Temporal and spatial analysis of COVID-19 incidence hotspots in Pakistan: A spatio-statistical approach.

This research paper analyzes the spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan using geo-statistical approach to geo-visualize the spatio-temporal pattern hotspots of active cases. The study is based on secondary data, collected from concerned Government Department. Getis-Ord-Gi* statistical model was used to estimate Z score and P score values representing the intensity of active cases in each location. The results indicate that the high intensity of active cases in the selected period is spatially distributed in Punjab and Sindh provinces and extending towards the west. The capital territory also experiences a slight increase in active cases rate. However, the rate of active cases decreases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir with some fluctuations. Overall, this research highlights the usefulness of geo-statistical modeling for identifying hotspots of any epidemic or pandemic. By knowing the hotspots of a disease, policy makers can easily identify the reasons for its spread, trends, and distribution patterns, making it easier to develop management policies to tackle any pandemic situation in the future.

Design and Fabrication of Biomass Derived Black Carbon Modified g-C3 N4 /FeIn2 S4 Heterojunction as Highly Efficient Photocatalyst for Wastewater Treatment.

The environmental deterioration caused by dye wastewater discharge has received considerable attention in recent decades. One of the most promising approaches to addressing the aforementioned environmental issue is the development of photocatalysts with high solar energy consumption efficiency for the treatment of dye-contaminated water. In this study, a novel low-cost π-π biomass-derived black carbon modified g-C3 N4 coupled FeIn2 S4 composite (i.e., FeInS/BC-CN) photocatalyst is successfully designed and fabricated that reveals significantly improved photocatalytic performance for the degradation of Eosin Yellow (EY) dye in aqueous solution. Under dark and subsequent visible light irradiation, the amount optimized composite reveals 99% removal performance for EY dye, almost three-fold compared to that of the pristine FeInS and BC-CN counterparts. Further, it is confirmed by means of the electron spin resonance spectrometry, quenching experiments, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, that the hydroxyl radicals (• OH) and superoxide radicals (• O2 - ) are the dominant oxidation species involved in the degradation process of EY dye. In addition, a systematic photocatalytic degradation route is proposed based on the resultant degradation intermediates detectedduring liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. This work provides an innovative idea for the development of advanced photocatalysts to mitigate water pollution.

Stability and passivation of 2D group VA elemental materials: black phosphorus and beyond.

Since the successful isolation of graphene in 2004, two-dimensional (2D) materials have become one of the focuses in material science owing to their extraordinary physical and chemical properties. In particular, 2D group VA elemental materials exhibit fascinating thickness-dependent band structures. Unfortunately, the well-known instability issue hinders their fundamental researches and practical applications. In this review, we first discuss the degradation mechanism of black phosphorus (BP), a most studied group VA material. Next, we summarize the methods to enhance BP stability with the focus of multifunctional passivation. Finally, we briefly discuss the protection strategies of other emerging group VA materials in recent years. This review provides insight for the degradation mechanism and protecting strategy for 2D group VA elements materials, which will promote their potential applications in electronics, optoelectronics, and biomedicine.

Bimetallic zeolite-imidazole framework-based heterostructure with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production activity.

Bimetallic zeolite-imidazole frameworks with controllable flat band position, band gap and hydrogen evolution reaction characteristics were adopted as a photocatalytic hydrogen production catalyst. Furthermore, the g-C3N4-MoS2 2D-2D surface heterostructure was introduced to the ZnM-ZIF to facilitate the separation as well as utilization efficiency of the photo-exited charge carriers in the ZnM-ZIFs. On the other hand, the ZnM-ZIFs not only inhibited the aggregation of the g-C3N4-MoS2 heterostructure, but also improved the separation and transport efficiency of charge carriers in g-C3N4-MoS2. Consequently, the optimal g-C3N4-MoS2-ZnNi-ZIF exhibited an extraordinary photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity 214.4, 37.5, and 3.7 times larger than that of the pristine g-C3N4, g-C3N4-ZnNi-ZIF and g-C3N4-MoS2, respectively, and exhibited a H2-evolution performance of 77.8 µmol h-1 g-1 under UV-Vis light irradiation coupled with oxidation of H2O into H2O2. This work will furnish a new MOF candidate for photocatalysis and provide insight into better utilization of porous MOF-based heterostructures for hydrogen production from pure water.