The 100 most-cited articles in RSC Advances, 2018

Functional active wound dressings are expected to provide a moist wound environment, offer protection from secondary infections, remove wound exudate and accelerate tissue regeneration, as well as to improve the efficiency of wound healing. Chitosan-based hydrogels are considered as ideal materials for enhancing wound healing owing to their biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic, antimicrobial, biologically adhesive, biological activity and hemostatic effects. Chitosan-based hydrogels have been demonstrated to promote wound healing at different wound healing stages, and also can alleviate the factors against wound healing (such as excessive inflammatory and chronic wound infection). The unique biological properties of a chitosan-based hydrogel enable it to serve as both a wound dressing and as a drug delivery system (DDS) to deliver antibacterial agents, growth factors, stem cells and so on, which could further accelerate wound healing. For various kinds of wounds, chitosan-based hydrogels are able to promote the effectiveness of wound healing by modifying or combining with other…

conversion into useful fuels/chemicals are also summarized. To meet these challenges, future research directions are proposed in this review.

) confirmed that the relaxation process is thermally activated. The normalized imaginary part of the modulus indicated that the relaxation process is dominated by the short range movement of charge carriers.

Cellulose has attracted considerable attention as the strongest potential candidate feedstock for bio-based polymeric material production. During the past decade, significant progress in the production of biopolymers based on different cellulosic forms has been achieved. This review highlights the most recent advances and developments in the three main routes for the production of cellulose-based biopolymers, and discusses their scope and applications. The use of cellulose fibers, nanocellulose, and cellulose derivatives as fillers or matrices in biocomposite materials is an efficient biosustainable alternative for the production of high-quality polymer composites and functional polymeric materials. The use of cellulose-derived monomers (glucose and other platform chemicals) in the synthesis of sustainable biopolymers and functional polymeric materials not only provides viable replacements for most petroleum-based polymers but also enables the development of novel polymers and functional polymeric materials. The present review describes the current status of biopolymers based on…

Intensive research efforts have been pursued to remove arsenic (As) contamination from water with an intention to provide potable water to millions of people living in different countries. Recent studies have revealed that iron-based adsorbents, which are non-toxic, low cost, and easily accessible in large quantities, offer promising results for arsenic removal from water. This review is focused on the removal of arsenic from water using iron-based materials such as iron-based nanoparticles, iron-based layered double hydroxides (LDHs), zero-valent iron (ZVI), iron-doped activated carbon, iron-doped polymer/biomass materials, iron-doped inorganic minerals, and iron-containing combined metal oxides. This review also discusses readily available low-cost adsorbents such as natural cellulose materials, bio-wastes, and soils enriched with iron. Details on mathematical models dealing with adsorption, including thermodynamics, kinetics, and mass transfer process, are also discussed. For elucidating the adsorption mechanisms of specific adsorption of arsenic on the iron-based adsorbent,…

I) have been released. Immediate and effective means of capturing and storing these radionuclides are needed. In the present review, we focus on porous sorbents for the capture and storage of radioactive iodine compounds. Concerns with, and limitations of, the existing sorbents with respect to operating conditions and their capacities for iodine capture are discussed and compared.

nanosheets were first produced in 2011, an increasing number of members of this new family of two-dimensional transition metal carbides/nitride (MXene) materials have been successfully synthesized. Due to their large specific surface area, hydrophilic nature and abundant highly active surface sites, MXenes have been demonstrated to adsorb a variety of environmental pollutants, including heavy metal ions, organic dyes, radionuclides, and gas molecules, and thus can be used for the removal of pollutants and even sensing. In this review, we summarize the recent research progress on MXene materials in the adsorptive remediation of environmental pollutants and highlight the main challenges in the future to understand the full potential of MXene materials in environmental systems.

