Potential of Capparis decidua plant and eggshell composite adsorbent for effective removal of anionic dyes from aqueous medium.

The presence of hazardous dyes in wastewater poses significant threats to both ecosystems and the natural environment. Conventional methods for treating dye-contaminated water have several limitations, including high costs and complex operational processes. This study investigated a sustainable bio-sorbent composite derived from the Capparis decidua plant and eggshells, and evaluated its effectiveness in removing anionic dyes namely tartrazine (E-102), methyl orange (MO), and their mixed system. The research examines the influence of initial concentration, contact time, pH, adsorbent dosage, and temperature on the adsorption properties of anionic dyes. Optimal removal of tartrazine (E-102), methyl orange (MO), and their mixed system was achieved at a pH of 3. The equilibrium was achieved at 80 min for MO and mixed systems, and 100 min for E-102. The adsorption process showed an exothermic nature, indicating reduced capacity with increasing temperature, consistent with heat release during adsorption. Positive entropy values indicated increased disorder at the solid-liquid interface, attributed to molecular rearrangements and interactions between dye molecules and the adsorbent. Isotherm analysis using Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Redlich-Peterson models revealed that the Langmuir model best fit the experimental data. The maximum adsorption capacities of 50.97 mg/g, 52.24 mg/g, and 56.23 mg/g were achieved for E-102, MO, and the mixed system under optimized conditions, respectively. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model demonstrated the best fit, indicating that adsorption occurs through physical and chemical interactions such as electrostatic attraction, pore filling, and hydrogen bonding. Hence, the developed bio-sorbent could be a sustainable and cost-effective solution for the treatment of anionic dyes from industrial effluents.

Cancer Staging in Patients with Compromised Renal Function: Is PET/CT an Alternative to Contrast CT Scan?

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Standardised Uptake Value in Organ Confined Prostate Cancer in 68-Ga- Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography Scan and its Correlation with Prostate Specific Antigen Level and Gleason Score.

Introduction: A positron emission tomography (PET) scan and a computed tomography (CT) scan are an integral part of oncological imaging and other modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging, CT or bone scintigraphy have some limitations in staging the workup of prostate carcinoma. Combined with tissue-specific markers like prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), positron emitter-based functional imaging results have improved. Our study aimed to determine the Standardised Uptake Value (SUVmax) in prostate adenocarcinoma that is confined to the organ in Ga-68-PSMA PET-CT scans and how it correlates with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and Gleason score (GS). Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), Karachi, and includes subjects referred for a Ga68-PSMA PET-CT scan from September 2017 to January 2022. Histopathologic-proven adenocarcinoma prostate patients with organ-confined disease and PSA levels obtained within 6 weeks before the PSMA-PET-CT scan were included in the study. PET-CT images were semi-quantitatively analysed by measuring SUVmax and the result was interpreted using statistical software SPSS version 22.0. Results: A total of 154 patients were analysed. The mean age of patients was 66.57 ± 8.86 years. The GS of all patients ranges from 6 to 10. The mean and median PSA levels were 32.33 ng/mL (range: 0.004-306.00) and 14.20 ng/mL, respectively. The mean SUVmax of all prostatic lesions was 14.67 ± 12.58 and the median value was 10.76. SUVmax was higher in patients with a PSA level of more than ten than those with a <10. The correlation of SUVmax with PSA and GS showed a significant correlation. Conclusion: The SUVmax of organ-confined prostate cancer correlates well with PSA level and GS Median SUVmax and PSA directly relate to GS.

Simultaneous adsorption of methylene blue and amoxicillin by starch-impregnated MgAl layered double hydroxide: Parametric optimization, isothermal studies and thermo-kinetic analysis.

