Recent advances in food waste-derived nanoporous carbon for energy storage.

Affordable and environmentally friendly electrochemically active raw energy storage materials are in high demand to switch to mass-scale renewable energy. One particularly promising avenue is the feasibility of utilizing food waste-derived nanoporous carbon. This material holds significance due to its widespread availability, affordability, ease of processing, and, notably, its cost-free nature. Over the years, various strategies have been developed to convert different food wastes into nanoporous carbon materials with enhanced electrochemical properties. The electrochemical performance of these materials is influenced by both intrinsic factors, such as the composition of elements derived from the original food sources and recipes, and extrinsic factors, including the conditions during pyrolysis and activation. While current efforts are dedicated to optimizing process parameters to achieve superior performance in electrochemical energy storage devices, it is timely to take stock of the current state of research in this emerging field. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the fabrication and surface characterisation of porous carbons from different food wastes. A special focus is given on the applications of these food waste derived porous carbons for energy storage applications including batteries and supercapacitors.

This review compiles very recent literature on the synthesis of porous carbon from food waste biomass and their efficient utilisation as electrode material for energy storage applications in supercapacitor devices.

Multifunctional carbon nitride nanoarchitectures for catalysis.

Catalysis is at the heart of modern-day chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and there is an urgent demand to develop metal-free, high surface area, and efficient catalysts in a scalable, reproducible and economic manner. Amongst the ever-expanding two-dimensional materials family, carbon nitride (CN) has emerged as the most researched material for catalytic applications due to its unique molecular structure with tunable visible range band gap, surface defects, basic sites, and nitrogen functionalities. These properties also endow it with anchoring capability with a large number of catalytically active sites and provide opportunities for doping, hybridization, sensitization, etc. To make considerable progress in the use of CN as a highly effective catalyst for various applications, it is critical to have an in-depth understanding of its synthesis, structure and surface sites. The present review provides an overview of the recent advances in synthetic approaches of CN, its physicochemical properties, and band gap engineering, with a focus on its exclusive usage in a variety of catalytic reactions, including hydrogen evolution reactions, overall water splitting, water oxidation, CO2 reduction, nitrogen reduction reactions, pollutant degradation, and organocatalysis. While the structural design and band gap engineering of catalysts are elaborated, the surface chemistry is dealt with in detail to demonstrate efficient catalytic performances. Burning challenges in catalytic design and future outlook are elucidated.

Design and Synthesis of Cabazitaxel Loaded Core-Shell Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles with Different Morphologies for Prostate Cancer Therapy.

In this work, the synthesis of core-shell ordered mesoporous silica nanoparticles (CSMS) with tunable particle size and shape through a dual surfactant-assisted approach is demonstrated. By varying the synthesis conditions, including the type of the solvent and the concentration of the surfactant, monodispersed and ordered mesoporous silica nanoparticles with tunable particle size (140-600 nm) and morphologies (hexagonal prism (HP), oblong, spherical, and hollow-core) can be realized. Comparative studies of the Cabazitaxel (CBZ)-loaded HP and spherical-shaped CSMS are conducted to evaluate their drug delivery efficiency to PC3 (prostate cancer) cell lines. These nanoparticles showed good biocompatibility and displayed a faster drug release at acidic pH than at basic pH. The cellular uptake of CSMS measured using confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, microplate reader, and ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) techniques in PC3 cell lines revealed a better uptake of CSMS with HP morphology than its spherical counterparts. Cytotoxicity study showed that the anticancer activity of CBZ is improved with a higher free radical production when loaded onto CSMS. These unique materials with tunable morphology can serve as an excellent drug delivery system and will have potential applications for treating various cancers.

Utilising the Nanozymatic Activity of Copper-Functionalised Mesoporous C3 N5 for Sensing Biomolecules.

