Preparation of visible-light active MOFs-Perovskites (ZIF-67/LaFeO3) nanocatalysts for exceptional CO2 conversion, organic pollutants and antibiotics degradation.

Modern industries rapid expansion has heightened energy needs and accelerated fossil fuel depletion, contributing to global warming. Additionally, organic pollutants present substantial risks to aquatic ecosystems due to their stability, insolubility, and non-biodegradability. Scientists are currently researching high-performance materials to address these issues. LaFeO3 nanosheets (LFO-NS) were synthesized in this study using a solvothermal method with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a soft template. The LFO-NS demonstrate superior performance, large surface area and charge separation than that of LaFeO3 nanoparticles (LFO-NP). The LFO-NS performance is further upgraded by incorporating ZIF-67. Our results confirmed the ZIF-67/LFO-NS nanocomposite have superior performances than pure LFO-NP and ZIF-67. The integration of ZIF-67 has enhanced the charge separation and promote the surface area of LFO-NSwhich was confirmed by various characterization techniques including TEM, HRTEM, DRS, EDX, XRD, FS, XPS, FT-IR, BET, PL, and RAMAN. The 5ZIF-67/LFO-NS sample showed significant activities for CO2 conversion, malachite green degradation, and antibiotics (cefazolin, oxacillin, and vancomycin) degradation. Furthermore, stability tests have confirmed that our optimal sample very active and stable. Furthermore, based on scavenger experiments and the photocatalytic degradation pathways, it has been established that H+ and •O2- are vital in the decomposition of MG and antibiotics. Our research work will open new gateways to prepare MOFs-Perovskites nanocatalysts for exceptional CO2 conversion, organic pollutants and antibiotics degradation.

A critical review on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) based nanomaterials for biomedical applications: Designing, recent trends, challenges, and prospects.

Nanomaterials (NMs) have garnered significant attention in recent decades due to their versatile applications in a wide range of fields. Thanks to their tiny size, enhanced surface modifications, impressive volume-to-surface area ratio, magnetic properties, and customized optical dispersion. NMs experienced an incredible upsurge in biomedical applications including diagnostics, therapeutics, and drug delivery. This minireview will focus on notable examples of NMs that tackle important issues, demonstrating various aspects such as their design, synthesis, morphology, classification, and use in cutting-edge applications. Furthermore, we have classified and outlined the distinctive characteristics of the advanced NMs as nanoscale particles and hybrid NMs. Meanwhile, we emphasize the incredible potential of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a highly versatile group of NMs. These MOFs have gained recognition as promising candidates for a wide range of bio-applications, including bioimaging, biosensing, antiviral therapy, anticancer therapy, nanomedicines, theranostics, immunotherapy, photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, gene therapy, and drug delivery. Although advanced NMs have shown great potential in the biomedical field, their use in clinical applications is still limited by issues such as stability, cytotoxicity, biocompatibility, and health concerns. This review article provides a thorough analysis offering valuable insights for researchers investigating to explore new design, development, and expansion opportunities. Remarkably, we ponder the prospects of NMs and nanocomposites in conjunction with current technology.

Recent Updates on Multifunctional Nanomaterials as Antipathogens in Humans and Livestock: Classification, Application, Mode of Action, and Challenges.

Pathogens cause infections and millions of deaths globally, while antipathogens are drugs or treatments designed to combat them. To date, multifunctional nanomaterials (NMs), such as organic, inorganic, and nanocomposites, have attracted significant attention by transforming antipathogen livelihoods. They are very small in size so can quickly pass through the walls of bacterial, fungal, or parasitic cells and viral particles to perform their antipathogenic activity. They are more reactive and have a high band gap, making them more effective than traditional medications. Moreover, due to some pathogen's resistance to currently available medications, the antipathogen performance of NMs is becoming crucial. Additionally, due to their prospective properties and administration methods, NMs are eventually chosen for cutting-edge applications and therapies, including drug administration and diagnostic tools for antipathogens. Herein, NMs have significant characteristics that can facilitate identifying and eliminating pathogens in real-time. This mini-review analyzes multifunctional NMs as antimicrobial tools and investigates their mode of action. We also discussed the challenges that need to be solved for the utilization of NMs as antipathogens.