Textile and pharmaceutical effluents contain significant amounts of dyes and antibiotics, which pose a serious threat to the ecosystem when discharged directly. Therefore, they should be treated by facile treatment techniques using low-cost materials. Layered double hydroxide (LDH) and its hybrids have emerged as robust and economic adsorbents for water treatment. Herein, magnesium/aluminum LDH and its starch-based composite were synthesized by a co-precipitation technique. The physicochemical features of the developed adsorbents were thoroughly characterized using various analytical tools. The developed materials were tested for the eradication of methylene blue (MB) and amoxicillin (AMX) in batch mode adsorption by varying operating conditions. Adsorption performance depends on the solution's pH. Under optimum adsorption conditions of pH 11, adsorbent dosage of 50 mg/L, and treatment time of 120 min, starch-impregnated MgAl-LDH exhibited maximum MB and AMX adsorption capacities of 114.94 and 48.08 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption mechanism states that hydrogen bonds and weak van der Waals forces are responsible for the removal of pollutants by the developed materials. Moreover, equilibrium and kinetic studies revealed that the removal of dye and antibiotic followed the Freundlich and Langmuir models with the pseudo-second-order reaction kinetics, respectively. The spent adsorbents were regenerated using 0.1 M HCl (for MB) and methanol (for AMX) eluent, and reusability studies ensured that the developed adsorbents retained their performance for up to four consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles. MgAl-LDH and its starch-based hybrid could thus be used to effectively remove organic contaminants from wastewater streams on a commercial scale.

Controllable Production of Natural Silk Nanofibrils for Reinforcing Silk-Based Orthopedic Screws.

As a natural high-performance material with a unique hierarchical structure, silk is endowed with superior mechanical properties. However, the current approaches towards producing regenerated silk fibroin (SF) for the preparation of biomedical devices fail to fully exploit the mechanical potential of native silk materials. In this study, using a top-down approach, we exfoliated natural silk fibers into silk nanofibrils (SNFs), through the disintegration of interfibrillar binding forces. The as-prepared SNFs were employed to reinforce the regenerated SF solution to fabricate orthopedic screws with outstanding mechanical properties (compression modulus > 1.1 GPa in a hydrated state). Remarkably, these screws exhibited tunable biodegradation and high cytocompatibility. After 28 days of degradation in protease XIV solution, the weight loss of the screw was ~20% of the original weight. The screws offered a favorable microenvironment to human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell growth and spread as determined by live/dead staining, F-action staining, and Alamar blue staining. The synergy between native structural components (SNFs) and regenerated SF solutions to form bionanocomposites provides a promising design strategy for the fabrication of biomedical devices with improved performance.

Prevalence, determinants and consequences of problematic smartphone use among preschoolers (3-5 years) from Dhaka, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional investigation.

The problematic smartphone use (PSU) has been becoming a challenging health issue for preschoolers aged 3-5 years as it has severe adverse effect on their psychological, physical, and cognitive development. The scarcity of scientific research on this issue in the context of Bangladesh motivated the authors for conducting this cross-sectional study to explore the prevalence of PSU with its influential factors and adverse effects on preschooler's psychological and physical development based on primary data collected from 400 mothers. The multivariable ordinal logistic regression (OLR) was used to compute the adjusted likelihoods. The estimated prevalence of PSU was approximately 86 %, where about 29 % were severely problematic user. The likelihood of preschoolers' PSU was observed to increase with >1 h/day usage of smartphone by children (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 3.92). Other important factors were parental smartphone use, education, profession, family income, and mother's age. Both of moderate and severe PSU had adverse effect on preschoolers' health- severe PSU was found to increase the likelihood of psychological and physical problems by 6.03 and 3.29 times, respectively. The preschoolers with PSU reported to suffer from many physical and mental health problems such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), emotional instability, aggressiveness, depression, lack of control, impaired vision and hearing, obesity, body imbalance, and lack of brain development. It is now prime time to undertake strategic policies considering the findings for limiting the preschoolers' usage of smartphone, which will make Bangladesh susceptible to protect its future generation from harmful effects of PSU.

A Review of Advanced Multifunctional Magnetic Nanostructures for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy Integrated into an Artificial Intelligence Approach.