The present review covers the regeneration capacity and adsorption efficiency of different adsorbents for the treatment of industrial dyes to control water pollution. Various techniques and materials have been employed to remove organic pollutants from water; however, adsorption techniques using cost-effective, ecofriendly, clay-supported adsorbents are widely used owing to their simplicity and good efficiency. Among all the natural adsorbents, activated carbon has been found to be the most effective for dye adsorption; however, its use is restricted due to its high regeneration cost. Clays and modified clay-based adsorbents are the most efficient clarifying agents for organic pollutants as compared to activated carbon, organic/inorganic, and composite materials. Regeneration is an important aspect to stimulate the adsorption efficiency of the exhausted/spent adsorbent for water treatment. A number of techniques, including chemical treatment, supercritical extraction, thermal, and photocatalytic and biological degradation, have been developed to regenerate spent or dye-adsorbed…

century, now a collection of more than a hundred research groups world-wide. This expansion required the entry of adventurous scientists from many other fields. This tutorial review introduces some important concepts related to fluorescent probe development. It is hoped that it will facilitate further expansion of the field by demystifying it.

nano structures. Besides, efforts are also made to discuss the working mechanism and future challenges and perspectives.

The pH in tumour cells and the tumour microenvironment has played important roles in cancer development and treatment.

A new NIR-emitting phosphor ScBO 3 :Cr 3+ was investigated and its great potential for applications in broadband NIR pc-LEDs was demonstrated.

are also made up of such biomolecules. Using mice liver and blood serum, it is shown that different tissues yield their unique signature Raman spectra, owing to a difference in the relative composition of the biomolecules. Additionally, recent progress in Raman spectroscopy for diagnosing a multitude of diseases ranging from cancer to infection is also presented. The second part of this article focuses on applications of Raman spectroscopy to materials. As a first example, Raman spectroscopy of a melt cast explosives formulation was carried out to monitor the changes in the peaks which indicates the potential of this technique for remote process monitoring. The second example presents various modern methods of Raman spectroscopy such as spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS), reflection, transmission and universal multiple angle Raman spectroscopy (UMARS) to study layered materials. Studies on chemicals/layered materials hidden in non-metallic containers using the above variants are presented. Using suitable examples, it is shown how a specific excitation or collection geometry…

Rare earth metal doping into semiconductor oxides is considered to be an effective approach to enhance photocatalytic activity due to its ability to retard the electron-hole pair recombination upon excitation. Herein, we report the synthesis of different rare earth metal (La, Nd, Sm and Dy)-doped ZnO nanoparticles using a facile sol-gel route followed by evaluation of their photocatalytic activity by studying the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) under UV-light irradiation. Different standard analytical techniques were employed to investigate the microscopic structure and physiochemical properties of the prepared samples. The formation of the hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO was established by XRD and TEM analyses. In addition, the incorporation of rare earth metal into ZnO is confirmed by the shift of XRD planes towards lower theta values. All metal doped ZnO showed improved photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of MB, of which, Nd-doped ZnO showed the best activity with 98% degradation efficiency. In addition, mineralization of the dye was also…

Chitosan films blended with stem, leaf and seed extracts of Pistacia terebinthus for active food packaging.

Activated carbon fibers with high micropore volume and large specific surface area were prepared from abundant and low-cost coconut fibers, which show excellent adsorption performances towards various dyes.

H NMR. A biodiesel yield of 98% was achieved under optimized reaction conditions such as a calcination temperature of 900 °C, a catalyst loading of 3 wt%, a reaction time of 7 h and a methanol to oil ratio of 6 : 1, and biodiesel conversion was confirmed by FT-NMR and IR spectroscopies. A total of 9 fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were identified in the synthesized biodiesel by the retention time and fragmentation pattern data of GC-MS analysis. The catalyst was recycled 8 times without appreciable loss in its catalytic activity. A high biodiesel yield of 98% was obtained under these optimised conditions. The catalyst has the advantage of being a waste material, therefore it is easily prepared, cost free, highly efficient, biogenic, labor effective and environmentally friendly, making it a potential candidate as a green catalyst for low cost production of biodiesel at an industrial scale.

