Photodegradation of Direct Blue-199 in carpet industry wastewater using iron-doped TiO2 nanoparticles and regenerated photocatalyst

Fe-doped TiO_2, Ti_1–xFe_xO₂ (x = 0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.10), photocatalysts have been successfully synthesized via citric acid–assisted autocombustion method. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized using different characterization techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XRD diffraction patterns revealed that synthesized photocatalysts have the anatase phase of TiO₂. The DRS analysis indicates a slight increment in absorbance in the visible light region by the Fe doping in TiO₂. The FT-IR spectra reveal the various stretching and bending vibrational bands of the Ti–O lattice. The XPS spectra confirm the presence of elements titanium, oxygen, and iron in the synthesized samples and determine binding energy of elements. TEM analysis shows the shape of the synthesized photocatalyst, and it was used to calculate the average particle sizes of undoped and Fe-doped TiO₂ (Ti_0.96Fe_0.04O₂) photocatalysts using a histogram. The photocatalytic activities of synthesized photocatalysts were determined by photodegradation of dye (Direct Blue 199), contaminating carpet industry wastewater in the photochemical reactor and open pan reactor. The maximum photodegradation activity was shown by the Ti_0.96Fe_0.04O₂ photocatalyst among all the synthesized undoped and Fe-doped photocatalysts. The synthesized photocatalyst (Ti_0.96Fe_0.04O₂) had better photocatalytic activity when compared to both, undoped TiO₂ and Aeroxide (Degussa) P-25. The used Fe-doped TiO₂ photocatalyst (Ti_0.96Fe_0.04O₂) was regenerated five times and investigated for its photocatalytic activity.     

Hollow‐Core Magnetic Colloidal Nanocrystal Clusters with Ligand‐Exchanged Surface Modification as Delivery Vehicles for Targeted and Stimuli‐Responsive Drug Release

The fabrication of hierarchical magnetic nanomaterials with well‐defined structure, high magnetic response, excellent colloidal stability, and biocompatibility is highly sought after for drug‐delivery systems. Herein, a new kind of hollow‐core magnetic colloidal nanocrystal cluster (HMCNC) with porous shell and tunable hollow chamber is synthesized by a one‐pot solvothermal process. Its novelty lies in the “tunability” of the hollow chamber and of the pore structure within the shell through controlled feeding of sodium citrate and water, respectively. Furthermore, by using the ligand‐exchange method, folate‐modified poly(acrylic acid) was immobilized on the surface of HMCNCs to create folate‐targeted HMCNCs (folate‐HMCNCs), which endowed them with excellent colloidal stability, pH sensitivity, and, more importantly, folate receptor‐targeting ability. These assemblages exhibited excellent colloidal stability in plasma solution. Doxorubicin (DOX), as a model anticancer agent, was loaded within the hollow core of these folate‐HMCNCs (folate‐HMCNCs‐DOX), and drug‐release experiments proved that the folate‐HMCNCs‐DOX demonstrated pH‐dependent release behavior. The folate‐HMCNCs‐DOX assemblages also exhibited higher potent cytotoxicity to HeLa cells than free doxorubicin. Moreover, folate‐HMCNCs‐DOX showed rapid cell uptake apart from the enhanced cytotoxicity to HeLa cells. Experimental results confirmed that the synthesized folate‐HMCNCs are smart nanovehicles as a result of their improved folate receptor‐targeting abilities and also because of their combined pH‐ and magnetic‐stimuli response for applications in drug delivery.     

A loop-by-loop defect rectification procedure for optimal synthesis of Stephenson III path generators

This paper presents a formulation of constraints for the synthesis of Stephenson III mechanism and a loop-by-loop defect-rectification procedure. The procedure divides the Stephenson III mechanism into two loops, namely, Loop I, i.e., four-bar, and Loop II, i.e., five-bar mechanisms. Then, the defects are identified using the established methodology to formulate the defect-specific constraints in the simplified form. Based on the constraints, an optimization problem is formulated to synthesize a Stephenson III mechanism for path generation. A well-established meta-heuristic algorithm is used to solve the constrained optimization problem. For demonstrating the effectiveness of the formulated constraints, two numerical examples are considered, in which Stephenson III path generator mechanisms are synthesized. It is found that the mechanisms synthesized using the proposed procedure are defect-free when constraints are imposed, which is verified using the stick-diagram.

     

Carbon Nanosheets Synthesis in a Gliding Arc Reactor: On the Reaction Routes and Process Parameters

Non-thermal plasma is a promising technology for high purity nanomaterial synthesis in a fast, flexible and controllable process. Gliding arc discharge, as one of the most efficient non-thermal plasmas, has been widely used in gas treatment but rarely studied for the nanomaterial synthesis. In this study, a comparison study for carbon nanosheets synthesis including toluene dissociation and graphite exfoliation was investigated in a 2D gliding arc reactor at atmospheric pressure. The effects of gas flow rate, precursor concentration and power input on the structures of carbon nanosheets produced through the two synthesis routes were explored and compared. Amorphous carbon nanosheets were produced in both approaches with a few crystalline structures formation in the case of toluene dissociation. The thickness of carbon nanosheets synthesized from graphite exfoliation was less than 3 nm, which was thinner and more uniform than that from toluene dissociation. The flow rate of carrier gas has direct influence on the morphology of carbon nanomaterials in the case of toluene dissociation. Carbon spheres were also produced along with nanosheets when the flow rate decreased from 2 to 0.5 L/min. However, in the case of graphite exfoliation, only carbon nanosheets were observed regardless of the change in flow rate of the carrier gas. The generated chemical species and plasma gas temperatures were measured and estimated for the mechanism study, respectively.

