Browsing Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Chemistry) by Title
Now showing items 1-20 of 135
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Advanced materials on the basis of nanostructured catalysed magnesium hydride for hydrogen storage
(University of the Western Cape, 2019)Magnesium hydride has long been regarded as a promising candidate for lightweight hydrogen storage applications, owing to reasonably high theoretical capacity (7.6 wt. %). It is burdened by slow absorption/desorption ... -
Advanced oxidative water treatment process using an electrohydraulic discharge reactor and TiO2 immobilised on nanofibres
(University of Western Cape, 2013)The aim of this study was to design and build an electrohydraulic discharge reactor in such a way that the synthetic immobilized TiO2 nanophotocatalytic components could be integrated, for the production of active species ... -
Advanced Ti – based AB and AB2 hydride forming materials
(University of the Western Cape, 2011)Ti – based AB and AB₂ hydride forming materials have shown to be very promising hydrogen storage alloys due to their reasonable reversible hydrogen storage capacity at near ambient conditions, abundance and low cost. ... -
Aluminium and gold functionalized graphene quantum dots as electron acceptors for inverted Schottky junction type rainbow solar cells
(University of Western Cape, 2020)The main aim of this study was to prepare band gap-engineered graphene quantum dot (GQD) structures which match the different energies of the visible region in the solar spectrum. These band gap-engineered graphene quantum ... -
The catalytic membrane reactor for the conversion of methane to methanol and formaldehyde under mild conditions
(University of the Western Cape, 2005)This thesis described the development of new catalytic system for the conversion of natural gas (methane) to liquid products such as methanol and formaldehyde. This technology can allow the exploitation of small and medium ... -
The chemical and biological characterization of South African helichrysum species
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)South Africa has immensely rich natural flora diversity with more than 20 000 species of higherplants. Asteraceae is one of the biggest families of flowering plants with about 246 genera and 2,300 species in southern Africa. ... -
Chemical and biological investigation into some selected African indigenous medicinal plants
(University of the Western Cape, 2009)African medicinal plants are commonly used throughout Africa to treat a variety of ailments including wounds and ulcers, cough and chest complaints, gingivitis, fever and gonorrhoea, indication all related to infection and ... -
Chemical interactions and mobility of species infly ash-brine co-disposal systems
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)The primary aim of these coal fired industries for co-disposing fly ash and brine was to use the fly ash as a sustainable salt sink. It is therefore important to study the interaction chemistry of the fly ash-brine systems ... -
Chemical isolation and electro-chemical characterization of antidiabetic compounds from selected South African lamiaceae plant species
(University of the Western Cape, 2020)Diabetes mellitus (DM), being one of the most common metabolic disorders with an elevated morbidity and mortality rate around the world. It is characterised by deficiency in insulin secretion or degradation of secreted ... -
Chemistry and speciation of potentially toxic and radioactive elements during mine water treatment
(University of the Western Cape, 2012)Mine water poses a serious environmental challenge and contains elements such as Fe, Al, and Mn in potentially toxic concentrations. The major anion in mine water is sulphate. The complexity and diversity of mine water ... -
Chromium and Titanium based Stannum Nanocomposites materials as electron acceptors for next generation bulk Heterojunction photovoltaic cells
(University of the Western Cape, 2018)Renewable energy has become the centrepiece of research in resolving the energy crisis. One of the forms of renewable energy is solar energy. This form of energy is costly to develop. Organic molecules are promising materials ... -
Coal fly ash and acid mine drainage based heterogeneous Fe catalysts Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction
(University of Western Cape, 2020)The catalytic support materials used in the present study are zeolite HBEA and MCM-41. These high silica zeolites were synthesised from coal fly ash (CFA) waste via a novel approach that involved a fusion step, acid assisted ... -
A comparative energy storage efficiency study of multiple cation doped LiMxMn2-xO4/MWCNT cathodes for advanced Li-ion batteries
(University of the Western Cape, 2022)The current lithium-ion battery which is used in most technological applications is the LiCoO2 (LCO) battery. This battery offers a high theoretical capacity of 274 mAh.g-1. Scientists have however deemed this battery ... -
Complexation and Bioavailability of Dissolved Mercury Evaluation by Hplc and a Novel Au-Hydrogel Analytical Sensor Protocol.
(University of the Western Cape, 2017)Anthropogenic sources as well as natural contributions (e.g. volcanic activity and evaporation from the oceans) have increased mercury levels in the environment. Mercury deposits mainly in sediments, and it finally ends ... -
Composite poly(dimethoxyaniline) electrochemical nanobiosensor for glufosinate and glyphosate herbicides
(University of the Western Cape, 2008)In this thesis, I present a simple, sensitive and low cost electrochemical nanobiosensor for quantitative determination of the herbicides glufosinate, glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA). Firstly, ... -
Degradation of bisphenol-a and 2-Nitrophenol by combined advanced oxidation technologies
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)Emerging micropollutants such as bisphenol-A and 2-nitrophenol present a great threat in drinking water due to their adverse effects. Most conventional technologies in water and wastewater treatment are not designed to ... -
Degradation of persistent organic pollutants (pharmaceuticals & dyes) by combined dielectric barrier electrohydraulic discharge system and photo catalysts
(University of the Western Cape, 2019)Water pollution problems have continued to increase not only in South Africa but worldwide due to human activities. The presence of organic toxins and bacteria in water sources is mostly due to population growth, industrial ... -
Dehydrogenation of alkanes using sulfided metal catalysts
(University of Western Cape, 2021)Light olefins are some of the main raw materials for the petrochemical industry. With the rise in oil prices and increasing demand for olefins, there is an increasing interest in finding cheaper alternatives for processes ... -
Dendritic poly(3-hexylthiophene) star copolymer systems for next generation bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cells
(University of the Western Cape, 2018)The continuous increase in energy consumption and decrease in fossil fuels reserves are a primary concern worldwide; especially for South Africa. Therefore, there is an urgent need for alternative energy resources that ... -
The design of ultrasensitive immunosensors based on a new multi-signal amplification gold nanoparticles-dotted 4-nitrophenylazo functionalised graphene sensing platform for the determination of deoxynivalenol
(University of Western Cape, 2014)A highly dispersive gold nanoparticle-dotted 4-nitrophenylazo functionalised graphene nanocomposite (AuNp/G/PhNO2) was successfully synthesised and applied in enhancing sensing platform signals. Three label-free ...