A sustainable solution to crop residues burning by converting residues into biochars is provided.

-Dimethylformamide (DMF) is frequently used as an aprotic solvent in chemical transformations in laboratories of academia as well as in those of chemical industry. In the present review, we will reveal that DMF is actually something much more than a solvent. It is a unique chemical since, as well as being an effective polar aprotic solvent, it can play three other important roles in organic chemistry. It can be used as a reagent, a catalyst, and a stabilizer.

Incorporating photocatalytic nanoparticles with biochar templates can produce biochar-supported photocatalysts (BSPs) and combine the advantages of biochar with catalytic nanoparticles. The obtained composite exhibits excellent surface properties, crystallinity, chemical stability, recoverability, and higher photocatalytic competency than the bare semiconductor photocatalyst. The literature and advances in BSPs based on the combination of low-cost biochar and catalytic nanoparticles are presented in this review. Various synthetic techniques and physicochemical properties of BSPs are summarized. The article then discusses in detail the important role of biochar in influencing the photocatalytic performance of BSPs such as supporting nanoparticles, increasing the surface area and the number of active sites, shuttling electrons, acting as an electron reservoir, increasing charge separation, and reducing band gap energy. Furthermore, the synergistic effects of adsorption and photodegradation of organic pollutants by BSPs are discussed with in-depth mechanistic evidence. Finally, the…

are illustrated with the Cole-Cole diagram. The enhanced microwave absorbing properties can be ascribed to the high dielectric loss accompanied with the strong multi-reflections between MXene layers.

Metabolomics is the systematic study of all the metabolites present within a biological system, which consists of a mass of molecules, having a variety of physical and chemical properties and existing over an extensive dynamic range in biological samples. Diverse analytical techniques are needed to achieve higher coverage of metabolites. The application of mass spectrometry (MS) in metabolomics has increased exponentially since the discovery and development of electrospray ionization and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization techniques. Significant advances have also occurred in separation-based MS techniques (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry, and ion mobility-mass spectrometry), as well as separation-free MS techniques (direct infusion-mass spectrometry, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry, mass spectrometry imaging, and direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry) in the past decades. This review presents a brief overview of the recent advanced MS techniques…

To reduce the cost and environmental effects, different technologies have been proposed to recover the ionic liquids from different solutions after their application. This review is mainly focused on the recent advances of the recovery and purification of ionic liquids from solutions. Several methods for recovery of ionic liquids including distillation, extraction, adsorption, membrane separation, aqueous two-phase extraction, crystallization and external force field separation, are introduced and discussed systematically. Some industrial applications of ionic liquid recovery and purification methods are selected for discussion. Additionally, considerations on the combined design of different methods and process optimization have also been touched on to provide potential insights for future development of ionic liquid recovery and purification.

This paper provides an overview of recent advances in research on the interfacial characteristics of carbon nanotube-polymer nanocomposites. The state of knowledge about the chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes as well as the interaction at the interface between the carbon nanotube and the polymer matrix is presented. The primary focus of this paper is on identifying the fundamental relationship between nanocomposite properties and interfacial characteristics. The progress, remaining challenges, and future directions of research are discussed. The latest developments of both microscopy and scattering techniques are reviewed, and their respective strengths and limitations are briefly discussed. The main methods available for the chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes are summarized, and particular interest is given to evaluation of their advantages and disadvantages. The critical issues related to the interaction at the interface are discussed, and the important techniques for improving the properties of carbon nanotube-polymer nanocomposites are introduced.…

Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) was introduced on the surface of fibers of a non-woven fabric made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

In this work, LaCrO 3 and Ir doped LaCrO 3 compounds were synthesized and their frequency dependent electrical properties were studied.

Electrospun natural polymeric bandages are highly desirable due to their low-cost, biodegradability, non-toxicity and antimicrobial properties.

