CdO-Nanografted Superhydrophobic Hybrid Polymer Composite-Coated Cotton Fabrics for Self-Cleaning and Oil/Water Separation Applications.

The current study presents a simple and cost-competitive method for the development of high-performance superhydrophobic and superoleophilic cotton fabrics coated with cadmium oxide/cerotic acid (CdO/CE)-polycaprolactone (PCL)- and cadmium oxide/stearic acid (CdO/ST)-polycaprolactone-grafted hybrid composites. X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are used to characterize the CdO/CE-PCL and CdO/ST-PCL and polycaprolactone-modified cotton fabrics. Using an optical contact angle meter, the wetting behavior of corrosive liquids such as coffee, milk, tea, water dyed with methylene blue, strong acids (HCl), strong alkali (NaOH), and saturated salt solution (NaCl) on the CdO-CE/ST/PCL-modified cotton fabrics is assessed as well as the durability of CdO-CE/ST/PCL-modified cotton fabrics in corrosive liquids. Data obtained from the oil-water separation experiment indicate remarkable separation efficiency with oil purity values of ≥99.97 wt %, and high permeation flux values of up to 11,700 ± 300 L m-2 h-1 are observed for surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions via a gravity-driven technique. From the data obtained, it is concluded that the nano-CdO-grafted superhydrophobic hybrid polymer composite-coated cotton fabrics (CdO-ST/(CE)/PCL/CFs) can be utilized for self-cleaning and oil/water separation applications.

Stable single phases of samarium gallium oxide (Sm3GaxOy) nano semiconductor self-assembly for supercapacitor and photocatalytic applications.

A cutting-edge approach has been attempted in the present work to develop two stable phases of samarium gallium oxide as functional materials in the form of energy storage electrodes and photocatalysts. A novel samarium gallium oxide with two stable phases has been synthesized by the gel matrix method. Their crystallinity, phase purity, and surface morphology were studied using modern analytical instruments, viz., XRD, Raman spectra, FESEM, TEM, XPS, and UV-visible spectra. The values of the band gap energy calculated using Tauc relation for Sm3Ga5O12 and Sm3GaO6 are 5.06 eV and 4.74 eV, respectively. The electrodes fabricated from Sm3Ga5O12 and Sm3GaO6 exhibit values of specific capacitances of 91.95 mA h g-1 and 103.89 mA h g-1, respectively, at 1 A g-1 current density. Among the two stable phases, Sm3GaO6 shows significant cycling stability with a capacitive retention of 82.65% over 5000 charge/discharge cycles. The prepared asymmetric supercapacitor with Sm3GaO6 as an active material exhibits an improved energy and power density of 11.72 W h kg-1 and 312.5 W kg-1, respectively, with a coulombic efficiency of 97.17% after 5000 cycles. The results obtained from photocatalytic studies infer that the methylene blue dye was efficiently degraded by Sm3Ga5O12 and Sm3GaO6 with 92% and 97%, respectively, within 120 min of light irradiation. Sm3GaO6 functions as a better and more efficient photocatalyst for degrading methylene blue dye, with a higher efficiency and a higher degradation rate of 0.0273 min-1. The results obtained from electrochemical and photocatalytic studies infer that both phases of samarium gallium oxide can be considered as potential materials for energy storage and environmental remediation applications.

Supercapacitor and high k properties of CNT-PbS reinforced quinoxaline amine based polybenzoxazine composites.

The new 2,3-diphenylquinoxalin-6-amine (dpqa) was designed and synthesized through an efficient and high yield condensation process. Data from FTIR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy have been adopted to ascertain the molecular structure of benzoxazine compounds. Furthermore, the quinoxaline amine based benzoxazine (BA-dpqa) was synthesized using bisphenol-A and paraformaldehyde followed by combining different weight percentages (1, 5 and 10 wt%) of (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane functionalized CNT-PbS with benzoxazine to obtain nanocomposites. The thermal and morphological properties of the quinoxaline amine based neat polybenzoxazine matrix poly(BA-dpqa) and CNT-PbS/poly(BA-dpqa) composites were analysed by XRD, TGA and SEM analysis. The values of the degradation temperature (Td) obtained for neat poly(BA-dpqa) and 10 wt% CNT-PbS/poly(BA-dpqa) composites are 414 °C and 424 °C. Furthermore, the chair yield percentage was calculated as 33% and 35% respectively. The water contact angle of polybenzoxazine gradually increased from 89° to 127° proportional to the content of CNT-PbS. Among the composites, 10 wt% CNT-PbS reinforced poly(BA-dpqa) nanocomposites possess higher dielectric constant (k = 11.0) than other composites. The pseudocapacitor nature of the prepared electrodes is demonstrated by the good electrochemical performance according to the CV curve. Also, the prepared 10 wt% CNT-PbS/poly(BA-dpqa) (637 F g-1 at 5 A g-1 and 11.8 Ω) electrode shows better capacitance and lower charge transfer resistance values than 5 wt% CNT-PbS/poly(BA-dpqa) (613 F g-1 at 5 A g-1 and 13.2 Ω) and neat poly(BA-dpqa) (105 F g-1 at 5 A g-1 and 15.6 Ω) according to the charge/discharge curves and EIS spectra. 10 wt% CNT-PbS/poly(BA-dpqa) shows 99.2% cycling efficiency even at the 2000th cycle, which indicates the good electrochemical performance of the prepared electrode.

Growth optimization of single-phase novel colloidal perovskite Cs3Bi2I9 nanocrystals and Cs3Bi2I9@SiO2 core-shell nanocomposites for bio-medical application.

Lead-free halide perovskites have gained attention in recent years as viable materials with more distinctive characteristics than conventional semiconductor materials. Lead-free Cs3Bi2I9 colloidal perovskite nanocrystal is chosen to eliminate its single-phase synthesis difficulty and implement the material in bioimaging applications. Nanostructured Cs3Bi2I9 perovskite composites were coated with a thin coating of SiO2 by an in situ tetraethyl orthosilicate/(3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane injection growth method to enhance their stability in aqueous medium and biocompatibility. Single-phase novel Cs3Bi2I9 colloidal perovskite nanocrystal synthesis was successfully developed and optimized by adopting different synthetic conditions with varied experimental parameters. Characterization studies, including X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy, confirm the hexagonal structure of Cs3Bi2I9 crystals and their cubic morphology. A broad emission peak in the red region was captured for pure and composite perovskite under different excitation wavelengths and was observed using a UV-visible spectrophotometer. Bioimaging of Cs3Bi2I9@SiO2 composites incorporated with L929 cells was conducted using an inverted fluorescence microscope under blue and green excitation. The results obtained from bioimaging studies indicated that the Cs3Bi2I9@SiO2 nanocomposites entered the cell field and exhibited an emission under excitation. The non-toxic behavior of the synthesized Cs3Bi2I9@SiO2 composites was demonstrated using MTT cytotoxicity assay in L929 fibroblast mouse cells, showing better cell compatibility.