Designing unique nanomaterials for the selective sensing of biomolecules is of significant interest in the field of nanobiotechnology. In this work, we demonstrated the synthesis of ordered Cu nanoparticle-functionalised mesoporous C3 N5 that has unique peroxidase-like nanozymatic activity for the ultrasensitive and selective detection of glucose and glutathione. A nano hard-templating technique together with the in-situ polymerisation and self-assembly of Cu and high N-containing CN precursor was adopted to introduce mesoporosity as well as high N and Cu content in mesoporous C3 N5 . Due to the ordered structure and highly dispersed Cu in the mesoporous C3 N5 , a large enhancement of the peroxidase mimetic activity in the oxidation of a redox dye in the presence of hydrogen peroxide could be obtained. Additionally, the optimised Cu-functionalised mesoporous C3 N5 exhibited excellent sensitivity to glutathione with a low detection limit of 2.0 ppm. The strong peroxidase activity of the Cu-functionalised mesoporous C3 N5 was also effectively used for the sensing of glucose with a detection limit of 0.4 mM through glucose oxidation with glucose oxidase. This unique Cu-functionalised mesoporous C3 N5 has the potential for detecting various molecules in the environment as well as for next-generation glucose and glutathione diagnostic devices.

Organocatalysis with carbon nitrides.

Carbon nitrides, a distinguished class of metal-free catalytic materials, have presented a good potential for chemical transformations and are expected to become prominent materials for organocatalysis. This is largely possible due to their low cost, exceptional thermal and chemical stability, non-toxicity, ease of functionalization, porosity development, etc. Especially, the carbon nitrides with increased porosity and nitrogen contents are more versatile than their bulk counterparts for catalysis. These N-rich carbon nitrides are discussed in the earlier parts of the review. Later, the review highlights the role of such carbon nitride materials for the various organic catalytic reactions including Knoevenagel condensation, oxidation, hydrogenation, esterification, transesterification, cycloaddition, and hydrolysis. The recently emerging concepts in carbon nitride-based organocatalysis have been given special attention. In each of the sections, the structure-property relationship of the materials was discussed and related to their catalysis action. Relevant comparisons with other catalytic materials are also discussed to realize their real potential value. The perspective, challenges, and future directions are also discussed. The overall objective of this review is to provide up-to-date information on new developments in carbon nitride-based organic catalysis reactions that could see them rising as prominent catalytic materials in the future.

Novel Drug Delivery System Based on Ginsenoside Rb1 Loaded to Chitosan/Alginate Nanocomposite Films.

Recently, drug delivery using natural and biodegradable nanoparticles has attracted huge attention. This study focused to deliver an anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drug Ginsenoside Rb1 through chitosan-Alginate nanocomposite film prepared by solution method. Ginsenoside Rb1 is a dammaran saponin group, which is extracted from an herbaceous plant Panax notoginseng. Ginsenoside loaded alginate-chitosan nanocomposite films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The FTIR spectra of alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films show that chitosan, alginate, and ginsenoside Rb1 are linked through the hydrogen bonding and dipolar-dipolar interactions. The FESEM image indicates that the chitosan and ginsenoside Rb1 dispersed well in the alginate matrix. The DSC diagrams display that melting temperature of alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films higher than that of chitosan and lower than that of alginate. It means that alginate and chitosan interact together. Investigation of the ginsenoside Rb1 release from alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films at different pH solutions and different ginsenoside Rb1 content has been carried out by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy method. The rate of drug release is proportional to the increase in pH solution and inversely proportional to the content of loaded ginsenoside Rb1. The Rb1 release process includes two stages: burst release in the first 10 hours, then constant release afterwards. The suitable ratio of alginate/chitosan to prepare the alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films for further investigations was found out to be 8:2. Ginsenoside Rb1 release process from alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films was believed to be first-order kinetics in the first stage, and then the Rb1 release complies with Higuchi kinetic model in the slow release stage. This study demonstrated the novel synthesis methodology to design drug delivery system based on ginsenoside Rb1 loaded to chitosan/alginate nanocomposite films.

Recent advances in functionalized micro and mesoporous carbon materials: synthesis and applications.