Recent advances in the synthesis and application of magnetic biochar for wastewater treatment.

Magnetic biochar (MBC) is a novel bio-carbon material with both desired properties as adsorbent and magnetic characteristics. This review provides an up-to-date summary and discussion on the latest development of MBC, which covers the progress on its synthesis, application, and techno-economic analysis. The review indicates that the direct hydrothermal synthesis has been catching more research attention to produce MBC due to its mild reaction conditions. Instead of the Fe-loaded MBC, there is a trend of using Mn for the magnetization. For the MBC application, how to improve its adsorption performance for water decontamination, ideally to match that of the biochar (BC) or activated carbon, is important. In addition, more studies on the environmental impacts of MBC and life-cycle assessment decoding the process optimization options are necessary. This review will provide valuable references for the development of MBC and MBC-based materials for wastewater treatment.

Synthesis of Metal-Organic Framework-Based ZIF-8@ZIF-67 Nanocomposites for Antibiotic Decomposition and Antibacterial Activities.

Toxic antibiotic effluents and antibiotic-resistant bacteria constitute a threat to global health. So, scientists are investigating high-performance materials for antibiotic decomposition and antibacterial activities. In this novel research work, we have successfully designed ZIF-8@ZIF-67 nanocomposites via sol-gel and solvothermal approaches. The ZIF-8@ZIF-67 nanocomposite is characterized by various techniques that exhibit superior surface area enhancement, charge separation, and high light absorption performance. Yet, ZIF-8 has high adsorption rates and active sites, while ZIF-67 has larger pore volume and efficient adsorption and reaction capabilities, demonstrating that the ZIF-8@ZIF-67 nanocomposite outperforms pristine ZIF-8 and ZIF-67. Compared with pristine ZIF-8 and ZIF-67, the most active 6ZIF-67@ZIF-8 nanocomposite showed higher decomposition efficacy for ciprofloxacin (65%), levofloxacin (54%), and ofloxacin (48%). Scavenger experiments confirmed that •OH, •O2-, and h+ are the most active species for the decomposition of ciprofloxacin (CIP), levofloxacin (LF), and ofloxacin (OFX), respectively. In addition, the 6ZIF-67/ZIF-8 nanocomposite suggested its potential applications in Escherichia coli for growth inhibition zone, antibacterial activity, and decreased viability. Moreover, the stability test and decomposition pathway of CIP, LF, and OFX were also proposed. Finally, our study aims to enhance the efficiency and stability of ZIF-8@ZIF-67 nanocomposite and potentially enable its applications in antibiotic decomposition, antibacterial activities, and environmental remediation.

Photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride with g-C3N4/Ag/AgBr composites.

Graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4), as a polymer semiconductor photocatalyst, is widely used in the treatment of photocatalytic environmental pollution. In this work, a Z-scheme g-C3N4/Ag/AgBr heterojunction photocatalyst was prepared based on the preparation of a g-C3N4-based heterojunction via in-situ loading through photoreduction method. The g-C3N4/Ag/AgBr composite showed an excellent photocatalytic performance in the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride pollutants. Among the prepared samples, g-C3N4/Ag/AgBr-8% showed the best photocatalytic ability for the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride, whose photocatalytic degradation kinetic constant was 0.02764 min-1, which was 9.8 times that of g-C3N4, 2.4 times that of AgBr, and 1.9 times that of Ag/AgBr. In the photocatalytic process, •O2- and •OH are main active oxygen species involved in the degradation of organic pollutants. The photocatalytic mechanism of g-C3N4/Ag/AgBr is mainly through the formation of Z-scheme heterojunctions, which not only effectively improves the separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, but also maintains the oxidation and reduction capability of AgBr and g-C3N4, respectively.

In-situ synthesis of NiS2 nanoparticles/MoS2 nanosheets hierarchical sphere anchored on reduced graphene oxide for enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction.