TiO 2 /GO nanocomposites were synthesized successfully and exhibited an excellent ability to reduce heavy metal ions in reverse osmosis concentrate.

) PSC devices. In addition, we summarize the recent progress in the aspects of fabrication methods for large-area perovskite films, and improving the efficiency and stability of the large-area PSC devices. Finally, we give a short summary and outlook of large-area PSC devices. This article is mainly organized into three parts. The first part focuses on the main fabricating technologies for large-area perovskite films. The second section discusses some methods that are used to improve the efficiency of PSCs. In the last part, different approaches are used to improve the stability of PSCs.

-SGO composite membranes can be used to address various critical problems associated with commercial Nafion membranes in PEMFC applications.

OH synthesis. Time-on-stream catalyst deactivation or reactivation is also overviewed from the viewpoint of individual transient moieties and their adsorption or desorption characteristics, as well as reactivity.

A thermal decomposition route with different sintering temperatures was employed to prepare non-stoichiometric nickel oxide (Ni 1−δ O) from Ni(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O as a precursor.

) and report their effects on calculation speed and precision. We make recommendations for excellent performance.

' values prove that a hopping model is the dominating mechanism in the material. Based on dc-electrical resistivity study, the conduction process is found to be dominated by a thermally activated small polaron hopping (SPH) mechanism. Complex impedance analysis (CIA) indicates the presence of a relaxation phenomenon and allows us to modelize the sample in terms of an electrical equivalent circuit. Moreover, the impedance study confirms the contribution of grain boundaries to the electrical properties.

. The large mesoporous structure and the presence of oxygen functional groups in Ce-MOF/GO could facilitate ion transport in the electrode/electrolyte interface, and the results suggested that the Ce-MOF/GO composite could be used as a high-performance supercapacitor electrode material.

Bone defects are a common disease threatening the health of many people. Calcium phosphate (CaP) is an ideal bone substitutive material that is widely used for bone repair due to its excellent biological properties including osteoinductivity, osteoconductivity and biodegradability. For this reason, investigation of these properties and the effects of various influencing factors is vital for modulating calcium phosphate during the design process to maximally satisfy clinical requirements. In this study, the latest studies on the biological properties of CaP biomaterials, including hydroxyapatite (HA), tricalcium phosphate (TCP), and biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP), have been summarized. Moreover, recent advances on how these properties are altered by different factors are reviewed. Considering the limited mechanical strength of CaP materials, this study also reviews CaP composites with different materials as improvement measures. Finally, perspectives regarding future developments of CaP materials are also provided.

Herein, the fabrication of a lead-free cesium germanium halide perovskite produced via a simple solvothermal process is reported for the first time.

neural differentiation, and organization of brain organoids on a single device. The generated brain organoids display well-defined neural differentiation, regionalization and cortical organization under perfused culture conditions, which recapitulate the key features of early human brain development. Moreover, the brain organoids exhibit an enhanced expression of cortical layer markers (TBR1 and CTIP2) under perfused cultures as compared to that under static cultures on a Petri dish, indicating the role of mechanical fluid flow in promoting brain organogenesis. The simple and robust brain organoids-on-a-chip system may open new avenues for various stem cell-based organoids engineering and its application in developmental biology and human disease studies.

A lithium-ion battery (LIB) may experience overcharge or over-discharge when it is used in a battery pack because of capacity variation of different batteries in the pack and the difficulty of maintaining identical state of charge (SOC) of every single battery. A series of experiments were established to investigate the thermal and fire characteristics of a commercial LIB under overcharge/over-discharge failure conditions. According to the results, it is clear that the batteries experienced a clear temperature rise in the overcharge/over-discharge process. The temperature rise worsened and required less time when the battery was overcharged/over-discharged to failure with the increasing charge/discharge rate. Besides, the closer the position to the opening of the battery, the higher the surface temperature. It was demonstrated that LIBs can fail when overcharged/over-discharged to a critical degree regardless of the charge/discharge rate. Under different rates, the final capacities were around a critical value. Finally, there existed an explosion phenomenon in the external heating…