Functionalized nanoporous carbon materials have attracted the colossal interest of the materials science fraternity owing to their intriguing physical and chemical properties including a well-ordered porous structure, exemplary high specific surface areas, electronic and ionic conductivity, excellent accessibility to active sites, and enhanced mass transport and diffusion. These properties make them a special and unique choice for various applications in divergent fields such as energy storage batteries, supercapacitors, energy conversion fuel cells, adsorption/separation of bulky molecules, heterogeneous catalysts, catalyst supports, photocatalysis, carbon capture, gas storage, biomolecule detection, vapour sensing and drug delivery. Because of the anisotropic and synergistic effects arising from the heteroatom doping at the nanoscale, these novel materials show high potential especially in electrochemical applications such as batteries, supercapacitors and electrocatalysts for fuel cell applications and water electrolysis. In order to gain the optimal benefit, it is necessary to implement tailor made functionalities in the porous carbon surfaces as well as in the carbon skeleton through the comprehensive experimentation. These most appealing nanoporous carbon materials can be synthesized through the carbonization of high carbon containing molecular precursors by using soft or hard templating or non-templating pathways. This review encompasses the approaches and the wide range of methodologies that have been employed over the last five years in the preparation and functionalisation of nanoporous carbon materials via incorporation of metals, non-metal heteroatoms, multiple heteroatoms, and various surface functional groups that mostly dictate their place in a wide range of practical applications.

Energy Efficient Synthesis of Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Nitrides with a High Nitrogen Content and Enhanced CO2 Capture Capacity.

Highly ordered mesoporous carbon nitrides (MCN) with 3D structure and a high nitrogen content are successfully prepared for the first time using "uncalcined" mesoporous silica template, KIT-6 and 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole as a single molecular carbon and nitrogen precursor. The prepared MCN with C and N stoichiometry of C3 N5 shows unique CN framework and exhibits the CO2 capture capacity of 5.63 mmol g-1 at 273 K and 30 bar, which is higher than that of MCN with 2D structure and C3 N4 stoichiometry.

Toxicity of diesel water accommodated fraction toward microalgae, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Chlorella sp. MM3.

Diesel is a commonly used fuel and a key pollutant on water surface through leaks and accidental spills, thus creating risk directly to planktons as well as other aquatic organisms. We assessed the toxicty of diesel and its water accommodated fraction (WAF) towards two microalgal species, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Chlorella sp. MM3. The toxicity criteria included were: chlorophyll a content as a growth parameter and induction of enzyme activities linked to oxidative stress. Increase in concentrations of diesel or its WAF significantly increased toxicity towards growth, measured in terms of chlorophyll a content in both the algae. Activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX) and catalase (CAT) in response to addition of diesel or diesel WAF to the microalgal cultures were dose-dependent. Diesel WAF was more toxic than diesel itself, suggesting that use of WAF may be more relevant for environmental risk assessment of diesel. The overall response of the antioxidant enzymes to toxicants' stress followed the order: POX≥SOD>CAT. The present study clearly demonstrated the use of SOD, POX and CAT as suitable biomarkers for assessing diesel pollution in aquatic ecosystem.

Earthworm Comet Assay for Assessing the Risk of Weathered Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils: Need to Look Further than Target Contaminants.

