Application of ANN and RSM for Rhodamine B and Safranine-O Decolorization on Zinc-Carbon Battery Waste Derived Ag/CoFe-LDH/rGO Catalyst.

The present work is first aimed at recovering graphite from carbon rods of waste zinc-carbon (Zn-C) batteries for applications such as wastewater treatment, in order to contribute to the development of a sustainable environment. Then, a composite material, cobalt-iron layered double hydroxide combination with reduced graphene oxide, and with subsequent Ag nanoparticles deposition via NaBH4 reduction method (Ag/CoFe-LDH/rGO) was prepared for the catalytic activity of Rhodamine B (RhB) and Safranine-O (SO) as model contaminants from aquatic media. The catalytic activity of RhB and SO by Ag/CoFe-LDH/rGO in the presence of NaBH4 was studied to model and optimize the process parameters (NaBH4 amount, reaction time, initial dye concentration (Co), and catalyst dosage) via central composite design (CCD)-response surface methodology (RSM). Also, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to estimate the catalytic activity of each dye using an RSM data set. The catalytic activities of 99.54% and 99.96% were obtained for RhB and SO dyes, respectively, under the optimal conditions: NaBH4 amount 12.32 mM, reaction time 3.19 min, Co 33.46 mg/L, and catalyst dosage 1.24 mg/mL for RhB dye; NaBH4 amount 16.76 mM, reaction time 3.06 min, Co 15.10 mg/L, and catalyst dosage 1.46 mg/mL for SO dye. The optimum conditions of process parameters by ANN with gray wolf optimizer (GWO) were in good agreement with the points determined the RSM-CCD. These results demonstrate that RSM and ANN approaches can be applied practically and efficiently to maximize the catalytic activity of RhB and SO by Ag/CoFe-LDH/rGO in the existence of NaBH4. On the other hand, from the kinetic and thermodynamic studies, the positive activation enthalpy, ΔH# and the negative activation entropy, ΔS# values for each dye demonstrated that the catalytic performance was endothermic and less random at the solid/liquid interface.

Optimization of methyl orange decolorization by bismuth(0)-doped hydroxyapatite/reduced graphene oxide composite using RSM-CCD.

In the current study, the catalyst for the decolorization of methyl orange (MO) was developed HAp-rGO by the aqueous precipitation approach. Then, bismuth(0) nanoparticles (Bi NPs), which expect to show high activity, were reduced on the surface of the support material (HAp-rGO). The obtained catalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The parameters that remarkably affect the decolorization process (such as time, initial dye concentration, NaBH4 amount, and catalyst amount) have been examined by response surface methodology (RSM), an optimization method that has acquired increasing significance in recent years. In the decolorization of MO, the optimum conditions were identified as 2.91 min, Co: 18.85 mg/L, NaBH4 amount: 18.35 mM, and Bi/HAp-rGO dosage: 2.12 mg/mL with MO decolorization efficiency of 99.60%. The decolorization process of MO with Bi/HAp-rGO was examined in detail kinetically and thermodynamically. Additionally, the possible decolorization mechanism was clarified. The present work provides a new insight into the use of the optimization process for both the effective usage of Bi/HAp-rGO and the catalytic reduction of dyes.

Remarkable bismuth-gold alloy decorated on MWCNT for glucose electrooxidation: the effect of bismuth promotion and optimization via response surface methodology.

In this study, the carbon nanotube supported gold, bismuth, and gold-bismuth(Au/MWCNT, Bi/MWCNT, and Au-Bi/MWCNT) nanocatalysts were prepared with NaBH4 reduction method at varying molar atomic ratio for glucose electrooxidation (GAEO). The synthesized nanocatalysts at different Au: Bi atomic ratios are characterized via x - ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and N2 adsorption-desorption. For the performance of AuBi/MWCNT for GAEO, electrochemical measurements are performed by using different electrochemical techniques namely cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), chronoamperometry (CA), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Monometallic Au/MWCNT exhibits higher activity than Bi/MWCNT with 256.57 mA/mg (0.936 mA/cm2) current density. According to CV results, Au80Bi20/MWCNT nanocatalyst has the highest GAEO activity with the mass activity of 320.15 mA/mg (1.133 mA/cm2). For Au80Bi20/MWCNT, central composite design (CCD) is utilized for optimum conditions of the electrode preparation. Au80Bi20/MWCNT nanocatalysts are promising anode nanocatalysts for direct glucose fuel cells (DGFCs).

A comparative analysis for anti-viral drugs: Their efficiency against SARS-CoV-2.

Coronavirus, known as the coronavirus pandemic, is continuing its spread across the world, with over 42 million confirmed cases in 189 countries and more than 1.15 million deaths. Although, scientists focus on the finding novel drugs and vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, there is no certain treatment for it. Antiviral drugs such as; oseltamivir, favipiravir, umifenovir, lopinavir, remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, azithromycin, ascorbic acid, corticosteroids, are mostly used for patients. They prevent cytokine storm that is the main reason of deaths related to SARS-CoV-2. In addition, anti-inflammatory agents have critical roles to inhibit the lung injury and multisystem organ dysfunction. The combination with anti-viral drugs with other drugs displays high synergistic effects. In the present study, the drugs used for Covid-19 are analyzed and compare the efficiency for the Covid-19 patients from the different continents including USA, South Korea, Italy, Spain, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, and China. Nowadays, all countries tried to find vaccine and new drug candidates for SARS-CoV-2, but anti-viral drugs may be the best candidates for the treatment of Covid-19 before finding novel anti-Covid drug.

Composition dependent activity of PdAgNi alloy catalysts for formic acid electrooxidation.

In the present study, the carbon supported Pd, PdAg and PdAgNi (Pd/C, PdAg/C and PdAgNi/C) electrocatalysts are prepared via NaBH4 reduction method at varying molar atomic ratio for formic acid electrooxidation. These as-prepared electrocatalysts are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), N2 adsorption-desorption, and X-ray electron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), chronoamperometry (CA), and lineer sweep voltammetry (LSV). While Pd50Ag50/C exhibits the highest catalytic activity among the bimetallic electrocatalyst, it is observed that Pd70Ag20Ni10/C electrocatalysts have the best performance among the all electrocatalysts. Its maximum current density is about 1.92 times higher than that of Pd/C (0.675 mA cm-2). Also, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), chronoamperometry (CA) and lineer sweep voltammetry (LSV) results are in a good agreement with CV results in terms of stability and electrocatalytic activity of Pd50Ag50/C and Pd70Ag20Ni10/C. The Pd70Ag20Ni10/C catalyst is believed to be a promising anode catalyst for the direct formic acid fuel cell.