The new era of nanomedicine offers significant opportunities for cancer diagnostics and treatment. Magnetic nanoplatforms could be highly effective tools for cancer diagnosis and treatment in the future. Due to their tunable morphologies and superior properties, multifunctional magnetic nanomaterials and their hybrid nanostructures can be designed as specific carriers of drugs, imaging agents, and magnetic theranostics. Multifunctional magnetic nanostructures are promising theranostic agents due to their ability to diagnose and combine therapies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the development of advanced multifunctional magnetic nanostructures combining magnetic and optical properties, providing photoresponsive magnetic platforms for promising medical applications. Moreover, this review discusses various innovative developments using multifunctional magnetic nanostructures, including drug delivery, cancer treatment, tumor-specific ligands that deliver chemotherapeutics or hormonal agents, magnetic resonance imaging, and tissue engineering. Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to optimize material properties in cancer diagnosis and treatment, based on predicted interactions with drugs, cell membranes, vasculature, biological fluid, and the immune system to enhance the effectiveness of therapeutic agents. Furthermore, this review provides an overview of AI approaches used to assess the practical utility of multifunctional magnetic nanostructures for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Finally, the review presents the current knowledge and perspectives on hybrid magnetic systems as cancer treatment tools with AI models.

Reduced Graphene Oxide-Zinc Sulfide Nanocomposite Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles for Wastewater Treatment by Adsorption, Photocatalysis and Antimicrobial Action.

Reduced graphene oxide nanosheets decorated with ZnS and ZnS-Ag nanoparticles are successfully prepared via a facile one-step chemical approach consisting of reducing the metal precursors on a rGO surface. Prepared rGO-ZnS nanocomposite is employed as an adsorbent material against two model dyes: malachite green (MG) and ethyl violet (EV). The adsorptive behavior of the nanocomposite was tuned by monitoring some parameters, such as the time of contact between the dye and the adsorbent, and the adsorbent dose. Experimental data were also simulated with kinetic models to evaluate the adsorption behavior, and the results confirmed that the adsorption of both dyes followed a pseudo 2nd order kinetic mode. Moreover, the adsorbent was also regenerated in a suitable media for both dyes (HCl for MG and ethanol for EV), without any significant loss in removal efficiency. Ag doped rGO-ZnS nanocomposite was also utilized as a photocatalyst for the degradation of the selected organic contaminant, resorcinol. The complete degradation of the phenolic compound was achieved after 60 min with 200 mg of rGO-ZnS-Ag nanocomposite under natural sunlight irradiation. The photocatalytic activity was studied considering some parameters, such as the initial phenol concentration, the photocatalyst loading, and the pH of the solution. The degradation kinetics of resorcinol was carefully studied and found to follow a linear Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. An additional advantage of rGO-ZnS and rGO-ZnS-Ag nanocomposites was antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacterium, E. coli, and the results confirmed the significant performance of the nanocomposites in destroying harmful pathogens.

Valorization of date palm leaves for adsorptive remediation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicide polluted agricultural runoff.

Alarming rates of water contamination by toxic herbicides have prompted the need and attention for easy, efficient, and affordable treatment options with a touch of circular economy aspects. This study valorized date palm leaf (DPL) wastes into a valuable adsorbent for remediating agricultural wastewater polluted with 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-DPA) herbicide. The DPL precursor was modified with H2SO4 treatment and both biomass samples were characterized by various analytical techniques. Acid treatment modified the morphology, thermal, and textural properties of the final product (TDPL) while maintaining the structure and surface chemistry intact. Simulated wastewaters containing 2,4-DPA were subsequently treated using TDPL as an adsorbent. Optimum adsorption conditions of pH 2, dosage 0.95 g/L, shaking speed 200 rpm, time 120 min, and temperature 30 °C showed a good herbicide removal efficiency in the range of 55.1-72.6% for different initial feed concentrations (50-250 mg/L). Experimental kinetic data were better represented by the pseudo-second-order model, while the Freundlich isotherm was reliable in describing the equilibrium behavior of the adsorption system. Further, the thermodynamic analysis revealed that the adsorption occurred spontaneously, favorably, and exothermically. Plausible sorption mechanism involved electrostatic interactions, weak van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonds, and π-π interactions between the participating phases. Conspicuously, TDPL application to real-world situations of treating actual herbicide-polluted agricultural runoff resulted in a 69.4% remediation efficiency. Thus, the study demonstrated the valorization of date palm leaves into a valuable and industry-ready adsorbent that can sequester toxic 2,4-DPA herbicide contaminant from aqueous streams.