As an important energy storage and transportation carrier, hydrogen has the advantages of high combustion heat, non-toxic, and pollution-free energy conversion process. Bimetallic sulfide composites are one of the emerging catalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) during water splitting. Herein, a hydrothermal method has been employed for the in-situ synthesis of NiS2 nanoparticles/MoS2 nanosheets (NiS2/MoS2) hierarchical sphere anchored on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) for enhanced electrocatalytic HER activity. The NiS2/MoS2/RGO composite displays improved HER activity compared to MoS2/RGO and NiS2/RGO. The optimized NiS2/MoS2/RGO-9 requires only an overpotential of 136 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2, a small Tafel slope of 53.4 mV dec-1, and good stability in acid solution. The synergetic effect between NiS2 nanoparticles and MoS2 nanosheets is responsible for enhanced HER performance. Moreover, RGO provides the substrate for NiS2/MoS2 species and maintains the overall conductivity of NiS2/MoS2/RGO composites. Finally, density functional theory (DFT) calculations justify and approve the efficient HER activity of NiS2/MoS2/RGO in terms of lower Gibbs free energy (0.07 eV) and lower work function (3.98 eV) that subsequently enhance the dissociation of H2O.

MoS2 as a Co-Catalyst for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production: A Mini Review.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), with a two-dimensional (2D) structure, has attracted huge research interest due to its unique electrical, optical, and physicochemical properties. MoS2 has been used as a co-catalyst for the synthesis of novel heterojunction composites with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production under solar light irradiation. In this review, we briefly highlight the atomic-scale structure of MoS2 nanosheets. The top-down and bottom-up synthetic methods of MoS2 nanosheets are described. Additionally, we discuss the formation of MoS2 heterostructures with titanium dioxide (TiO2), graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), and other semiconductors and co-catalysts for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen generation. This review addresses the challenges and future perspectives for enhancing solar hydrogen production performance in heterojunction materials using MoS2 as a co-catalyst.

Ni3S2 nanostrips@FeNi-NiFe2O4 nanoparticles embedded in N-doped carbon microsphere: An improved electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction.

The designing and preparing of low-cost and easily available electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are crucial for many advanced energy technologies. Herein, the Ni3S2 nanostrips@FeNi-NiFe2O4 nanoparticles embedded in N-doped carbon (Ni3S2@FeNi-NiFe2O4/C) microspheres were synthesized as improved electrocatalyst for OER, using a facile heat-treatment method. The optimized Ni3S2@FeNi-NiFe2O4/C-3 sample exhibits enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward OER performance with an overpotential of 280 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and a small Tafel slope of 33.9 mV dec-1. Furthermore, Ni3S2@FeNi-NiFe2O4/C-3 composite shows good stability in alkaline media. The outstanding electrocatalytic OER performance of composites was attributed due to the synergetic effect between Ni3S2 nanostrips and FeNi-NiFe2O4 nanoparticles and it is believed that the heterointerfaces between them act as active centers for OER. Additionally, N-doped carbon prevents the aggregation of Ni3S2@FeNi-NiFe2O4 species and enhances the conductivity of composites during the OER process.

Green synthesis of SrO bridged LaFeO3/g-C3N4 nanocomposites for CO2 conversion and bisphenol A degradation with new insights into mechanism.

Very recently the green synthesis routes of nanomaterials have attracted massive attention as it overcome the sustainability concerns of conventional synthesis approaches. With this heed, in this novel research work we have synthesized the g-C3N4 nanosheets based nanocomposites by utilizing Eriobotrya japonica as mediator and stabilizer agent. Our designed bio-caped and green g-C3N4 nanosheets based nanocomposites have abundant organic functional groups, activated surface and strong adsorption capability which are very favorable for conversion CO2 into useful products and bisphenol A degradation. Beneficial to further upgrade the performances of g-C3N4 nanosheets, the resulting pristine g-C3N4 nanosheets are coupled with LaFeO3 nanosheets via SrO bridge. Based on our experimental results such as TEM, XRD, DRS, TPD, TGA, PL, PEC and FS spectra linked with OH amount it is confirmed that the biologically mediated green g-C3N4 nanosheets are eco-friendly, highly efficient and stable. Furthermore, the coupling of LaFeO3 nanosheets enlarged the surface area, enhanced the charge separation, while the insertion of SrO bridge worked as facilitator for electron transportation and photo-electron modulation. In contrast to pristine green g-C3N4 nanosheets (GCN), the activities of final resulting sample 6LFOS-(4SrO)-GCN are improved by 8.0 times for CO2 conversion (CH4 = 4.2, CO = 9.2 µmol g-1 h-1) and 2.5-fold for bisphenol A degradation (88%) respectively. More specifically, our current research work will open a new gateway to design cost effective, eco-friendly and biological inspired green nanomaterials for CO2 conversion and organic pollutants degradation which will further support the net zero carbon emission manifesto and the optimization of carbon neutrality level.