Earthworm toxicity assays contribute to ecological risk assessment and consequently standard toxicological endpoints, such as mortality and reproduction, are regularly estimated. These endpoints are not enough to better understand the mechanism of toxic pollutants. We employed an additional endpoint in the earthworm Eisenia andrei to estimate the pollutant-induced stress. In this study, comet assay was used as an additional endpoint to evaluate the genotoxicity of weathered hydrocarbon contaminated soils containing 520 to 1450 mg hydrocarbons kg-1 soil. Results showed that significantly higher DNA damage levels (two to sixfold higher) in earthworms exposed to hydrocarbon impacted soils. Interestingly, hydrocarbons levels in the tested soils were well below site-specific screening guideline values. In order to explore the reasons for observed toxicity, the contaminated soils were leached with rainwater and subjected to earthworm tests, including the comet assay, which showed no DNA damage. Soluble hydrocarbon fractions were not found originally in the soils and hence no hydrocarbons leached out during soil leaching. The soil leachate's Electrical Conductivity (EC) decreased from an average of 1665 ± 147 to 204 ± 20 µS cm-1. Decreased EC is due to the loss of sodium, magnesium, calcium, and sulphate. The leachate experiment demonstrated that elevated salinity might cause the toxicity and not the weathered hydrocarbons. Soil leaching removed the toxicity, which is substantiated by the comet assay and soil leachate analysis data. The implication is that earthworm comet assay can be included in future eco (geno) toxicology studies to assess accurately the risk of contaminated soils.

Sensitivity and Antioxidant Response of Chlorella sp. MM3 to Used Engine Oil and Its Water Accommodated Fraction.

We exposed the microalgal strain, Chlorella sp. MM3, to unused or used engine oil, or their water accommodated fractions (WAFs) to determine growth inhibition and response of antioxidant enzymes. Oil type and oil concentration greatly affected the microalgal growth. Used oil at 0.04 % (0.4 g L(-1)) resulted in 50 % inhibition in algal growth, measured in terms of chlorophyll-a, while the corresponding concentration of unused oil was nontoxic. Similarly, used oil WAF showed significant toxicity to the algal growth at 10 % level, whereas WAF from unused oil was nontoxic even at 100 % concentration. Peroxidase enzyme in the microalga significantly increased with used oil at concentrations above 0.04 g L(-1) whereas the induction of superoxide dismutase and catalase was apparent only at 0.06 g L(-1). Activities of the antioxidant enzymes increased significantly when the microalga was exposed to 75 and 100 % WAF obtained from used oil. The used oil toxicity on microalga could be due to the presence of toxic soluble mono- and polyaromatic compounds, heavy metals, and other compounds attained by the oil during its use in the motor engines.

Bio-Inspired Supramolecular Self-Assembled Carbon Nitride Nanostructures for Photocatalytic Water Splitting.

Fast production of hydrogen and oxygen in large amounts at an economic rate is the need of the hour to cater to the needs of the most awaited hydrogen energy, a futuristic renewable energy solution. Production of hydrogen through simple water splitting via visible light photocatalytic approach using sunlight is considered as one of the most promising and sustainable approaches for generating clean fuels. For this purpose, a variety of catalytic techniques and novel catalysts have been investigated. Among these catalysts, carbon nitride is presently deemed as one of the best candidates for the visible light photocatalysis due to its unique molecular structure and adequate visible-range bandgap. Its bandgap can be further engineered by structural and morphological manipulation or by doping/hybridization. Among numerous synthetic approaches for carbon nitrides, supramolecular self-assembly is one of the recently developed elegant bottom-up strategies as it is bio-inspired and provides a facile and eco-friendly route to synthesize high surface area carbon nitride with superior morphological features and other semiconducting and catalytic properties. The current review article broadly covers supramolecular self-assembly synthesis of carbon nitride nanostructures and their photocatalytic water-splitting applications and provides a comprehensive outlook on future directions.

Recent Advances in Functionalized Biomass-Derived Porous Carbons and their Composites for Hybrid Ion Capacitors.

Hybrid ion capacitors (HICs) have aroused extreme interest due to their combined characteristics of energy and power densities. The performance of HICs lies hidden in the electrode materials used for the construction of battery and supercapacitor components. The hunt is always on to locate the best material in terms of cost-effectiveness and overall optimized performance characteristics. Functionalized biomass-derived porous carbons (FBPCs) possess exquisite features including easy synthesis, wide availability, high surface area, large pore volume, tunable pore size, surface functional groups, a wide range of morphologies, and high thermal and chemical stability. FBPCs have found immense use as cathode, anode and dual electrode materials for HICs in the recent literature. The current review is designed around two main concepts which include the synthesis and properties of FBPCs followed by their utilization in various types of HICs. Among monovalent HICs, lithium, sodium, and potassium, are given comprehensive attention, whereas zinc is the only multivalent HIC that is focused upon due to corresponding literature availability. Special attention is also provided to the critical factors that govern the performance of HICs. The review concludes by providing feasible directions for future research in various aspects of FBPCs and their utilization in HICs.

