Browsing by Subject "Chromium"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Open Access
Bacteria-immobilized electrospun fibrous polymeric webs for hexavalent chromium remediation in water
(Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2016) Sarioglu, O.F.; Celebioglu A.; Tekinay, T.; Uyar, Tamer
The development of hexavalent chromium remediating fibrous biocomposite mats through the immobilization of a hexavalent chromium reducing bacterial strain, Morganella morganiiSTB5, on the surfaces of electrospun polystyrene and polysulfone webs is described. The bacteria-immobilized biocomposite webs have shown removal yields of 93.60 and 93.79 % for 10 mg/L, 99.47 and 90.78 % for 15 mg/L and 70.41 and 68.27 % for 25 mg/L of initial hexavalent chromium within 72 h, respectively, and could be reused for at least five cycles. Storage test results indicate that the biocomposite mats can be stored without losing their bioremoval capacities. Scanning electron microscopy images of the biocomposite webs demonstrate that biofilms of M. morganii STB5 adhere strongly to the fibrous polymeric surfaces and are retained after repeated cycles of use. Overall, the results suggest that reusable bacteria-immobilized fibrous biocomposite webs might be applicable for continuous hexavalent chromium remediation in water systems.
Open Access
Chromium(VI) biosorption and bioaccumulation by Live and acid-modified biomass of a novel morganella morganii isolate
(Taylor and Francis, 2014) Ergul-Ulger, Z.; Ozkan A.D.; Tunca E.; Atasagun, S.; Tekinay, T.
Conventional methods of chromium removal are often insufficient for the remediation of chromium-contaminated natural environments, necessitating the development of alternative strategies. In this paper, we report the isolation of a novel Morganella morganii strain capable of reducing hexavalent chromium to its less-toxic and less-soluble trivalent form. Cr(VI) reduction by this strain was evaluated in both acidic environments and conditions reflecting natural freshwater sources. The isolate achieved equilibrium within 3 h and displayed a specific uptake rate of 24.30 ± 1.67 mg Cr(VI)/g biomass following HCl treatment. Without acid treatment, a reduction of over 90% was recorded within 72 h for an initial Cr(VI) concentration 20 mg/L, corresponding to a Cr(VI) removal capacity of 19.36 ± 1.89 mg/g. Absorption data of acid-treated STB5 biomass most closely followed the Toth and Langmuir models. FTIR results indicate that hydroxyl groups and extracellular or cell membrane polysaccharides may be potential adsorption sites for hexavalent chromium. Our results suggest that the isolate may be used in situ for treatment of polluted freshwater environments. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Open Access
MIMIM photodetectors using plasmonically enhanced MIM absorbers
(SPIE, 2017) Dereshgi, S. Abedini; Okyay, Ali Kemal
We demonstrate super absorbing metal-insulator-metal (MIM) stacks and MIMIM photosensitive devices operating at visible and near-infrared (VIS-NIR) spectrum, where absorbing (top) MIM and photocollecting (bottom) MIM can be optimized separately. We investigate different bottom metals in absorbing MIM with nanoparticles realized by dewetting of silver thin film on top. While gold and silver have conventionally been considered the most appropriate plasmonic absorbers, we demonstrate different absorbing metals like aluminum and specifically chromium, with its plasma frequency happening at 850 nm, as more efficient layers for absorption. Absorption in chromium hits 82 percent around 1000 nm. We provide convincing evidences by doing reflection experiment and computational simulations for absorbing MIM part. We also suggest for the first time investigating electric loss tangent of metal or coherently, surface plasmon quality factor of absorbing metals which are reliable tools for engineering different metal layers. They reveal that despite the fact that gold and silver are good plasmonic scatterers in VIS-NIR and reliable absorbers in VIS region, they are not proper choices as absorbers for NIR applications. Once the most optimum absorbing design is pointed out, we integrate it on top of another metal-insulator to form an MIMIM photodetector with tunneling photocurrent path. The final optimized sample consisting of silver - hafnium oxide - chromium - aluminum oxide - silver nanoparticles (from bottom to top) has a dark current of 7nA and a photoresponsivity peak of 0.962 mA/W at 1000 nm and a full width at half maximum of 300 nm, while applied bias is 50 mV and device areas are 300 μm x 600 μm. This photoresponse shows 70 times enhancement compared to former reported spin coated rare nanoparticle MIMIMs.
