Publications by Michaël Bensimon

Solar disinfection of drinking water at alkaline pH, assisted by ashes of spices and herbs containing catalytic metals, in a novel ?phyto-Fenton? process

In this manuscript, the improvement of solar disinfection (SODIS) for water treatment through the photo-Fenton reaction using iron replacements, namely calcined herbs and spices (thyme, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cocoa), naturally containing high content ...

ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA2023

Sunshine and a pinch of tropical soils: A natural, low-cost photo-Fenton variation for safer water, assisted by H2O2 or percabonate

Michaël Bensimon, César Pulgarin, Stefanos Giannakis, Jérémie Decker, Thomas Guillaume

Clean water is essential for human survival, but access to safe drinking water remains a challenge in resource -limited regions. Herein, we explored a low-cost but effective solution for water potabilization using natural iron sources from soils along with ...

ELSEVIER2023

Tracing and Closing the Water Balance in a Vegetated Lysimeter

Michaël Bensimon, Andrea Rinaldo, Paolo Benettin, Mitra Asadollahi

Closure of the soil water balance is fundamental to ecohydrology. But closing the soil water balance with hydrometric information offers no insight into the age distribution of water transiting the soil column via deep drainage or the combination of soil e ...

AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION2021

An innovative, highly stable Ag/ZIF-67@GO nanocomposite with exceptional peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation efficacy, for the destruction of chemical and microbiological contaminants under visible light

Michaël Bensimon, César Pulgarin

In this work, Ag nanoparticles were loaded on ZIF-67 covered by graphene oxide (Ag/ZIF-67@GO), and its catalytic performance was studied for the heterogeneous activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) under visible-light. The catalyst surface morphology and st ...

ELSEVIER2021

Velocities, Residence Times, Tracer Breakthroughs in a Vegetated Lysimeter: A Multitracer Experiment

Michaël Bensimon, Pierre Claude Jean Queloz, Andrea Rinaldo, Paolo Benettin

Flow velocities, residence times, and tracer breakthroughs at the lysimeter scale are affected by matrix properties and preferential flow. Despite their relevance to transport processes, however, the relative timing of preferential flow, and its link to tr ...

2019

An Unconventional Iron Nickel Catalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Michaël Bensimon, Anne-Clémence Corminboeuf, Xile Hu, Fang Song, Michael Markus Busch, Elitsa Petkucheva

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a key process that enables the storage of renewable energies in the form of chemical fuels. Here, we describe a catalyst that exhibits turnover frequencies higher than state-of-the-art catalysts that operate in alkali ...

2019

Fe and Cu in humic acid extracts modify bacterial inactivation pathways during solar disinfection and photo-Fenton processes in water

Michaël Bensimon, César Pulgarin, Stefanos Giannakis

2018

Extracellular bacterial inactivation proceeding without Cu-ion release: Drastic effects of the applied plasma energy on the performance of the Cu-polyester (PES) samples

Michaël Bensimon, Sami Rtimi

The widely different effects of Cu-polyester (PES) sputtered by high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) compared to the lower energy direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) leading to bacterial inactivation are addressed during the course of th ...

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV2018

Marine and freshwater micropearls: biomineralization producing strontium-rich amorphous calcium carbonate inclusions is widespread in the genus Tetraselmis (Chlorophyta)

Michaël Bensimon, Montserrat Filella

Unicellular algae play important roles in the biogeochemical cycles of numerous elements, particularly through the biomineralization capacity of certain species (e.g., coccolithophores greatly contributing to the "organic carbon pump" of the oceans), and u ...

COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH2018

New evidence for disinfection, self-cleaning and pollutant degradation mediated by GF-TiO2-Cu mats under solar/visible light in mild oxidative conditions

Michaël Bensimon, Juan Kiwi, César Pulgarin, Laura Victoria Suárez Murillo, Stefanos Giannakis

This study presents the performance of GF-mats loaded with TiO2 and Cu under solar/visible light leading to bacterial inactivation and pollutant degradation at both solid-air and solid-liquid interfaces. The GF-mats show effective water disinfection, self- ...

Elsevier2017

Synchronic coupling of Cu2O(p)/CuO(n) semiconductors leading to Norfloxacin degradation under visible light: Kinetics, mechanism and film surface properties

Michaël Bensimon, Juan Kiwi, César Pulgarin, Sami Rtimi, Gcina Mamba

The study presents the first evidence for Norfoxacin photodegradation by uniform, adhesive and robust CuOx-polystyrene (CuOx-PES) films under visible light. Repetitive Norfloxacin degradation was attained on CuOx-PES films activated by visible light. The s ...

