Fabrication of leaf extract mediated bismuth oxybromide/oxyiodide (BiOBrxI1-x) photocatalysts with tunable band gap and enhanced optical absorption for degradation of organic pollutants.

The use of Azadirachta indica (A.I.) leaf extract to synthesize green photocatalysts for efficient separation of photogenerated charges has been a promising way to enhance the photocatalytic activity. Herein, we report the synthesis of green bismuth oxybromide/oxyiodide composites (G-BiOBrxI1-x) using A.I. leaf extract with effective size control, high specific surface area, and porosity. The A.I. leaf extract also acted as an excellent sensitizer that boosted the optical window of the G-BiOBrxI1-x photocatalysts. The as-prepared G-BiOBrxI1-x photocatalysts possessed three-dimensional (3-D) nanoplates like structure with successive modulation of the band gaps from 2.28 eV to 1.98 eV by varying the bromine/iodine (Br/I) ratio. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of the G-BiOBrxI1-x samples was measured and compared with the bismuth oxybromide/oxyiodide composite (C-BiOBr0.5I0.5) synthesized via conventional hydrolysis route (without the leaf extract). The G-BiOBrxI1-x photocatalysts degraded higher percentage of methyl orange (MO) and amoxicillin (AMX) than C-BiOBr0.5I0.5 under visible light irradiation. The superior photocatalytic efficiency was attributed to the multiple heterojunctions developed between BiOBr, BiOI, and electron-accepting π-conjugated system offered by leaf extract constituents, thereby facilitating the charge transfer process and effective separation of photogenerated charges.

Plant leaf extracts as photocatalytic activity tailoring agents for BiOCl towards environmental remediation.

The inducement of plant leaf extracts for the synthesis of various nanostructures has intrigued researchers across the earth to explore the mechanisms of biologically active compounds present in the plants. Herein, a green modified hydrolysis route has been employed for the synthesis of bismuth oxychloride i.e. BiOCl-N, BiOCl-T and BiOCl-A using plant extracts of Azadirachta indica (Neem), Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi), and Saraca indica (Ashoka), and; simultaneously, without plant extract (BiOCl-C), respectively. The as-prepared samples were examined by several microscopic and spectroscopic techniques which revealed that the biosynthesized BiOCl attained certain favorable features such as hierarchical nano-flower morphology, higher porosity, higher specific surface area and narrower band gap compared to BiOCl-C. The degradation of methyl orange (MO) and bisphenol A (BPA) using biosynthesized BiOCl were improved by 21.5% within 90 min and 18.2% within 600 min under visible light irradiation, respectively. The photocurrent response, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and photoluminescence (PL) studies indicated the effective inhibition of the electron-hole pair recombination and enhanced photocatalytic activity of the biosynthesized BiOCl.

Impact of Spirituality/Religiousness on Cyber Bullying and Victimization in University Students: Mediating Effect of Emotional Intelligence.

The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between spirituality/religiousness with cyber bullying and victimization amongst Indian University students and whether emotional intelligence mediates the relationship. Data were collected from 490 University students studying in undergraduate and postgraduate courses across India. IBM AMOS was used to find reliability and validity of instruments and PROCESS macro for IBM SPSS by Preacher and Hayes (Behav Res Methods 36(4): 717-731, 2004) was used for conducting mediation analyses. Both spiritual and existential well-being were found negatively related with cyber bullying and victimization. As far as mediation goes, the negative relationships between spiritual and existential well-being with that of cyber bullying and victimization were significantly mediated by Appraisal of Self-Emotions, Appraisal of Other's Emotions and Regulation and control of Emotions dimensions of emotional intelligence. Implication and future directions are also discussed.

Biofabricated BiOI with enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation.

In the recent past, there has been a large-scale utilization of plant extracts for the synthesis of various photocatalysts. The biofabrication technology eliminates the usage of harmful chemicals and serves as an eco-friendly approach for environmental remediation. Herein, a comparative analysis between bismuth oxyiodide synthesized via Azadirachta indica (neem) leaf extract (BiOI-G) and without leaf extract (BiOI-C) has been envisaged. The BiOI-G and BiOI-C samples were characterized by spectral and microscopic techniques, which revealed that the Azadirachta indica assisted BiOI-G attained enhanced features over BiOI-C such as narrower band gap, large surface area, porosity, increased absorption range of visible light and effectual splitting of the photogenerated e--h+ pairs. Benefiting from these enhanced features, BiOI-G degraded methyl orange (MO), rhodamine B (RhB), and benzotriazole (BT) at a significantly higher rate in comparison to BiOI-C. The degradation rate of MO, RhB and BT by BiOI-G was observed to be 1.3, 1.25 and 1.29 times higher in comparison to BiOI-C. Moreover, BiOI-G displayed high stability upto five cycles of the photocatalytic activity, which endow its effectiveness as a highly-efficient green photocatalyst.