Open Access
Phytoremediation of Cu, Cr and Pb mixtures by lemna minor
(2013) Üçüncü, E.; Tunca, E.; Fikirdeşici, S.; Özkan, A.D.; Altindaǧ, A.
The present study reports the capacity of the aquatic macrophyte Lemna minor to remediate combinations of Cu(II), Pb(II) and Cr(III) from a simulated natural environment. The effect of these metal mixtures on the growth of L. minor was also investigated using growth rate and biomass inhibition calculations. L. minor was successful in removing Cr and Pb from the water, and it remained an effective remediation agent when both metals were present in the environment. However, a relatively low absorption capacity was observed for Cu, increasing concentrations of which were associated with significant decreases in growth rate. No statistically significant difference was found between the 24 h and 7 days absorption rates of Cu, Pb and Cr, suggesting that, at the concentrations tested, equilibrium occurs within 24 h of metal exposure. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.
Open Access
Spin-polarized ballistic transport in a thin superlattice of zinc blende half-metallic compounds
(The American Physical Society, 2005) Qian, M. C.; Fong, C. Y.; Pickett, W. E.; Pask, J. E.; Yang, L. H.; Dag, S.
We examine theoretically ballistic conduction in thin layers of zinc blende half metals, considering as an example a superlattice consisting of monolayers of GaAs and MnAs, a bilayer of CrAs, and a bilayer of GaAs. By artificially separating bilayers, we show that surface states thwart half metallicity. However, capping the metal-As bilayers restores half metallicity, and ballistic conduction of electrons within ∼0.3 eV of the Fermi level will give nearly 100% spin-polarized transmission in the direction of the superlattice. Recent developments suggest atomic layer epitaxy can be used to produce such thin layers for spintronic applications.
Open Access
Trimetalic heterogeneous catalyst for dehydrogenation of formic acid with enhanced CO tolerance
(2017-09) Perşembe, Elif
Hydrogen energy is considered to be a promising alternative for the sustainable and environmentally friendly solution of the global energy problem. One of the major obstacles of hydrogen energy applications is to maintain safe and efficient storage of hydrogen which can also be achieved chemically using suitable carrier materials. Formic acid (HCOOH, FA) can be utilized as a hydrogen carrier due to its low molecular weight (46 g/mol) and high hydrogen density (%4.4 weight). FA is a stable, non-flammable, and non-toxic biomass side-product rendering it a perfect candidate for an alternative hydrogen vector. Design of novel heterogeneous catalysts which can substitute the existing homogeneous catalytic systems may allow overcoming catalyst isolation and recovery costs and associated logistical problems hindering their applications in on-board operations. FA can be catalytically decomposed via dehydrogenation and dehydration reactions. Selective dehydrogenation of FA is crucial because, the production of CO from dehydration mechanism can suppress the activity of the catalyst by blocking/poisoning the precious metal sites. Consequently, development of CO-resistant, selective, catalytically active, and reusable heterogeneous catalysts has a great significance. In the current work, a new material that can produce H2(g) from FA under ambient conditions in the absence of additives with high CO-poisoning tolerance will be introduced, which is comprised of Pd-based trimetallic active centers functionalized with Ag and Cr in addition to amine-functionalized MnOx promoters dispersed on a SiO2 support surface. A novel trimetallic FA dehydrogenation catalyst was prepared and studied using analytical, ex-situ and in-situ spectroscopic techniques and compared to the results obtained for monometallic, bimetallic and active site-free counterparts. Trimetallic catalysts were found to reveal superior catalytic activity and stability compared to all of the currently investigated catalysts. Structural and catalytic properties of the trimetallic catalysts were investigated as a function of metal loadings. Structural characterization of the synthesized materials was carried out by Raman spectroscopy, Inductively-Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) Specific Surface Area Analysis, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), High Resolution TEM (HRTEM), Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), and STEM/Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX), High-Angle Annular Dark Field (HAADF)/STEM. In addition, interaction of the catalyst surfaces with reactants and products were also monitored via in-situ FTIR spectroscopy for functional characterization. Detailed in-situ FTIR spectroscopic experiments were also performed using HCOOD, DCOOH and DCOOD in order to understand the nature of the adsorbed species, products and catalytic inhibitors.