. The adsorption properties of tetracycline onto the fibers were investigated through several parameters including the solution pH, the adsorbent dose, the initial concentration of tetracycline, and the agitation time. The Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms were used to investigate the adsorption equilibrium. The kinetics of the adsorption process was predicted using the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic equations. Furthermore, the mechanism of adsorption was investigated, and it was found that the hydrogen bonding and π-π interaction should serve as predominant contributions to the significantly enhanced adsorption capability.

Biochar is a kind of low cost and renewable adsorbents which can be used to remove dye from wastewater. The mechanism between MB and CMB involved cation exchange, electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding, physical function and others.

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a very important versatile platform compound derived from renewable biomass. The functionalized molecule with an aldehyde group, a hydroxyl group and a furan ring provides great potential for the production of a wide variety of valuable chemicals. This review highlights the latest advances in the catalytic conversion of HMF into value-added chemicals by some important reactions including (1) aerobic oxidation of HMF into furan-based aldehydes and acids such as 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid (HMFCA), 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF), and furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), (2) reductive amination of HMF to amine, (3) the synthesis of aromatics by Diels-alder reaction followed by a dehydration reaction, (4) catalytic reduction of HMF into 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF), and 2,5-dimethyl furan (DMF), (5) catalytic oxidation of HMF into maleic anhydride, and some other important transformations. The review mainly focuses on the recent progress in bio-catalytic, electrocatalytic, and heterogeneous catalytic transformation of HMF into high value chemicals…

The Haber–Bosch process is viable for power-to-ammonia, as it can be operated for a wide range of the operating envelope while maintaining the process variables' operational, hydrogen feed intake and ammonia production flexibilities.

Many researchers have been studying these influencing factors in order to accurately fabricate the desired phase. In this paper, we give a review of the characteristics of different structures of liquid crystalline phases, the influencing factors on the phase transition of liquid crystals and the relationship between structures of LLC and drug diffusion. We hope our review will provide some insights into how to manipulate in a controlled manner the rate of incorporating and transferring molecules by altering the structure of lyotropic mesophases.

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is also referred to as "white graphite". Owing to its two-dimensional planar structure, its thermal conductivity along and perpendicular to a basal plane is anisotropic. However, h-BN exhibits properties that are distinct from those of graphite, such as electric insulation, superior antioxidative ability, and purely white appearance. These qualities render h-BN superior as a filler in composites that require thermal conductivity while exhibiting electric insulation. Since the thermal performance of composites is mainly affected by thermal pathways, this article begins with an overall introduction of the preparation of boron nitride nanosheets, followed by a review of the fabrication of h-BN-filled composites. Lastly, the construction of thermally conductive networks is discussed.

Comprehensive depiction the phase-pure V 2 O 5 with unique 1D, 2D, and 3D nanostructures. Illustrate the development of carbonaceous materials into the V 2 O 5 electrodes. Introduce the cation doped V 2 O 5 samples as the cathode material.

The blending of additives in the polyethersulfone (PES) matrix is an important approach in the membrane industry to reduce membrane hydrophobicity and improve the performance (flux, solute rejection, and reduction of fouling). Several (hydrophilic) modifications of the PES membrane have been developed. Given the importance of the hydrophilic modification methods for PES membranes and their applications, we decided to dedicate this review solely to this topic. The types of additives embedded into the PES matrix can be divided into two main categories: (i) polymers and (ii) inorganic nanoparticles (NPs). The introduced polymers include polyvinylpyrrolidone, chitosan, polyamide, polyethylene oxide, and polyethylene glycol. The introduced nanoparticles discussed include titanium, iron, aluminum, silver, zirconium, silica, magnesium based NPs, carbon, and halloysite nanotubes. In addition, the applications of hydrophilic PES membranes are also reviewed. Reviewing the research progress in the hydrophilic modification of PES membranes is necessary and imperative to provide more insights…