Synthesis and characterization of ZnO decorated reduced graphene oxide (ZnO-rGO) and evaluation of its photocatalytic activity toward photodegradation of methylene blue.

Photocatalytic treatment is one of the techniques used for the treatment of dyes-contaminated wastewater. It is important to develop an effective visible-light-driven catalyst for the treatment of dyes-contaminated wastewater. This study reports the synthesis of ZnO-reduced graphene oxide catalyst for the degradation of methylene blue. Graphene oxide was prepared by Hammer and Offeman process, while ZnO-rGO (1:1) was prepared by the chemical reduction method. The prepared ZnO-rGO composite was characterized by XRD, TEM, SEM, UV-Vis, DRS, N2 adsorption-desorption, FTIR, and XPS analyses. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by photodegradation of methylene blue solution under irradiation. It was found that ZnO-rGO is capable of removing the dye from water and achieved the highest dye degradation efficiency of ~99% within 60 min. Furthermore, the ZnO-rGO was recycled in degradation experiments without any loss in its catalytic performance. The reaction kinetics was described in terms of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism, one of the kinetics mechanisms of surface catalyzed reaction. 36.2 and 13.1 kJ/mol were calculated as the apparent and true activation energy for photodegradation of methylene blue respectively.

Regio- and Diastereoselective Vicinal Aminobromination of Electron Deficient Olefins via Phosphorus-Based GAP Protocol.

Chemical synthesis based on Group-Assisted Purification chemistry (GAP) has been prolifically used as a powerful, greener and ecofriendly tool so far. Herein, we report hypervalent iodine (III) mediated regio- and diastereoselective aminobromination of electron-deficient olefins using group-assisted purification (GAP) method. By simply mixing the GAP auxiliary-anchored substrates with TsNH2-NBS as nitrogen/bromine sources and PhI(OAc)2 as a catalyst, a series of vicinal bromoamines with multifunctionalities were obtained in moderate to excellent yields (53-94%). The vicinal bromoamines were obtained without column chromatography and/or recrystallization simply by washing the crude mixtures with cosolvents and thus avoiding wastage of silica, solvents, time, and labor. The GAP auxiliary is recyclable and reusable.

Synthesis and Characterization of Co-ZnO and Evaluation of Its Photocatalytic Activity for Photodegradation of Methyl Orange.

Photocatalysis is one of the techniques used for the eradication of organic pollutants from wastewater. In this study, Co-ZnO was tested as a photocatalyst for the degradation of methyl orange under irradiation of visible light. Co-ZnO loaded with 5%, 10%, and 15% Co was prepared by the precipitation method. The advanced techniques including X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy, photoelectrochemical measurements, temperature-programmed desorption, photoluminescence, and fluorescence spectroscopy related to OH• measurements were used for characterization of prepared Co-ZnO. Experiments showed that 10% Co-ZnO was a highly efficient catalyst for the photodegradation of methyl orange as compared to ZnO. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of Co-ZnO is attributed to the implantation of Co which inhibits the electron-hole recombination. A 100 mg/L solution of methyl orange dye was completely degraded within 130 min. The reaction kinetics has been described in terms of the Eley-Rideal mechanism.

Construction of 1D Ag-AgBr/AlOOH Plasmonic Photocatalyst for Degradation of Tetracycline Hydrochloride.

In this work, the highly efficient and low-cost Ag-AgBr/AlOOH plasmonic photocatalyst is successfully prepared via a simple and mild wet-chemical process and used for degrading high concentration methylene blue (MB) and tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH). The optimized 6-Ag-AgBr/AlOOH sample showed a 79% decomposition of TCH in 2 h, which is almost two times higher than that of bare AgBr (37%). For degrading MB, the photocatalytic activity of 6-Ag-AgBr/AlOOH (decomposing 84% in 2 h) showed a large enhancement as compared to bare AgBr (only 57%). The TEM, HRTEM, XRD, DRS, and XPS characterization results confirm that Ag-AgBr is a composite catalyst formed by loading Ag nanoparticles onto AgBr surfaces and then loaded on to AlOOH. The possible mechanism proposed is that • O 2 - and •OH radicals produced under sun light are the main active species for degrading MB and TCH. It is hoped that this work will open a new gateway to the synthesis of highly efficient and low-cost Ag-AgBr/AlOOH plasmonic photocatalysts for degrading organic pollutants.

