Synthesis of Iron Oxide@Pt Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Reductive Conversion of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and Antibacterial Studies.

Herein, we report the facile synthesis of Iron oxide@Pt core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) by facile two step synthesis process. The first step follows the growth of iron oxide nanoparticle by thermal decomposition process while the second step deals with the formation of iron oxide@Pt core-shell nanoparticles by the chemical reduction method. The synthesized core-shell nanoparticles were characterized by several techniques and used for the catalytic reductive translation of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) in the presence of formic acid by a UV-vis spectrophotometer. The UV photo-spectrometer analysis confirmed the conversion efficiency from 12% to as high as 98.8% at the end of 30 minutes. Thus, the presence of Iron oxide @Pt core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) can be effectively used as a catalyst for the reducion of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) ions. Additionally, antibacterial studies were performed for the prepared core-shell nanoparticles against two bacterial strains, i.e., gram (+ve) Staphylococcus Aureus (S. Aureus) and gram (-ve) Escherichia Coli (E. Coli).

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using citrus sinensis peel extract and its antibacterial activity.

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was achieved by a novel, simple green chemistry procedure using citrus sinensis peel extract as a reducing and a capping agent. The effect of temperature on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles was carried out at room temperature (25°C) and 60°C. The successful formation of silver nanoparticles has been confirmed by UV-vis, FTIR, XRD, EDAX, FESEM and TEM analysis and their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (gram-negative), and Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive) has been studied. The results suggest that the synthesized AgNPs act as an effective antibacterial agent.

Designed synthesis of Au/Ag/Pd trimetallic nanoparticle-based catalysts for Sonogashira coupling reactions.

Pdnp and Pd containing trimetallic nanoparticles (tnp) are synthesized by chemical method with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the capping agent. Compositionally, four different tnp are prepared and the particle sizes are characterized by UV-vis spectra, HR-TEM, and XRD measurements. The catalytic activities of Pdnp and tnp are tested using the Sonogashira C-C coupling reaction. The product yield and recyclability of the recovered catalysts are studied. tnp (1:1:1) exhibited better catalysis than Pdnp, which may be due to the concerted electronic effects of the Au-Ag core onto the Pd shell atoms.

Studies on the microstructure of bile salt aggregates in aqueous n-alkanol solutions by Small Angle Neutron Scattering.

Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) measurements on two bile salt micelle systems sodium cholate (NaC) and sodium deoxycholate (NaDC) each 0.1 M in the absence and presence of 0.05 M 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol and 1-octanol were carried out in D20 at ambient conditions (25 degrees C). The scattering cross-section as a function of wave vector transfer (Q) showed the presence of correlation peaks characteristic of strong inter micellar interactions. The correlation peak positions were shifted to low Q values in the presence of n-alkanols for both NaC and NaDC micelles. Best fit curves of SANS were produced by applying Hayter-Penfold analysis considering monodisperse ellipsoid model for the micelles. The best fits were found for constant semi-minor axis = 8A with an increasing semi-major axis for increasing n-alkanol chain lengths. The micellar growths in presence of n-alkanols were studied using the ESR correlation time measurements on suitable spin probe incorporated micelles. The growth parameter and the hydrodynamic radii values were found to be agreeable with SANS data. Intermicellar interaction potentials seem to increase with the Cn of n-alkanols.

Adsorption Studies of Nonionic Surfactants onto Polyvinyltoluene Microlatexes in Aqueous Medium.

Negatively charged polyvinyltoluene (PVT) microlatexes of various dimensions were prepared by polymerization of the corresponding vinyltoluene-in-water microemulsion precursors containing sodium dodecyl sulfate and n-pentanol. PVT microlatexes were used as adsorbents for adsorption of nonionic surfactants such as Tween 80, Tween 20, and Triton X-100. The extents of adsorption were known from the differences in the diffusion coefficient of the PVT microlatexes containing a solubilized suitable electro active probe. The surface excess (Gamma), equilibrium constant of adsorption (K(ads)), molecular cross-sectional surface area (sigma), intercalation ratio (kappa), etc., were determined for sodium dodecyl sulfate composition variation and ionic strength effects. A surface reconstruction model was proposed to rationalize the results. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.