The ZnO–Na2Ti6O13 composites were synthesized by facile solution combustion method with different molar concentrations of sodium titanate which is prepared by hydrothermal route. The formation of the composites was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) results revealed that the synthesized composites exhibit porous morphology, whereas the pristine Na2Ti6O13 nanoparticles have whisker like morphology. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and photoluminescence (PL) studies were utilized to compute the bandgap and the presence of defects in the composites respectively. The photocatalytic activity of ZnO–Na2Ti6O13 catalyst was investigated through the degradation of 4-nitrophenol under solar light over a period of 180 min and the composite with 0.05 M of Na2Ti6O13 showed higher degradation efficiency (96%) than the other concentrations of Na2Ti6O13 and pristine ZnO. The reduced bandgap, high charge transfer, more oxygen vacancies and the production of high superoxide anion radicals have profound effect on the higher photocatalytic efficiency of the composite with 0.05 of M Na2Ti6O13.

In the Geumho River, 4-nitrophenol has been detected, thus it is necessary to investigate the contamination sources in order to prevent the release of this compound. However, the research to estimate the potential source is regarded as complicated research. In this study, the distributions of 4-nitrophenol were simulated and the contribution of the potential sources was estimated using a numerical model(HydroGeoSphere; HGS) and the measuring data of 4-nitrophenol from 2013 to 2017. The altitude data, the land cover data, the flow rates of the tributaries and wastewater treatment plants, and the decay rate of 4-nitrophenol was used as the input data. The results of this research showed that the contribution rates of potential contamination sources in the upstream area were higher than that of the downstream area. Most of the upstream area is the agricultural area, it seemed that 4-nitrophenol was originated from the pesticides. In order to achieve more specific location of sources, an intensive investigation in the upstream is required.

Adsorption isotherms of p-nitrophenol from its aqueous solutions on two samples of activated carbon fibres and two samples of granulated activated carbons have been determined in the concentration range 40~800 mg/L (ppm). The surface of these carbons was modified by oxidation with nitric acid and oxygen gas, and by degassing the carbon surface under vacuum at temperatures of 400℃, 650℃ and 950℃. The oxidation of carbon enhances the amount of carbon-oxygen surface groups, while degassing decreases the amount of these surface groups. The adsorption of p-nitrophenol does not depend upon the surface area alone but appears to be influenced by the presence of oxygen groups on the carbon surface. The adsorption decreases on oxidation while the degassing of the carbon surface enhances the adsorption. The decrease in adsorption depends upon the strength of the oxidative treatment being much larger in case of the oxidation with nitric acid, while the decrease in adsorption on degassing depends upon the temperature of degassing. The results show that while the presence of acidic surface groups which are evolved as CO2 on degassing suppress the adsorption of p-nitrophenol, the presence of non acidic surface groups which are evolved as CO on degassing tend to enhance the adsorption. Suitable mechanisms compatible with the results have been presented.

For areas with the diverse contamination sources, the change of 4-nitrophenol contamination and impact of potential contamination sources have been evaluated using monitoring data and a numerical model (HydroGeoSphere). The model considered several parameters including land cover, precipitation, and flow rate. And, the model has been performed to investigate the effect of decay rate of 4-nitrophenol. The results of the simulations showed that the influence on 4-nitrophenol in downstream was mainly greater than that in upstream, and the tributaries did not significantly affect the mainstream because of their low flow rates. In addition, the effect of contamination sources was simulated for each section, then the measured data were higher than the corresponding simulated data in most sections of the Geumho river. In particular, the impact of the potential contamination sources in the upstream area was much higher than that in the other area, thus more monitoring data for the upstream area is required.