Water vapor adsorption onto activated carbons prepared from cattle manure compost (CMC)

Activated carbons were prepared from cattle manure compost (CMC) using zinc chloride activation. The structural and surface chemical characteristics of CMC-based activated carbons were determined by N₂ adsorption-desorption and Boehm titration, respectively. The water vapor adsorption properties of the prepared activated carbons with various pore structure and surface nature were examined, and the mechanism of water adsorbed onto activated carbon was also discussed. The results show that the adsorption of water vapor on carbons begins at specific active sites at low relative humidity (RH), followed by micropore filling at medium RH through the formation of pentamer cluster of water molecules in the narrow micropores. The water vapor adsorption capacity of activated carbon is predominantly dependent on its pore volume and surface area. Although capillary condensation is not the mechanism for water adsorption onto activated carbon, water can adsorb on narrow mesopore to some extent.     

Planar hybrid carbon-decorated zinc oxide nanowires for infrared photodetection

Vapor phase transport (VPT) assisted by thermal evaporation of methanol was utilized to favor the fabrication of hybrid carbon-decorated zinc oxide nanowires (C/ZnO NWs). The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum revealed evidence of optical properties for several defects such as zinc interstitials (Zn_i) and oxygen vacancy (V_o) in hybrid C/ZnO NWs. The PL also exhibited that the planar hybrid C/ZnO NWs photodetector has a wide range of sensitivity from ultraviolet (UV) to infrared (IR). The imaging results show formation of ZnO nanostructures which can be further confirmed from X-ray diffraction (XRD) results. XRD exhibits carbon (C)-related peaks at 12.88, 26, 43, 45, and 55° together with standard ZnO peaks. The incorporation of C shows excellent photoconduction towards varied laser powers (0.0, 7.82, 37.95, 69.20, 100.0, 130.0, and 160.0 mW) of IR illumination. The possibility of current drain in the device was evaluated based on the direct-current (DC) bias voltage of 0.00, 3.33, and 5.55 V. DC bias 3.33 and 5.55 V attributed increase of photocurrent towards the forward bias voltage. However, the reverse bias voltage illustrated a vast increase of photocurrent compared to the forward bias voltage. External quantum efficiency (EQE) at DC bias 5.55 V was 6.5–9.5 range folds greater than the EQE measured for zero bias voltage. Significant photoresponsivity was identical for various laser pulse ranging from 10 to 5000 Hz. Simultaneously, the rise (τ_r) and fall (τ_f) time were measured at 49 and 60.5 μs attributes that the fabrication technique can be improvised and implemented to enhance the efficiency of optoelectronic devices for future applications.     

Ammonium chloride-catalyzed green multicomponent synthesis of dihydropyrazine and tetrahydrodiazepine derivatives “on water”

Molecular Diversity - This research describes a simple and efficient one-pot synthetic approach for the preparation of tetrahydrodiazepine and dihydropyrazine (or dihydroquinoxaline) derivatives in...     

5-Amino-pyrazoles: potent reagents in organic and medicinal synthesis

Molecular Diversity - 5-Amino-pyrazoles have proven to be a class of fascinating and privileged organic tools for the construction of diverse heterocyclic or fused heterocyclic scaffolds. This...     

Can Anyon Statistics Explain High Temperature Superconductivity?

In this paper, we find a reasonable explanation of high temperature superconductivity phenomena using Anyon statistics.

     

Study of Pion Transverse Momentum Distributions in Ultra-Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions: A USTFM Approach

Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics - The mid-rapidity (|y| < 0.5) transverse momentum distributions of identified charged pions produced in different collision systems at...     

Synthesis of Some Benzimidazole‐based Heterocycles and their Application as Copper Corrosion Inhibitors

A series of new substituted benzimidazoles embedded with a variety of function groups has been synthesized from N‐methyl‐2‐bromoacetylbenzimidazole. The synthesized compounds were fully characterized, and their structures were elucidated based on elemental analysis, spectral data, and alternative synthetic pathways, whenever possible. Some of benzimidazole derivatives were tested as corrosion inhibitors.     

Application of titanium nanoparticles containing natural compounds in cutaneous wound healing

The aim of the study was the rapid green synthesis of titanium nanoparticles using the aqueous extract of Falcaria vulgaris leaves (TiNPs@FV) and exploring their antioxidant, cytotoxicity, antifungal, antibacterial, and cutaneous wound healing activities under in vitro and in vivo condition. These nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis, Fourier transform-infrared(FT-IR), X-ray diffraction XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscopy FE-SEM), and transmission electron microscopy TEM) analyses. The synthesized TiNPs@FV had great cell viability on human umbilical vein endothelial cells and indicted this method was nontoxic. DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) test revealed similar antioxidant potentials for F. vulgaris, TiNPs@FV, and butylated hydroxytoluene. All data of antibacterial, antifungal, and cutaneous wound healing tests were analyzed by SPSS 22 software. In the antimicrobial part of this study, TiNPs@FV indicated higher antifungal and antibacterial effects than all standard antibiotics (p ≤ 0.01). Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentration of TiNPs@FV against all fungi were at 2–4 mg/mL and 2-8 mg/mL ranges, respectively. But, MIC and minimal bactericidal concentration of TiNPs@FV against all bacteria were at 2-8 mg/mL and 2-16 mg/mL ranges, respectively. In the part of cutaneous wound healing, use of TiNPs@FV ointment significantly (p ≤ 0.01) raised the wound contracture, vessel, hydroxyl proline, hexuronic acid, hexosamine, fibrocyte, and fibrocytes/fibroblast rate and significantly (p ≤ 0.01) decreased the wound area, total cells, neutrophil, and lymphocyte compared to other groups in rats. The results of FT-IR, UV-Vis, XRD, TEM, and FE-SEM confirm that the aqueous extract of F. vulgaris leaves can be used to yield titanium nanoparticles with a notable amount of remedial effects.     

Core-shell microgel stabilized silver nanoparticles for catalytic reduction of aryl nitro compounds

Silver nanoparticles loaded into shell of poly (styrene-N-isopropylmethacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) core shell [P (SNA-CS)] gel particles were synthesized and analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Catalytic activity of Ag@P (SNA-CS) particles was investigated by reducing p-nitroaniline (p-NA) into p-aminoaniline (p-AA) in the presence of sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) reductant. Molecules of the substrate adsorbed on the surface of silver nanoparticles interact with borohydride ions (BH₄⁻) to form p-AA. Other nitroarenes like o-nitroaniline (o-NA), p-nitrophenol (p-NP) o-nitrophenol (o-NP), 2,4-dinitrophenol(2,4-DNP) were also reduced into their corresponding aryl amines using Ag@P (SNA-CS) composite microgels as catalyst. Reported catalyst efficiently reduced the nitro aromatic compounds individually as well as simultaneously at ambient temperature. Effect of different reaction conditions (catalyst dose, concentration of NaBH₄ and concentration of p-NA) on reaction completion time, value of apparent rate constant (k_app) and reduction efficiency of the catalyst for reduction of p-NA was also demonstrated. Ag@P (SNA-CS) catalyst was found to be able to retain activity up to four cycles.