José Miguel Júnior’s Post

Exciting opportunity for researchers in organic synthesis and catalysis! 💻🧪 The journal Sustainability & Circularity NOW, published by Thieme, is calling for submissions for a special issue on "Sustainable solvents for synthesis and catalysis". This special issue aims to highlight the latest advancements and innovative approaches related to the use of sustainable solvents for organic synthesis, including: Water, ionic liquids, supercritical fluids, deep eutectic solvents, and other green solvents derived from biomass Solvent-free and solvent-minimized reactions New solvent systems for specific organic transformations Solvents for catalysis and reaction optimization Application of sustainable solvents in pharmaceutical synthesis Advances in understanding solvent-solute interactions and reaction mechanisms in unconventional solvents The guest editors for this issue are Dr. Anant Kapdi and Dr. Ettigounder (Samy) Ponnusamy - both renowned experts in the field of sustainable chemistry. The submission deadline is October 31, 2024, and the article processing charge is waived until September 30, 2024. If you're working on exciting research in this area, I encourage you to consider submitting your work to this special issue. It's a great opportunity to showcase your findings and contribute to the growing field of sustainable solvents. Let me know if you have any questions! I'm happy to provide more information. #SustainableChemistry #OrganicSynthesis #Catalysis #SustainableSolvents #Thieme #SustainabilityAndCircularityNOW https://lnkd.in/g2ZJePax

Dear All, I'm pleased to share that two of our research papers have been published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 📚 The 1st article, “Cellulose beads supported CoFe2O4: A novel heterogeneous catalyst for efficient rhodamine B degradation via advanced oxidation processes”. 📚 The 2nd article, “Silver nanoparticle-decorated cellulose beads: Eco-friendly catalysts for efficient 4-nitrophenol reduction and antibacterial performance”. Both articles explore novel heterogeneous catalysts based on fibrous cellulose beads doped with transition metals/transition metal oxides for the treatment of organic pollutants and antibacterial inhibition, offering promising applications in wastewater treatment. For further information, see here: Article 1 Link : https://lnkd.in/enJAA97z. Article 2 Link : https://lnkd.in/eVwFfCy5. I am thankful to my professors and colleagues for their support and collaboration. #Cellulose, #CelluloseBeads, #WastewaterTreatment, #Catalysis

I am delighted to share my recent publication titled "Recovery and characterization of polyhydroxybutyrate from Chlorogloea fritschii TISTR 8527 using halogenated and green solvents" in Journal of Applied Phycology, Springer Nature. Thanks to my supervisor Dr. Soumen K. Maiti for his support and guidance. The current study focuses on production of biodegradable plastic PHB in cyanobacteria using diurnal light mimicked to sunlight and recovery of same by various methods such as Two-phase hypochlorite-chloroform dispersion, Solvent extraction using various halogenated and green solvents after hypochlorite digestion of biomass. At last toxic solvent chloroform was eliminated by the usage of an industrially important green solvent Dimethyl carbonate with pigment removal using chilled methanol. The polymer recovered was characterized using various techniques and compared with fossil based polymers and PHB from other natural origins.

Our latest publication...... We are honoured to announce that our paper entitled "Application of natural hematite as catalyst in heterogeneous photo-Fenton like process for 2,4-dichlorophenol degradation" has been published in "Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry". The present work aimed to evaluate the catalytic efficiency of raw hematite for the activation of SPC under UV irradiation (HPF process) for the degradation of 2,4-DCP. To achieve the highest degradation efficiency, the effect of key reaction parameters on the HPF process was systematically investigated. In addition, the ROS responsible for the 2,4-DCP degradation were determined by radical quenching tests. Finally, the influence of co-existing anions on degradation and hematite recovery was also evaluated. Our paper showed that: - Natural hematite is used as an effective catalyst in HPF process for 2,4-dichlorophenol degradation. - Under the optimized conditions, the degradation of 2,4-DCP was 99.88±0.05%. - The contribution of hydroxyl and carbonate radicals in HPF process was 82.39% and 17.61%. - A slight decrease in performance was observed after three consecutive cycles of HPF process. - Iron concertation in the treated solution was low, indicating high stability of hematite. My group and I are open to collaborating on this topic, so don't hesitate to contact me if you want to work together! You can read more about our findings and the potential of microgrid technology to secure future power systems in the full paper (No sign-up, registration, or fees required for 50 days). https://lnkd.in/d8c-VpCX Special thanks to Mehdi Khiadani (Edith Cowan University), Mohammad Ghasemian, and Jorge Bedia.

