This study shows a preparation and evaluation of a new non-expensive TiO2 based photocatalyst built over sand grains surfaces as an alternative green technology for water treatment. The semiconductor covalently bonded to the silica sand grains (sand@TiO2) prepared by hydrolysis of isopropoxide orthotitane over sand grains, showed a high surface area 296 m2 g-1 and a high reaction rate for methylene blue (MB) photodegradation (0.064 min-1), on steady state condition by using 3 g of sand@TiO2 and an MB solution (20 mL, 3 × 10-5 mol L-1) or ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CIP) solution (20 mL, 1.9 × 10-3 mol L-1). Under UV irradiation with a medium pressure Hg lamp, the total MB removal reached 70% after 7 min and 45% for CIP in 60 min. Further, the photocatalyst showed to be a promising reusable material for removal of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride antibiotic (CIP) on wastewater. This new material appears as a new promising low cost and low impact reusable catalyst for water treatment.

The inorganic composition of the bark and leaf of a plant from the Amazon rainforest, Andira surinamensis, was determined using two non-destructive, multi-element techniques: X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). XRF measurements were made using both a conventional X-ray source and synchrotron radiation. It was observed that although magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, and potassium are present in higher concentrations in the leaf, calcium is about three times more concentrated in the bark. Manganese, iron, copper, zinc, strontium and barium were also detected, with barium showing a concentration above the minimum toxicity level for plants. Chemical speciation of sulfur, performed using the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) technique, showed that sulfur is present in several oxidation states, with a much larger contribution from the inorganic sulfate in the leaves. The article evidences that the combined use of synchrotron radiation and non-destructive multi-element techniques allows for an efficient and accurate determination of the inorganic composition and chemical speciation in plants.