Elsevier2017

Iron oxide-mediated semiconductor photocatalysis vs. heterogeneous photo-Fenton treatment of viruses in wastewater. Impact of the oxide particle size

Michaël Bensimon, César Pulgarin, Sami Rtimi, Masoud Talebi Amiri, Stefanos Giannakis, Siting Liu, Anna Carratala Ripolles

The photo-Fenton process is recognized as a promising technique towards microorganism disinfection in wastewater, but its efficiency is hampered at near-neutral pH operating values. In this work, we overcome these obstacles by using the heterogeneous photo ...

Elsevier2017

Effect of Fe(II)/Fe(III) species, pH, irradiance and bacterial presence on viral inactivation in wastewater by the photo-Fenton process: Kinetic modeling and mechanistic interpretation

Michaël Bensimon, César Pulgarin, Sami Rtimi, Stefanos Giannakis, Siting Liu, Anna Carratala Ripolles

Advanced Oxidation Processes and in particular photo-Fenton, represent promising strategies of pathogen inactivation in wastewater effluents. Nevertheless, its full potential is not yet unlocked, as the efficacy of photo-Fenton against viruses has not been ...

Elsevier2017

A green solar photo-Fenton process for the elimination of bacteria and micropollutants in municipal wastewater treatment using mineral iron and natural organic acids

Michaël Bensimon, Luiz Felippe De Alencastro, Dominique Grandjean, César Pulgarin, Sami Rtimi, Stefanos Giannakis, Paola Villegas Guzman

In this investigation, a new, green photo-Fenton process for wastewater treatment is proposed, involving the use of a natural iron source and natural additives, deriving from wastes, acting as iron chelators. The use of mineral iron as precursor in the pho ...

Elsevier Science Bv2017

Cu-decorated Raschig-TiO2 rings inducing MB repetitive discoloration without release of Cu-ions under solar light

Michaël Bensimon, Juan Kiwi, César Pulgarin, Rosendo Sanjines, Laura Victoria Suárez Murillo, Helena Luisa Teixido Pedarros

The methylene blue (MB) discoloration on innovative photocatalysts made up of Raschig-rings coated by pre-formed TiO2 nanoparticles decorated with CuOx (RR@TiO2-Cu) is presented. The MB-discoloration was drastically accelerated by the subsequent addition o ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2017

New evidence for Cu-decorated binary-oxides mediating bacterial inactivation/mineralization in aerobic media

Michaël Bensimon, Juan Kiwi, César Pulgarin, Sami Rtimi

Binary oxide semiconductors TiO2-ZrO2 and Cu-decorated TiO2-ZrO2 (TiO2-ZrO2-Cu) uniform films were sputtered on polyester (PES). These films were irradiated under low intensity solar simulated light and led to bacterial inactivation in aerobic and anaerobi ...

Elsevier2016

Supported TiO2 films deposited at different energies: Implications of the surface compactness on the catalytic kinetics

Michaël Bensimon, Juan Kiwi, César Pulgarin, Rosendo Sanjines, Sami Rtimi, Stefanos Giannakis

Insight is provided in this study for the effect of the TiO2film densification/compactness on polyethy-lene (PE-TiO2) by sputtering TiO2at two very different energy levels. Uniform, adhesive low energy filmswere prepared by direct current magnetron sputter ...

Elsevier2016

Insight on the photocatalytic bacterial inactivation by co-sputtered TiO2-Cu in aerobic and anaerobic conditions

Michaël Bensimon, Juan Kiwi, César Pulgarin, Rosendo Sanjines, Sami Rtimi, Stefanos Giannakis

Co-sputtered TiO2-Cu polyester (TiO2-Cu-PES) under actinic light induced bacterial reduction of E. coli in the presence of O2 (air) and under anaerobic conditions. The bacterial inactivation/oxidation proceeds in the absence of O2 (air) probably due to the ...

Elsevier2016

Treatment of pleural malignancies by photo-induction combined to systemic chemotherapy: Proof of concept on rodent lung tumors and feasibility study on porcine chest cavities

Michaël Bensimon, Georges Wagnières, Elodie Debefve, Laurent Décosterd, Jean Yannis Perentes

Background: Low-dose, Visudyne (R)-mediated photodynamic therapy (photo-induction) was shown to selectively enhance tumor vessel transport causing increased uptake of systemically administered chemotherapy in various tumor types grown on rodent lungs. The ...

Wiley-Blackwell2015

Innovative photocatalyst (FeOx–TiO2): transients induced by femtosecond laser pulse leading to bacterial inactivation under visible light

Michaël Bensimon, Juan Kiwi, César Pulgarin, Rosendo Sanjines, Sami Rtimi

This study reports the photosensitizing effect/mechanism of FeOx under visible light irradiation and charge transfer to TiO2 on FeOx–TiO2 cosputtered film. The transients which were photo-induced by femtosecond laser pulses at 545 nm (25 fs) were identifie ...

RSC Publishing2015