In this study, we utilize a density functional theory-machine learning framework to develop a high-throughput screening method for designing new molecular electrode materials. For this purpose, a density functional theory modeling approach is employed to predict basic quantum mechanical quantities such as redox potentials, and electronic properties such as electron affinity, highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), for a selected set of organic materials. Both the electronic properties and structural information, such as the numbers of oxygen atoms, lithium atoms, boron atoms, carbon atoms, hydrogen atoms, and aromatic rings, are considered as input variables for the machine learning-based prediction of redox potentials. The large-set of input variables are further downsized using a linear correlation analysis to have six core input variables, namely electron affinity, HOMO, LUMO, HOMO-LUMO gap, the number of oxygen atoms and the number of lithium atoms. The artificial neural network trained using the quasi-Newton method demonstrates…

-scheme system. Furthermore, CdS@GMT/GR retains its high performance in repeated photocatalytic processes. This can be attributed to the fact that GR prevents QDs from photocorrosion by means of the hole-transporting and collection effect. A possible reaction mechanism is proposed. This work provides a promising strategy for the construction of highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts to reduce the growing menace of environmental pollution.

) value is estimated to be 0.19 under optimized conditions. The enhancement of thermoelectric performance, particularly the increase in both electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient, is due to the removal of the insulating component and polymer chain realignment giving in turn a denser packing of the conductive PEDOT polymer chains. This post-treatment method would offer an alternative way to improve the thermoelectric performance.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer and is globally rising. Historically, the diagnosis of skin cancers has depended on various conventional techniques which are of an invasive manner. A variety of commercial diagnostic tools and auxiliary techniques are available to detect skin cancer. This article explains in detail the principles and approaches involved for non-invasive skin cancer diagnostic methods such as photography, dermoscopy, sonography, confocal microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, terahertz spectroscopy, optical coherence tomography, the multispectral imaging technique, thermography, electrical bio-impedance, tape stripping and computer-aided analysis. The characteristics of an ideal screening test are outlined, and the authors pose several points for clinicians and scientists to consider in the evaluation of current and future studies of skin cancer detection and diagnosis. This comprehensive review critically analyses the literature associated with the field and summarises the recent updates along with their merits and demerits.

Catalytic reduction of nitrophenol using ionic liquid stabilized AuNPs.

Two isoxazolidine derivatives (BDMTI and HMBTI) were synthesized and characterized using FTIR, C-NMR, H-NMR and elemental analysis and evaluated as corrosion inhibitors for X60 steel in 1 M HCl solution.

shows the coexistence of ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases with enhanced magnetization. The enhancement in magnetization has arisen due to Co doping and the paramagnetism may be due to the presence of some undetected clusters of oxides of cobalt.

nanowire cathode present enhanced rate capacity and long cycling stability, which is promising for utilization in other zinc anode based aqueous batteries as an effective way to solve dendrite formation.

for the other three types of biochar. These experiments indicate that R600 can be used as an inexpensive adsorbent to remove tetracycline from aqueous solutions, but swine manure derived biochar needs more improvement to be a suitable adsorbent.

The growing interest in substituting synthetic products coming from non-renewable sources with products from biomass has focused attention on the lignin biopolymer. Its high availability, low price and properties make the development of new and valuable uses for lignin interesting, thus improving the economic and environmental aspects of the biomass conversion. To achieve this objective, the potential use of industrial kraft and organosolv lignins as antioxidants, antimicrobials and sunscreen products has been evaluated. The results of a detailed antibacterial and antifungal study demonstrated the high potential of kraft lignins against a variety of foodborne and human pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, both organosolv and kraft lignins presented an effective protection factor (SPF values from 10-20), demonstrating their effectiveness as natural additives for the sun lotion market. In addition, lignin samples presented high antioxidant capacity compared to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), one common commercial antioxidant industrially used. Therefore, the development of innovative…

is the best lead free candidate among the inorganic perovskite materials for solar cell and optoelectronic applications.