I am happy to share our collaborative paper titled 'Optimizing humic acid breakdown and methane production via semiconductor-assisted photo-anaerobic digestion', which has been published by Chemical Engineering Journal :). https://lnkd.in/dY2wzihm

Note: One of the foremost advantages of using Fenton oxidation for wastewater treatment is that it decomposes recalcitrant organics. In this regard, we have successfully tested the degradation of organics in textile and distillery wastewater using our unique in-house developed catalyst and achieved over 90% reduction in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). Abstract: In the era of rapid global industrialization, the problem of water pollution around the world has become an increasingly serious and urgent concern. Photo-Fenton catalysis has attracted extensive research interest as a simple, efficient, and clean method. In the process of exploring and researching photo-Fenton catalysts, cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) has been studied for its many advantages, such as good light stability, wide range of visible light utilization, magnetic recyclability, price-friendliness, and light-corrosion resistance. Furthermore, the flexible positions and valence changes of metal cations in the CoFe2O4 spinel structure endow it with abundant surface active sites and high Fenton catalytic activity. However, nanoscale particles and relatively narrow band gaps easily lead to large-scale agglomeration of particles and rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers. These are the main obstacles for pure CoFe2O4 nanocatalysts to exert their high catalytic activity. To better play the role of CoFe2O4 nanomaterials in organic wastewater treatment, this paper summarizes the main problems faced by the current photo-Fenton catalysis technology and introduces the basic properties, degradation mechanism, and preparation methods of CoFe2O4. More importantly, several effective and reliable modification strategies to enhance catalytic performance are also discussed, mainly including morphology control, element doping, defect introduction, and coupled composites, aiming to improve the design of CoFe2O4 photo-Fenton catalysts. This will lay the foundation for making full use of the excellent properties of CoFe2O4 catalysts in the field of organic wastewater treatment in the future. https://lnkd.in/eK-M2RfY

Excited to announce a new publication from the #methane2pha team in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering! 😀 In this study, we investigated the effect of process parameters — such as carbon supply methods and pH control strategies - on PHBV accumulation and microbial community structure during the bioconversion of methane with enriched methanotrophic cultures. A big thank you to Aleksandra Gęsicka and co-authors Natalia Gutowska, Sivasankar Palaniappan and Piotr Oleskowicz-Popiel for their invaluable contributions! The article is available with free access until February 19, 2025 - check out the link below! I would like to reiterate my thanks to NCN National Science Centre for funding the project (https://lnkd.in/dNyW2fUX). It allowed us not only to study this exciting topic but also provided the strong foundation for further research on biovalorization of C1 gaseous substrates into biochemicals and biopolymers! 😀

Significant progress has been achieved in improving the permeability and selectivity of organic micropollutants through reverse osmosis by using in-situ modification with acrylic polymers. Two innovative and cost-effective acrylic polymers were applied to modify reverse osmosis membranes, enhancing the selectivity for 1H-benzotriazole. Check out these and more findings in our recent scientific paper by Mei An, Leo Gutierrez, Arnout D'Haese, Lianshuai Tan, Chuanlong Ma, Karen Leus, Anton Nikiforov, Nathalie de Geyter, Rino Morent and Emile Cornelissen (KWR Water Research Institute, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering UGent and CAPTURE)  funded by the China Scholarship Council (File No. 202006300017). #membranes #reverseosmosis #watertreatment 

“Vitrification-enabled enhancement of proton conductivity in hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks” Feng-Fan Yang, Xiao-Lu Wang, Jiayue Tian, Yang Yin & Linfeng Liang Show 10 May 2024 Nature Communications volume 15, Article number: 3930 (2024) “Abstract” “Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) are versatile materials with potential applications in proton conduction.” “Traditional approaches involve incorporating humidity control to address grain boundary challenges for proton conduction. This study finds vitrification as an alternative strategy to eliminate grain boundary effect in HOFs by rapidly melt quenching the kinetically stable HOF-SXU-8 to glassy state HOF-g.” “Notably, a remarkable enhancement in proton conductivity without humidity was achieved after vitrification, from 1.31 × 10−7 S cm−1 to 5.62× 10−2 S cm−1 at 100 °C. Long term stability test showed negligible performance degradation, and even at 30 °C, the proton conductivity remained at high level of 1.2 × 10−2 S cm−1. “ “Molecule dynamics (MD) simulations and X-ray total scattering experiments reveal the HOF-g system is consisted of three kinds of clusters, i.e., 1,5-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid (1,5-NSA) anion clusters, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) molecule clusters, and H+-H2O clusters.” “In which, the H+ plays an important role to bridge these clusters and the high conductivity is mainly related to the H+ on H3O+. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing HOFs, enabling efficient proton conduction, and advancing energy conversion and storage devices.” https://lnkd.in/eGA_-GpR Source - original post Read all my posts #MariusPreston

🔬 A recent study found that Medium chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHAs), a type of polymer, can be efficiently synthesized from fatty acids in non-sterile conditions. This may have significant implications for reducing production costs. The anti-microbial properties of fatty acids can limit the growth of microbial competitors, allowing the bacteria Pseudomonas putida LS46 to dominate and produce mcl-PHAs. After testing in a sequential batch reactor for 28 days, 47% of the total biomass observed was mcl-PHA. This suggests that we can produce these polymers in an open and continuous cultivation process, potentially cutting both fixed and operating costs. This is the first study of its kind to report the production of purely mcl-PHAs after prolonged periods in a non-sterile environment. It's an exciting step forward for scientific research and could have important implications for the industry. 🔍 Read more: https://lnkd.in/e7655dWz #Research #Science #Innovation #PHA #sustainability #plasticpollution