Recent progress in silk-based biosensors.

The applications of biosensors, in both medical and non-medical fields, have expanded enormously over the last few years. For conventional sensing applications, petrochemical materials, conducting polymers, metals and carbon-based materials are used. However, biosensing, especially in the medical field, places stringent material requirements of biocompatibility, biodegradability and other performance. Silk, an ancient natural organic material, is endowed with excellent biocompatibility, adjustable biodegradability, high strength and outstanding processability due to its unique physical and chemical structure. Owing to these exceptional properties, silk and its derivatives are of interest to researchers as biosensor matrices (supports). Herein, we review the representative research results of silk-based biosensors in medical and non-medical fields and highlight the applications and challenges of silk and its derivatives in medical biosensing applications. We envision that silk-based biosensors will become an integral part of the healthcare monitoring system in future.

Bony lesion analysis in carcinoma prostate: methylene diphosphonate bone scan vs. Gallium-68 psma-11 pet/ct.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is the cause of the highest cancer-related death in males, 5-year survival is 31% in metastatic disease, and bone is a common site of metastases. Bone scintigraphy is a routinely used imaging modality for detecting skeletal metastases. It has variable sensitivity of 52-100%, whereas PSMA PET/CT scans have better sensitivity approaching 100%, so we determined the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of planar M.D.P. (Methylene diphosphonate) bone scintigraphy. METHODS: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at the N.M. & molecular imaging department of S.I.U.T. Karachi. Bone scans and PSMA-PET/CT scans of all patients who were visited from Janury-2018 to January 2023 were reviewed and interpreted by a nuclear physician& radiologist team. Inclusion criteria were histopathology-proven prostate cancer patients who had a bone scan and PSMA PET/CT scan within one month and had not received any treatment between scans. RESULTS: Among 70 scans, 38 (54.2%) were positive for bone lesions. A total of 18 (47%) patients had positive bony lesions on both PSMA-PET/CT and Bone scintigraphy. Among 38 bone lesions positive patients, in eleven patients, bone lesions were detected only on PET/CT scans, whereas nine were positive only on Bone scans. The mean S.U.V. max of all bony lesions was 19.15 (range 3.2-57.5). The bone scan's sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 62.07%, 78.05%, and 62.87%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PSMA-PET/CT is better than bone Scintigraphy for detecting skeletal metastases. However, outcomes of bone scintigraphy may be improved when Tc-PSMA receptor bone scintigraphy is used.

Sustainability of the grazing and feeding resources for sheep during the non-migratory period in Jammu and Kashmir.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the sustainability of the grazing and feeding resources of the sheep in Kashmir, India. The study was conducted in the Ganderbal District of Kashmir to evaluate sustainability, along with the scenario of grazing pattern and feeding system of the sheep during the non-migratory period. The district was divided into three production zones based on altitude, i.e., zone I (high altitude), zone II (medium altitude), and zone III (low altitude). A total of 360 sheep farmers were interviewed from the three zones that consist of 9 blocks, with 40 sheep farmers interviewed from each block. Majority of the sheep farmers (75.00%) follow a semi-migratory type of production system, use forest, and low-mountain areas for grazing purposes (48.88%) and were having medium to high availability of grazing lands. The main feeding source available to majority of the sheep farmers (60.00%) was found to be crop residues and fodder grasses, with local markets (60.00%) and fellow farmers (71.11%) being the main source of procuring concentrates and fodders. Hybrid entropy and TOPSIS method were used for the evaluation of sustainability of grazing and feeding system in the area. The most influencing factors for sustainability of grazing pattern and feeding source were found to be production system followed and the major feed sources available respectively. Most of the variables included in the grazing system were ideally best in zone I and of feeding system were found to be ideally best in zone III. There is a need for improvement in the parameters of the grazing pattern in zone III, i.e., in low-altitude areas or planes where grazing lands are shrinking at an alarming rate. The parameters under the feeding system need due consideration in zone I, i.e., in the high altitudes where the socio-economic situation of the people is comparatively poor than the other two zones.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction of highly nutritious date sugar from date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruit powder: Parametric optimization and kinetic modeling.

