Efficient Photocatalytic Dye Degradation and Bacterial Inactivation by Graphitic Carbon Nitride and Starch-Doped Magnesium Hydroxide Nanostructures.

The removal of hazardous pollutants from water is becoming an increasingly interesting topic of research considering their impact on the environment and the ecosystem. This work was carried out to synthesize graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and starch-doped magnesium hydroxide (g-C3N4/St-Mg(OH)2) nanostructures via a facile co-precipitation process. The focus of this study is to treat polluted water and bactericidal behavior with a ternary system (doping-dependent Mg(OH)2). Different concentrations (2 and 4 wt %) of g-C3N4 were doped in a fixed amount of starch and Mg(OH)2 to degrade methylene blue dye from an aqueous solution with bactericidal potential against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) pathogens. The textural structures, morphological evolutions, and optical characteristics of the as-prepared samples were analyzed using advanced characterization techniques. X-ray diffraction confirmed the hexagonal phase of Mg(OH)2 with improved crystallinity upon doping. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed Mg(OH)2 stretching vibrations and other functional groups. UV-visible spectroscopy exhibited a red shift (bathochromic effect) in absorption spectra representing the decrease in energy band gap (E g). Photoluminescence patterns were recorded to study recombination of charge carriers (e- and h+). A significant enhancement in photodegradation efficiency (97.62%) and efficient bactericidal actions against E. coli (14.10 mm inhibition zone) and S. aureus (7.45 mm inhibition zone) were observed for higher doped specimen 4% g-C3N4/St-Mg(OH)2.

Improved catalytic activity and bactericidal behavior of novel chitosan/V2O5 co-doped in tin-oxide quantum dots.

The novel V2O5/chitosan (CS) co-doped tin oxide (SnO2) quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized via co-precipitation technique. The optical, structural, morphological, and catalytic properties of the concerned specimens were examined by UV-Vis, PL, FTIR, X-ray diffraction, HR-TEM, and EDS. Structural analysis through XRD confirmed the tetragonal structure of SnO2; meanwhile, HR-TEM measurements unveiled quantum dot morphology. Rotational and vibrational modes related to functional groups of (O-H, C-H, Sn-O, and Sn-O-Sn) have been assessed with FTIR spectra. Through UV-Vis spectroscopy, a reduction in band-gap (4.39 eV to 3.98 eV) and redshift in co-doped spectra of SnO2 were identified. Both CS/SnO2 and V2O5-doped CS@SnO2 showed promising catalytic activity in all media. Meanwhile, CS/SnO2 showed higher activity for use in hospital and industrial dye degradation in comparison to dopant-free Ch/SnO2. For V2O5/CS@ SnO2 QDs, inhibition domains of G -ve were significantly confirmed as 1.40-4.15 mm and 1.85-5.45 mm; meanwhile, for G +ve were noticed as 2.05-4.15 mm and 2.40-5.35 mm at least and maximum concentrations, correspondingly. These findings demonstrate the efficient role of V2O5/CS@SnO2 QDs towards industrial dye degradation and antimicrobial activity.

Efficient Tetra-Functional Electrocatalyst with Synergetic Effect of Different Active Sites for Multi-Model Energy Conversion and Storage.

Energy crisis and global warming due to excessive CO2 emissions are the two major challenges of the world. Conversion of CO2 into useful fuels along with rechargeable metal air batteries and water splitting is one way to combat the energy crisis, which is bottlenecked due to the lack of multifunctional electrocatalyst. Herein simple but multifunctional electrocatalyst, which combined CoNi nanoalloy, N-doped carbon nanotubes, and single atomic Ni sites together is reported. The prepared electrocatalyst has shown remarkable performance for CO2RR, ORR, OER, and HER. The practical utilization of the catalyst is mansifested by a dual model metal CO2/air battery and water electrolyzer. An excellent CO2RR with FE of 99% is achieved in 0.5 M KHCO3 medium. The catalyst exhibits more positive onset (0.98 V) and half wave potential (0.86 V) than Pt/C for ORR, extremely low overpotential (η10) of 250 mV for OER, and thus the lowest ORR/OER potential gap of 0.62 V. In alkaline medium, the catalyst also shows excellent HER performance with η10 of 49 mV, resulting in the smallest cell bias of 1.57 V for overall water splitting to date. This work provides a new pathway to design more stellar multifunctional electrocatalyst for sustainable and clean renewable energy technology.

Nitrogen-rich core-shell structured particles consisting of carbonized zeolitic imidazolate frameworks and reduced graphene oxide for amperometric determination of hydrogen peroxide.

Core-shell structured particles were prepared from carbonized zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The particles possess a nitrogen content of up to 10.6%. The loss of nitrogen from the ZIF is avoided by utilizing the reduction and agglomeration of graphene oxide with suitable size (>2 µm) during pyrolysis. The resulting carbonized ZIF@rGO particles were deposited on a glassy carbon electrode to give an amperometric sensor for H2O2, typically operated at a voltage of -0.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The sensor has a wide detection range (from 5 × 10-6 to 2 × 10-2 M), a 3.3 µM (S/N = 3) detection limit and a 0.272 µA·µM-1·cm-2 sensitivity, much higher than that of directly carbonized ZIFs. The sensor material was also deposited on a screen-printed electrode to explore the possibility of application. Graphical abstract Nitrogen doped carbon (NC) derived from carbonized zeolitic imidazolate frameworks is limited because of low nitrogen content. Here, nitrogen-rich NC@reduced graphene oxide (rGO) core-shell structured particles are described. The NC@rGO particles show distinctly better H2O2 detection performance than NC.