Microwave solvothermal carboxymethyl chitosan templated synthesis of TiO2/ZrO2 composites toward enhanced photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B
Authors: Tingting Wu
Tao Ding
Qian Shao
Duo Pan
Chengxinzhuo Jia
Jiangyang Tian
Junkai Zhao
Mengyao Dong
Zhanhu Guo
Journal: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science (2019)
Discipline: CHEMISTRY
Keywords: Carboxymethyl chitosan; Microwave solvothermal; Photocatalysis; TiO(2)/ZrO(2) composites.
Affiliations: College of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China., College of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China. Electronic address: ., Integrated Composites Laboratory (ICL), Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Mold (Zhengzhou University), Ministry of Education; National Engineering Research Center for Advanced Polymer Processing Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450002, China., Eco-development Academy, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming Yunnan 650224, China. Electronic address: ., College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China. Electronic address: ., Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA., Integrated Composites Laboratory (ICL), Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA. Electronic address: .

Abstract:  A series of TiO2/ZrO2 composites with various molar ratios of ZrO2:TiO2 were synthesized by a facile and mild microwave hydrothermal method with carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) as templates. The as-obtained products were characterized with wide-angle powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry (UV-vis-DRS), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms (BET), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). The TiO2/ZrO2 composites with heterogeneous structure consisted of particles which showed a better regularity and uniform with about 800 nm in diameter, and showed a larger specific surface area and smaller energy band gap than pure ZrO2. Comparative experiments including varying the pH of the solution and the content of titania demonstrated that the 5% TiO2/ZrO2 composites (nTi:nZr = 5:100) at pH = 10.3 possessed the best photocatalytic property. Moreover, the possible reasons for these phenomena were clarified. Cyclic experiments proved that the resulting TiO2/ZrO2 composites as photocatalyst could be reused efficiently. Meanwhile, a possible mechanism of photocatalysis was proposed. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 This paper belongs to a set of over 400 papers (as per February 2020) that share very similar Western blots with tadpole-like shaped bands, the same background pattern, and striking similarities in title structures, paper layout, bar graph design, and - in a subset - flow cytometry panels. Despite these similarities, these papers are authored by researchers from different departments and institutes, with almost no overlap in authors. The list of these papers is available here: https: docs.google.com spreadsheets d 1KXqTAyl4j-jVorFPMD2XRpr76LcIKJ0CVyIvRj0exYQ edit?usp=sharing A more detailed description of this set of papers, suspected to all be generated by a common source, a paper mill , can be found here: * https: forbetterscience.com 2020 01 24 the-full-service-paper-mill-and-its-chinese-customers (January 2020) * https: scienceintegritydigest.com 2020 02 21 the-tadpole-paper-mill (February 2020) The same paper mill has been described in these papers: * Jana Christopher - Systematic fabrication of scientific images revealed - FEBS Letters (2018) - https: febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com doi full 10.1002 1873-3468.13201 * Jennifer A Byrne and Jana Christopher - Digital magic, or the dark arts of the 21st centuryu2014how can journals and peer reviewers detect manuscripts and publications from paper mills? - FEBS Letters (2020) - https: febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com doi full 10.1002 1873-3468.13747 , 
 Retracted - [February 2022] . --------------------- This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. Given the comments of Dr Elisabeth Bik regarding this article u201cu2026 the Western blot bands in all 400+ papers are all very regularly spaced and have a smooth appearance in the shape of a dumbbell or tadpole, without any of the usual smudges or stains. All bands are placed on similar looking backgrounds, suggesting they were copy pasted from other sources, or computer generatedu201d, the journal requested the authors to provide the raw data. However, the authors were not able to fulfil this request and therefore the Editor-in-Chief decided to retract the article. ,