Alternative sweeteners to white sugar with a lower calorie content and glycemic index obtained through date palm fruits is of great interest to the food industry. In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction of nutritive sugar from date fruit powder was investigated through Box-Behnken design. A maximum total sugar content (TSC) of 812 mg glucose eq./g of DFP was obtained with a sugar extraction yield (SEY) of 81.40 ± 0.27 % under the following optimal extraction conditions: extraction temperature of 60 °C, extraction time of 30 min, and L/S ratio of 7.6 mL/g. Various modern techniques were used to characterize the obtained extracts and associated residues. The results showed that the extract contained fructose, glucose, and sucrose and had good thermal stability. Furthermore, SEM and TSC analysis revealed that ultrasonic treatment of the biomass improved mass transfer diffusion due to acoustic or ultrasonic cavitation, resulting in a higher sugar yield.

Fabrication of Ru-CoFe2O4/RGO hierarchical nanostructures for high-performance photoelectrodes to reduce hazards Cr(VI) into Cr(III) coupled with anodic oxidation of phenols.

Dual-functional photo (electro)catalysis (PEC) is a key strategy for removing coexisting heavy metals and phenolic compounds from wastewater treatment systems. To design a PEC cell, it is crucial to use chemically stable and cost-effective bifunctional photocatalysts. The present study shows that ruthenium metallic nanoparticles decorated with CoFe2O4/RGO (Ru-CoFe2O4/RGO) are effective bifunctional photoelectrodes for the reduction of Cr(VI) ions. Ru-CoFe2O4/RGO achieves a maximum Cr(VI) reduction rate of 99% at 30 min under visible light irradiation, which is much higher than previously reported catalysts. Moreover, PEC Cr(VI) reduction rate is also tuned by adding varying concentration of phenol. A mechanism for the concurrent removal of Cr(VI) and phenol has been revealed over a bifunctional Ru-CoFe2O4/RGO catalyst. A number of key conclusions emerged from this study, demonstrating the dual role of phenol during Cr(VI) reduction by PEC. Anodic oxidation of phenol produces the enormous H+ ion, which appears to be a key component of Cr(VI) reduction. Additionally, phenolic molecules serve as hole (h+) scavengers that reduce e-/h+ recombination, thus enhancing the reduction rate of Cr(VI). Therefore, the Ru-CoFe2O4/RGO photoelectrode exhibits a promising capability of reducing both heavy metals and phenolic compounds simultaneously in wastewater.

Surface tuned polyethersulfone membrane using an iron oxide functionalized halloysite nanocomposite for enhanced humic acid removal.

Nanomodification of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes has been shown to be a simple and efficient technique for the preparation of high-performance membranes. In this work, an iron oxide functionalized halloysite nanoclay (Fe-HNC) nanocomposite was prepared and used as a nanofiller for polyethersulfone (PES) membranes. The effect of Fe-HNC concentration on the filtration performance of the membrane was investigated by varying the nanocomposite dosage (0-0.5 wt %) in the casting dope. Various characterization studies showed that the incorporation of Fe-HNC nanocomposites improved the membrane morphology and enhanced the surface properties, thermal stability, mechanical strength, hydrophilicity, and porosity. The permeability to pure water and filtration of humic acid (HA) were significantly improved by incorporating Fe-HNC into the PES membranes. The membrane with Fe-HNC loading of 0.1 wt % exhibited the highest pure water permeability (174.3 L/(m2 h bar)) and removal of HA (90.1 %), which were 1.8 times and 29 % higher, respectively than the pristine PES membrane. Moreover, fouling studies showed the enhanced antifouling ability of the Fe-HNC nanocomposites modified PES membranes, especially against irreversible fouling. Continuous membrane regeneration-based fouling removal studies from HA showed that the PES/0.1 wt % Fe-HNC membrane exhibited a high fouling recovery of 70.4 % with very low reversible and irreversible fouling resistance of 9.61 % and 14.78 %, respectively, compared to the pristine PES membrane (fouling recovery: 40.4 %; reversible fouling: 21.7 %; irreversible fouling: 20.1 %). Overall, the Fe-HNC nanocomposite proved to be an effective nanomodifier for improving the permeability of PES membranes and the antifouling ability to treat HA polluted aqueous streams.