Recent Advances in Carbon-Based Electrodes for Energy Storage and Conversion.

Carbon-based nanomaterials, including graphene, fullerenes, and carbon nanotubes, are attracting significant attention as promising materials for next-generation energy storage and conversion applications. They possess unique physicochemical properties, such as structural stability and flexibility, high porosity, and tunable physicochemical features, which render them well suited in these hot research fields. Technological advances at atomic and electronic levels are crucial for developing more efficient and durable devices. This comprehensive review provides a state-of-the-art overview of these advanced carbon-based nanomaterials for various energy storage and conversion applications, focusing on supercapacitors, lithium as well as sodium-ion batteries, and hydrogen evolution reactions. Particular emphasis is placed on the strategies employed to enhance performance through nonmetallic elemental doping of N, B, S, and P in either individual doping or codoping, as well as structural modifications such as the creation of defect sites, edge functionalization, and inter-layer distance manipulation, aiming to provide the general guidelines for designing these devices by the above approaches to achieve optimal performance. Furthermore, this review delves into the challenges and future prospects for the advancement of carbon-based electrodes in energy storage and conversion.

Nanoporous materials for pesticide formulation and delivery in the agricultural sector.

One of the key focuses of the agricultural industry for preventing the decline in crop yields due to pests is to develop effective, safe, green, and sustainable pesticide formulation. A key objective of industry is to deliver active ingredients (AIs) that have minimal off site migration and non-target activity. Nanoporous materials have received significant attention internationally for the efficient loading and controlled, targeted delivery of pesticides. This is largely made possible due to their textural features including high surface area, large pore-volume, and tunable pore size. Additionally, the easier manipulation of their surface chemistry and stability in different environments are added advantages. The unique features of these materials allow them to address the solubility of the active ingredients, their efficient loading onto the porous channels, and slow and controlled delivery over time. One of their major advantages is the wide range of materials that could be suitably designed via different approaches to either adsorb, encapsulate, or entrap the active ingredient. This review is a timely presentation of recent progress made in nanoporous materials and discusses critical aspects of pesticide formulation and delivery.

A review on the valorisation of food waste as a nutrient source and soil amendment.

Valorisation of food waste offers an economical and environmental opportunity, which can reduce the problems of its conventional disposal. Food waste is commonly disposed of in landfills or incinerated, causing many environmental, social, and economic issues. Large amounts of food waste are produced in the food supply chain of agriculture: production, post-harvest, distribution (transport), processing, and consumption. Food waste can be valorised into a range of products, including biofertilisers, bioplastics, biofuels, chemicals, and nutraceuticals. Conversion of food waste into these products can reduce the demand of fossil-derived products, which have historically contributed to large amounts of pollution. The variety of food chain suppliers offers a wide range of feedstocks that can be physically, chemically, or biologically altered to form an array of biofertilisers and soil amendments. Composting and anaerobic digestion are the main large-scale conversion methods used today to valorise food waste products to biofertilisers and soil amendments. However, emerging conversion methods such as dehydration, biochar production, and chemical hydrolysis have promising characteristics, which can be utilised in agriculture as well as for soil remediation. Valorising food waste into biofertilisers and soil amendments has great potential to combat land degradation in agricultural areas. Biofertilisers are rich in nutrients that can reduce the dependability of using conventional mineral fertilisers. Food waste products, unlike mineral fertilisers, can also be used as soil amendments to improve productivity. These characteristics of food wastes assist in the remediation of contaminated soils. This paper reviews the volume of food waste within the food chain and types of food waste feedstocks that can be valorised into various products, including the conversion methods. Unintended consequences of the utilisation of food waste as biofertilisers and soil-amendment products resulting from their relatively low concentrations of trace element nutrients and presence of potentially toxic elements are also evaluated.