Conjugated Electron Donor⁻Acceptor Hybrid Polymeric Carbon Nitride as a Photocatalyst for CO2 Reduction.

This work incorporates a variety of conjugated donor-acceptor (DA) co-monomers such as 2,6-diaminopurine (DP) into the structure of a polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) backbone using a unique nanostructure co-polymerization strategy and examines its photocatalytic activity performance in the field of photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CO and H2 under visible light irradiation. The as-synthesized samples were successfully analyzed using different characterization methods to explain their electronic and optical properties, crystal phase, microstructure, and their morphology that influenced the performance due to the interactions between the PCN and the DPco-monomer. Based on the density functional theory (DFT) calculation result, pure PCN and CNU-DP15.0 trimers (interpreted as incorporation of the co-monomer at two different positions) were extensively evaluated and exhibited remarkable structural optimization without the inclusion of any symmetry constraints (the non-modified sample derived from urea, named as CNU), and their optical and electronic properties were also manipulated to control occupation of their respective highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). Also, co-polymerization of the donor-acceptor 2,6-diamino-purine co-monomer with PCN influenced the chemical affinities, polarities, and acid-base functions of the PCN, remarkably enhancing the photocatalytic activity for the production of CO and H2 from CO2 by 15.02-fold compared than that of the parental CNU, while also improving the selectivity.

Synthesis, Molecular Modeling and Biological Evaluation of 5-arylidene-N,N-diethylthiobarbiturates as Potential α-glucosidase Inhibitors.

BACKGROUND: Barbituric acid derivatives are a versatile group of compounds which are identified as potential pharmacophores for the treatment of anxiety, epilepsy and other psychiatric disorders. They are also used as anesthetics and have sound effects on the motor and sensory functions. Barbiturates are malonylurea derivatives with a variety of substituents at C-5 position showing resemblance with nitrogen and sulfur containing compounds like thiouracil which exhibited potent anticancer and antiviral activities. Recently, barbituric acid derivatives have also received great interest for applications in nanoscience. OBJECTIVE: Synthesis of 5-arylidene-N,N-diethylthiobarbiturates, biological evaluation as potential α-glucosidase inhibitors and molecular modeling. METHODS: In the present study, N,N-Diethylthiobarbituric acid derivatives were synthesized by refluxing of N,N-diethylthiobarbituric acid and different aromatic aldehydes in distilled water. In a typical reaction; a mixture of N,N-diethylthiobarbituric acid 0.20 g (1 mmol) and 5-bromo-2- hydroxybenzaldehyde 0.199 g (1 mmol) mixed in 10 mL distilled water and reflux for 30 minutes. After completion of the reaction, the corresponding product 1 was filtered and dried and yield calculated. It was crystallized from ethanol. The structures of synthesized compounds 1-25 were carried out by using 1H, 13C NMR, EI spectroscopy and CHN analysis used for the determination of their structures. The α-glucosidase inhibition assay was performed as given by Chapdelaine et al., with slight modifications and optimization. RESULTS: Our newly synthesized compounds showed a varying degree of α-glucosidase inhibition and at least four of them were found as potent inhibitors. Compounds 6, 5, 17, 11 exhibited IC50 values (Mean±SEM) of 0.0006 ± 0.0002, 18.91 ± 0.005, 19.18 ± 0.002, 36.91 ± 0.003 µM, respectively, as compared to standard acarbose (IC50, 38.25 ± 0.12 µM). CONCLUSION: Our present study has shown that compounds 6, 5, 17, 11 exhibited IC50 values of 0.0006 ± 0.0002, 18.91 ± 0.005, 19.18 ± 0.002, 36.91 ± 0.003 µM, respectively. The studies were supported by in silico data analysis.