Surface-engineered polyethersulfone membranes with inherent Fe-Mn bimetallic oxides for improved permeability and antifouling capability.

In recent years, bimetallic oxide nanoparticles have garnered significant attention owing to their salient advantages over monometallic nanoparticles. In this study, Fe2O3-Mn2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized and used as nanomodifiers for polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membranes. A NIPS was used to fabricate asymmetric membranes. The effect of nanoparticle concentration (0-1 wt.%) on the morphology, roughness, wettability, porosity, permeability, and protein filtration performance of the membranes was investigated. The membrane containing 0.25 wt% nanoparticles exhibited the lowest water contact angle (67°) and surface roughness (10.4 ± 2.8 nm) compared to the other membranes. Moreover, this membrane exhibited the highest porosity (74%) and the highest pure water flux (398 L/m2 h), which was 16% and 1.9 times higher than that of the pristine PES membrane. The modified PES membranes showed an improved antifouling ability, especially against irreversible fouling. Bovine serum albumin protein-based dynamic five-cycle filtration tests showed a maximum flux recovery ratio of 77% (cycle-1), 67% (cycle-2), and 65.8% (cycle-5) for the PES membrane containing 0.25 wt% nanoparticles. Overall, the biphasic Fe2O3-Mn2O3 nanoparticles were found to be an effective nanomodifier for improving the permeability and antifouling ability of PES membranes in protein separation and water treatment applications.

Valorization of groundnut shell via pyrolysis: Product distribution, thermodynamic analysis, kinetic estimation, and artificial neural network modeling.

Pyrolysis of agricultural biomass is a promising technique for producing renewable energy and effectively managing solid waste. In this study, groundnut shell (GNS) was processed at 500 °C in an inert gas atmosphere with a gas flow rate and a heating rate of 10 mL/min and 10 °C/min, respectively, in a custom-designed fluidized bed pyrolytic-reactor. Under optimal operating conditions, the GNS-derived pyrolytic-oil yield was 62.8 wt.%, with the corresponding biochar (19.5 wt.%) and biogas yields (17.7 wt.%). The GC-MS analysis of the GNS-based bio-oil confirmed the presence of (trifluoromethyl)pyridin-2-amine (18.814%), 2-Fluoroformyl-3,3,4,4-tetrafluoro-1,2-oxazetidine (16.23%), 5,7-dimethyl-1H-Indazole (11.613%), N-methyl-N-nitropropan-2-amine (6.5%) and butyl piperidino sulfone (5.668%) as major components, which are used as building blocks in the biofuel, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Furthermore, a 2 × 5 × 1 artificial neural network (ANN) architecture was developed to predict the decomposition behavior of GNS at heating rates of 5, 10, and 20 °C/min, while the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters were estimated using a non-isothermal model-free method. The Popescu method predicted activation energy (Ea) of GNS biomass ranging from 111 kJ/mol to 260 kJ/mol, with changes in enthalpy (ΔH), Gibbs-free energy (ΔG), and entropy (ΔS) ranging from 106 to 254 kJ/mol, 162-241 kJ/mol, and -0.0937 to 0.0598 kJ/mol/K, respectively. The extraction of high-quality precursors from GNS pyrolysis was demonstrated in this study, as well as the usefulness of the ANN technique for thermogravimetric analysis of biomass.

Hybrid capacitive deionization of NaCl and toxic heavy metal ions using faradic electrodes of silver nanospheres decorated pomegranate peel-derived activated carbon.

