Notably, the reversible metal-ligand coordination of 1 in the PVA system enabled a write/erase information process.