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Catalytic Effect of a Semiconductor on the Removal of Hexavalent Chromium from Aqueous Solution by γ-Ray Irradiation

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Abstract

Hexavalent chromium is a type of toxic chemical, it may cause allergies, hereditary genetic defects and cancer in humans by inhalation, and it is also a persistent danger to the environment. However, chromium metal, trivalent chromium and tetravalent chromium have low toxicities. In this study, semiconductor materials (quartz fibre and TiO2) were added to a hexavalent chromium solution and the removal efficiency of hexavalent chromium as a function of the γ-ray irradiation dose, as well as the catalytic mechanism, was investigated. It was observed that the reduction of hexavalent chromium by γ-ray irradiation was largely promoted in the presence of semiconductor materials; the semiconductor materials act as catalysts under the gamma-ray irradiation. The hexavalent chromium in the solution can be converted to an insoluble precipitate by gamma-ray irradiation. These results are highly beneficial to apply semiconductor materials as catalysts for the removal of contaminants by radiation.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11405086), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. NS201703) and the National Key Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development Project (Grant No. 2013YQ040861). The authors also thank PAPD (A Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 210016, China

    Xionghui Fei, Yongsheng Ling, Qing Shan, Daqian Hei & Wenbao Jia

  2. Collaborative Innovation Centre of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Suzhou, 215021, China

    Yongsheng Ling, Qing Shan & Wenbao Jia

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  1. Xionghui Fei
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  2. Yongsheng Ling
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  3. Qing Shan
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  4. Daqian Hei
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  5. Wenbao Jia
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Correspondence to Yongsheng Ling.

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Fei, X., Ling, Y., Shan, Q. et al. Catalytic Effect of a Semiconductor on the Removal of Hexavalent Chromium from Aqueous Solution by γ-Ray Irradiation. Water Air Soil Pollut 228, 372 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3535-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3535-x

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