Distribution, behaviour, bioavailability and remediation of poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in solid biowastes and biowaste-treated soil.

Aqueous film-forming foam, used in firefighting, and biowastes, including biosolids, animal and poultry manures, and composts, provide a major source of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) input to soil. Large amounts of biowastes are added to soil as a source of nutrients and carbon. They also are added as soil amendments to improve soil health and crop productivity. Plant uptake of PFAS through soil application of biowastes is a pathway for animal and human exposure to PFAS. The complexity of PFAS mixtures, and their chemical and thermal stability, make remediation of PFAS in both solid and aqueous matrices challenging. Remediation of PFAS in biowastes, as well as soils treated with these biowastes, can be achieved through preventing and decreasing the concentration of PFAS in biowaste sources (i.e., prevention through source control), mobilization of PFAS in contaminated soil and subsequent removal through leaching (i.e., soil washing) and plant uptake (i.e., phytoremediation), sorption of PFAS, thereby decreasing their mobility and bioavailability (i.e., immobilization), and complete removal through thermal and chemical oxidation (i.e., destruction). In this review, the distribution, bioavailability, and remediation of PFAS in soil receiving solid biowastes, which include biosolids, composts, and manure, are presented.

Single-Step Synthesis of Mesoporous Carbon Nitride/Molybdenum Sulfide Nanohybrids for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) is a promising candidate as a high-performing anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to its large interlayer spacing. However, it suffers from continued capacity fading. This problem could be overcome by hybridizing MoS2 with nanostructured carbon-based materials, but it is quite challenging. Herein, we demonstrate a single-step strategy for the preparation of MoS2 coupled with ordered mesoporous carbon nitride using a nanotemplating approach which involves the pyrolysis of phosphomolybdic acid hydrate (PMA), dithiooxamide (DTO) and 5-amino-1H-tetrazole (5-ATTZ) together in the porous channels of 3D mesoporous silica template. The sulfidation to MoS2 , polymerization to carbon nitride (CN) and their hybridization occur simultaneously within a mesoporous silica template during a calcination process. The CN/MoS2 hybrid prepared by this unique approach is highly pure and exhibits good crystallinity as well as delivers excellent performance for SIBs with specific capacities of 605 and 431 mAhg-1 at current densities of 100 and 1000 mAg-1 , respectively, for SIBs.

Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their polar derivatives in soils of an industrial heritage city of Australia.

Knowledge about polar derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils is limited despite the extensive study of the environmental presence and persistence of non-polar parent PAHs. Polar PAHs have greater potential to be more toxic at low environmental concentrations compared to their homocyclic analogues. For both polar and non-polar PAHs, combustion of fossil fuels is often the main source especially in industrialised environments. This study investigated the concentration profiles of PAHs and its associated polar PAHs such as nitrated PAHs (NPAHs), oxygenated PAHs (oxy-PAHs) and nitrogen, sulphur and oxygen heterocyclic PAHs (N/S/O-heterocyclic PAHs) in a well-known industrial heritage city of Australia. The most abundant polar PAHs were 9-fluorenone (oxy-PAHs), 2-nitrofluorene (NPAHs) and carbazole (heterocyclic-PAHs). A positive correlation (r = 0.5, p < 0.01) between ∑13PAHs and ∑19 polar PAHs was observed, implying a possible spatial association between parent and polar PAHs. The concentrations of polar PAHs in soil samples, across various landuse patterns, were used to calculate the excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) from incidental ingestion of soils. The computed ELCR values ranged from 8.2*10-7 (industrial soils) to 2.3*10-6 (residential soils), indicating negligible cancer risks. This is the first known study on the occurrence and concentrations of polar and non-polar PAHs in any Australian city, and the results may serve a baseline purpose for improved risk assessment of contaminated sites.