In this study the adsorption and photodegradation capabilities of modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), using tartrazine as a model pollutant, is demonstrated. MWCNT-COOH/Fe₃O₄ and MWCNT-COOH/Fe₃O₄/NiO nanocomposites were prepared by precipitation of metal oxides in the presence of MWCNTs. Their properties were examined by X-ray diffraction in powder (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, synchrotron-based Scanning PhotoElectron Microscopy (SPEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. It was found that the optimal adsorption conditions were pH 4 for MWCNT-COOH/Fe₃O₄ and pH 3 for MWCNT-COOH/Fe₃O₄/NiO, temperature 25 °C, adsorbent dose 1 g L⁻¹, initial concentration of tartrazine 5 mg L⁻¹ for MWCNT-COOH/Fe₃O₄ and 10 mg L⁻¹ for MWCNT-COOH/Fe₃O₄/NiO and contact time 5 min for MWCNT-COOH/Fe₃O₄/NiO and 15 min for MWCNT-COOH/Fe₃O₄. Moreover, the predominant degradation process was elucidated simultaneously, with and without simulated sunlight irradiation, using thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) and UV–Vis absorption spectrophotometry. The results indicated the prevalence of the photodegradation mechanism over adsorption from the beginning of the degradation process.

In this work, complex geometrical optics is, for what we believe is the first time, applied instead of geometrical or wave optics to describe the probe beam interaction with the field of the thermal wave in photothermal beam deflection (photothermal deflection spectroscopy) experiments on thin films. On the basis of this approach the thermal (thermal diffusivity and conductivity), optical (energy band gap), and transport (carrier lifetime) parameters of the semiconductor thin films (pure ${\mathrm{TiO}}_2$, N- and C-doped ${\mathrm{TiO}}_2$, or ${\mathrm{TiO}}_2/{\mathrm{SiO}}_2$ composites deposited on a glass or aluminum support) were determined with better accuracy and simultaneously during one measurement. The results are in good agreement with results obtained by the use of other methods and reported in the literature.

This paper presents recent development and applications of thermal lens microscopy (TLM) and beam deflection spectrometry (BDS) for the analysis of water samples and sea ice. Coupling of TLM detection to a microfluidic system for flow injection analysis (μFIA) enables the detection of microcystin-LR in waters with a four samples/min throughput (in triplicate injections) and provides an LOD of 0.08 µg/L which is 12-times lower than the MCL for microcystin-LR in water. μFIA-TLM was also applied for the determination of total Fe and Fe(II) in 3 µL samples of synthetic cloudwater. The LODs were found to be 100 nM for Fe(II) and 70 nM for total Fe. The application of µFIA-TLM for the determination of ammonium in water resulted in an LOD of 2.3 µM for injection of a 5 µL sample and TLM detection in a 100 µm deep microfluidic channel. For the determination of iron species in sea ice, the BDS was coupled to a diffusive gradient in the thin film technique (DGT). The 2D distribution of Fe(II) and total Fe on DGT gels provided by the BDS (LOD of 50 nM) reflected the distribution of Fe species in sea ice put in contact with DGT gels.

In the letter the optimization of the experimental setup for photothermal beam deflection spectroscopy is performed by analyzing the influence of its geometrical parameters (detector and sample position, probe beam radius and its waist position etc) on the detected signal. Furthermore, the effects of the fluid’s thermo-optical properties, for optimized geometrical configuration, on the measurement sensitivity and uncertainty determination of sample thermal properties is also studied. The examined sample is a recently developed CuFeInTe ₃ material. It is seen from the obtained results, that it is a complex problem to choose the proper geometrical configuration as well as sensing fluid to enhance the sensitivity of the method. A signal enhancement is observed at low modulation frequencies by placing the sample in acetonitrile (ACN), while at high modulation frequencies the sensitivity is higher for measurements made in air. For both, detection in air and acetonitrile the determination of CuFeInTe ₃ thermal properties is performed. The determined values of thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity are (0.048 ± 0.002) × 10 ⁻⁴ m ² s ⁻¹ and 4.6 ± 0.2 W m ⁻¹ K ⁻¹ and (0.056 ± 0.005) × 10 ⁻⁴ m ² s ⁻¹ and 4.8 ± 0.4 W m ⁻¹ K ⁻¹ for ACN and air, respectively. It is seen, that the determined values agree well within the range of their measurement uncertainties for both cases, although the measurement uncertainty is two times lower for the measurements in ACN providing more accurate results. The analysis is performed by the use of recently developed theoretical description based on the complex geometrical optics. It is also shown, how the presented work fits into the current status of photothermal beam deflection spectroscopy.

Self-cleaning and/or photocatalytic films on polymer substrates have found numerous applications during the past decades. However, the common demand for high-temperature post synthesis treatment limits the application to temperature resistant substrates only. Herein, we prepared self-cleaning photocatalytic films on four thermosensitive polymeric substrates: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and acryl coated polyester (PES) fabric (D2) with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) containing lacquer (D1). TiO₂ was prepared via a low-temperature sol-gel process using titanium(IV) isopropoxide and zirconium(IV) butoxide as precursors with various loading levels of Zr; 0, 5, 10, and 20 mol.%, and deposited on the substrates by using a SiO₂ binder in form of thin films (ca. 200 nm thick) via dip-coating. The films were characterized by SEM, hardness test, UV-Vis, photothermal beam deflection spectroscopy, and IR spectroscopy, while photocatalytic activity was measured by the fluorescence-based method of the terephthalic acid probe and wetting by contact angle measurements. Films containing 10 mol.% of Zr showed the best compromise regarding photocatalytic activity and mechanical stability while from substrates point of view PVC performed the best, followed by PMMA, D1, and D2. The beneficial role of SiO₂ binder was not only guaranteeing excellent mechanical stability, but also to prevent the D1 polymer from deterioration; the latter was found to be labile to long-term solar-light exposure due to degradation of the top PVDF layer.