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an evolving technology for eradicating salt and toxic heavy metal ions from brackish wastewater. However, traditional CDI electrodes have lower salt adsorption capacity and inadequate adsorption of selective metal ions for long-term operations. Herein, Ag nanospheres incorporated pomegranate peel-derived activated carbon (Ag/P-AC) was prepared and implied to the CDI process for removing NaCl, toxic mono-, di-, and trivalent metal ions. Morphological analysis revealed that the 80-100 nm-sized Ag nanospheres were uniformly decorated on the surfaces of P-AC nanosheets. The Ag/P-AC has a higher specific surface area (640 m2 g-1), superior specific capacitance (180 F g-1 at 50 mV s-1) and a lower charge transfer resistance (0.5 Ω cm2). CDI device was fabricated by Ag/P-AC as an anode, which adsorbed anions and P-AC as cathode for adsorption of positively charged ions at 1.2 V in an initial salt concentration of 1000 mg L-1. An asymmetric Ag/P-AC//P-AC exhibited a maximum NaCl adsorption capacity of 36 mg g-1 than symmetric P-AC//P-AC electrodes (22.7 mg g-1). Furthermore, Pb(II), Cd(II), F-, and As(III) ions were successfully removed from simulated wastewater by using Ag/P-AC//P-AC based CDI system. These asymmetric CDI-electrodes have an excellent prospect for the removal of salt and toxic contaminants in industrial wastewater.

Designed assembly of Ni/MAX (Ti3AlC2) and porous graphene-based asymmetric electrodes for capacitive deionization of multivalent ions.

The contamination of aquatic ecosystems by fluoride and heavy metal ions constitute an environmental hazard and has been proven to be harmful to human health. This study explores the feasibility of using asymmetric capacitive deionization (CDI) electrodes to remove such toxic ions from wastewater. An asymmetric CDI cell was fabricated using 2D Ni/MAX as an anode and 3D porous reduced graphene oxide (pRGO) as a cathode for the electrosorption of F-, Pb2+, and As(III) ions. A simple microwave process was used for the synthesis of Ni/MAX composite using fish sperm DNA (f-DNA) as a cross-linker between MAX nanosheets (NSs) and the metallic Ni nanoparticles (NPs). Further, pRGO anode was prepared through effective reduction of RGO using lemon juice as green reducing agent with the assist of f-DNA as a structure-directing agent for the formation of 3D network. With this tailored nanoarchitecture, pRGO and Ni/MAX electrodes exhibited a high specific capacitance of 760 and 385 F g-1, respectively. The fabricated Ni/MAX and pRGO based CDI system demonstrated a high electrosorption capacity of 68, 76, and 51 mg g-1 for the monovalent F-, divalent Pb2+, and trivalent As(III) ions at 1.4 V in neutral pH. Furthermore, Ni/MAX//pRGO system was successfully applied for the removal of total F(T), Pb(T), and As(T) ions from real industrial wastewater and contaminated groundwater. The present findings indicate that the fabricated Ni/MAX//pRGO electrode has excellent electrochemical properties that can be exploited for the removal of anionic and cationic metal ions from aqueous solutions in a CDI based system.

Enhanced electrochemical performances of peanut shell derived activated carbon and its Fe3O4 nanocomposites for capacitive deionization of Cr(VI) ions.

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is one of the most efficient and emerging techniques for the removal of toxic metal ions from aqueous solutions. In this study, mesoporous peanut shell derived activated carbon (PSAC) was prepared by low temperature pyrolysis at 500 °C. Subsequently, a novel iron oxide/PSAC (Fe3O4/PSAC) nanocomposite adsorbent was prepared via facile one-pot hydrothermal synthesis method at 180 °C. Nucleation growth mechanism and appropriate characterizations of prepared nanocomposites were investigated. The obtained Fe3O4/PSAC possessed a highly mesoporous structure, and a large specific surface area (680 m2/g). The electrochemical analysis showed that the obtained Fe3O4/PSAC nanocomposites exhibited higher capacitance (610 F/g at 10 mV/s), good stability and low internal resistance. A batch mode adsorption and CDI based Cr(VI) removal studies were conducted. Effects of solution pH and cycle time on Cr(VI) electrosorption capacity were further investigated. The Fe3O4/PSAC based electrodes exhibit a maximum electrosorption capacity of 24.5 mg/g at 1.2 V, which was remarkably larger than other reported materials. The fabricated composite displayed higher electrosorption capacity with rapid time and a favorable reduction of Cr (VI) to Cr(III). Studies indicated that the Fe3O4/PSAC based CDI electrode possesses a good potential to be applied for the removal of toxic metal ions from wastewater.