EVALUATION OF THE SYNTHESIS ROUTE OF NIO@CARBON QUANTUM DOTS JANUS NANOCOMPOSITES ON THEIR PHOTOCATALYTIC PROPERTIES FOR ORGANIC MOLECULES DEGRADATION IN OIL/WATER EMULSIONS.

In this study, the photocatalytic performance of NiO doped Carbon Quantum Dots (NiO@CQD) amphiphilic nanocomposite for the degradation of organic molecules in oil/water emulsion was tested. Hydrothermal, sonochemical and microwave synthetic routes followed by a calcination step were used to obtain the NiO Core. In parallel, CQD were obtained from ethylene glycol by hydrothermal treatment. NiO@CQD nanocomposites were obtained by mixing the individual nanomaterials in water and them, this mixture was hydrothermally. The nanocomposite surface was selectively functionalized with different organic molecules to obtain Janus amphiphilic materials able to stabilize oil/water emulsion. All the materials were characterized by TEM, XRD, DLS, XPS, TGA, N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, ATR-IR and Raman spectroscopy, and the emulsion were characterized by optical microscopy and by z-sizer to measure the drop size. The photodegradation tests of the organic molecule of interest in the oil/water emulsion were performed under UV/Vis light and followed by CG-GC in the oil phase, and by UV/Vis spectroscopy in both phases. Different degradation yields were achieved and any evident correlation of the physiochemistry properties of the materials and emulsions were evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]