     

Thermophysical and Spectroscopic Studies of Pure 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Tetrafluoroborate and Its Aqueous Mixtures

Intermolecular interactions in the aqueous mixtures of the room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM][BF₄]), have been studied. The thermophysical properties: density ρ, speed of sound u, specific conductivity κ and refractive index n _D have been measured over the whole composition range at different temperatures (293.15–323.15 K) and are discussed. The results from thermophysical measurements are explained with the help of spectroscopy. In order to interpret the nature of molecular interactions occurring between [BMIM][BF₄] and water molecules, as well as to identify the moieties in which interactions are taking place, ¹H, ¹³C NMR and FT-IR spectra of the solutions have been studied. Excess molar volume V ^E, excess molar isentropic compressibility $ K_{S}^{\text{E}} $ , partial molar excess volume $ V_{i}^{\text{E}} $ , partial molar excess isentropic compressibility $ K_{S,i}^{\text{E}} $ , deviation in specific conductivity ?κ, and deviation in refractive index ?R have also been determined and analyzed to have a better understanding of the interactions taking place between the different components. Additionally, the excess ultrasonic speed u ^E and excess isentropic compressibility $ k_{S}^{\text{E}} $ , in terms of volume fractions, have been calculated and analyzed. It has been observed that temperature has a significant effect on the thermophysical properties of the studied system. Spectroscopic measurements confirm the disruption of ion-pair interactions of [BMIM][BF₄] and hydrogen-bonded network of water in the aqueous mixture of [BMIM][BF₄].     

Purification,Characterisation and Cloning of a 2S Albumin with DNase,RNase and Antifungal Activities from Putranjiva Roxburghii

The present study reports the characterisation of a novel ~12-kDa heterodimeric protein, designated as putrin, from the seeds of Putranjiva roxburghii. The purification of putrin to homogeneity was accomplished using DEAE-sepharose where protein was unbound, CM-sepharose and Cibacron blue 3GA where it was bound and appeared as single peak on a size-exclusion chromatography column. A 15 % sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide electrophoresis gel, under reducing condition, demonstrated that putrin is made of two polypeptide chains of approximately 4.5 and 7.5 kDa. Circular dichroism studies demonstrated the helical nature and conformational stability of protein at increasing temperatures. Putrin exhibited both RNase and DNase activities and exerted antifungal activity but possessed relatively weak translation–inhibitory activity in cell-free system. The cloning and sequence analysis revealed a 414 bp open reading frame encoding a preproprotein of 137 amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis of putrin showed significant homology to 2S seed storage family proteins. The results demonstrated that putrin belongs to 2S albumin family and exhibits a spectrum of biotechnologically exploitable functions.     

Ultrafast Photoinduced Charge Separation Leading to High‐Energy Radical Ion‐Pairs in Directly Linked Corrole–C60 and Triphenylamine–Corrole‐C60 Donor–Acceptor Conjugates

Closely positioned donor–acceptor pairs facilitate electron‐ and energy‐transfer events, relevant to light energy conversion. Here, a triad system TPACor‐C₆₀ , possessing a free‐base corrole as central unit that linked the energy donor triphenylamine ( TPA ) at the meso position and an electron acceptor fullerene (C₆₀) at the β‐pyrrole position was newly synthesized, as were the component dyads TPA‐Cor and Cor‐C₆₀ . Spectroscopic, electrochemical, and DFT studies confirmed the molecular integrity and existence of a moderate level of intramolecular interactions between the components. Steady‐state fluorescence studies showed efficient energy transfer from ¹ TPA* to the corrole and subsequent electron transfer from ¹corrole* to fullerene. Further studies involving femtosecond and nanosecond laser flash photolysis confirmed electron transfer to be the quenching mechanism of corrole emission, in which the electron‐transfer products, the corrole radical cation ( Cor^?+ in Cor‐C₆₀ and TPA‐Cor^?+ in TPACor‐C₆₀ ) and fullerene radical anion (C₆₀^??), could be spectrally characterized. Owing to the close proximity of the donor and acceptor entities in the dyad and triad, the rate of charge separation, k_CS, was found to be about 10¹¹ s^?1, suggesting the occurrence of an ultrafast charge‐separation process. Interestingly, although an order of magnitude slower than k_CS, the rate of charge recombination, k_CR, was also found to be rapid (k_CR≈10¹⁰ s^?1), and both processes followed the solvent polarity trend DMF>benzonitrile>THF>toluene. The charge‐separated species relaxed directly to the ground state in polar solvents while in toluene, formation of ³corrole* was observed, thus implying that the energy of the charge‐separated state in a nonpolar solvent is higher than the energy of ³corrole* being about 1.52 eV. That is, ultrafast formation of a high‐energy charge‐separated state in toluene has been achieved in these closely spaced corrole–fullerene donor–acceptor conjugates.