) and can heat up rapidly to a required temperature. We integrate these graphene-coated glass rovings into a vacuum-infused epoxy-glass fabric composite and also demonstrate the potential use of as prepared graphene-based composites for de-icing applications.

In this study, different crystalline structures of FeOOH have been prepared.

electrospinning from ultra-dilute PAA solutions for the first time. These quite small sub-nanometer fibers would open a new area of electrospinning and provide further explorations on the production and application of electrospun sub-nanometer fibers with single molecular chains.

nanosheets was attributed to the formation of a thick tribofilm inside the wear tracks, which was confirmed by XPS analyses of the rubbing interfaces.

The Capsicum genus is economically important due to its chemical profile which is rich in capsaicinoids, carotenoids and flavonoids. Its unique chemical composition allows this genus to be applied from food additives to medicinal application.

The use of pillared interlayered clays (PILCs) as heterogenous catalysts in wastewater treatment technologies, particularly advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), is gaining popularity for the treatment of refractory wastewater effluents. The recent literature involving these solid materials is reviewed, with more focus on studies that aim at reducing the synthesis costs and escalating the synthesis process to industrial scale. Their role as active solid materials in the AOPs such as photocatalysis, catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO), the Fenton process and catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of refractory organic compounds in polluted aqueous streams is also reviewed. These processes are evaluated to evidence their main direction for future research, particularly with reference to possible industrial use of these technologies to treat refractory organic wastewater using pillared clay-based catalysts. The pillared clay catalysts demonstrate good application prospects for the removal of refractory wastewater effluents using AOP technology. The reviewed studies suggest that the…

ZnO-ZnS core-shell composite rods were synthesized using a two-step facile hydrothermal methodology wherein different sulfidation durations were employed. The effects of sulfidation duration on the morphology and crystalline quality of ZnS shell layers on the surfaces of ZnO rods were investigated. A ZnS shell layer with visible granular features was obtained in the adequately controlled 3 h sulfidation process. A structural analysis demonstrated that the ZnS shell layers of ZnO-ZnS composite rods synthesized after 3 h sulfidation were in a well-defined crystalline cubic zinc blend phase. Moreover, optical properties revealed that these composite rods had a higher light-harvesting ability than those obtained after 1 and 2 h sulfidation. The density of surface crystal defects and the photoexcited charge separation efficiency of the composite rods were associated with changes in the microstructure of the synthesized ZnS shell layers. The optimal sulfidation duration of 3 h for the ZnO-ZnS composite rods resulted in the highest photocatalytic activity for the given photodegradation…

) type materials. Apart from the high yield and good crystallinity of the obtained materials, the extremely high reagent concentration that the reaction conditions imply makes it feasible to control dopant loading in all cases. Prepared samples were processed as electrodes and assembled in a continuous flow filter-press electrochemical cell. Faraday efficiency to methanol and ethanol at Ru(iii)-based electrodes resulted in activity as high as 47.2%, although the activity of the material decayed with time. The interplay of the dopant metal and copper(ii), and the long-term performance are also discussed.

. The advantages of conductive hydrogels in cell growth were verified by controlling electrical stimulation of cell experiments, and the hydrogels were also used as a filling material for the nerve conduit in animal experiments. The SA/CMCS/PPy conductive hydrogel showed good biocompatibility and repair features as a bioactive biomaterial, we expect this conductive hydrogel will have a good potential in the neural tissue engineering.

. In particular, the electret filtration materials exhibited excellent filtration stability and loading performance. Thus, this electret material may become a good candidate for personal protective filtration materials against PM2.5.

was determined by applying model-free isoconversional analysis with Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and Starink methods. Results showed that both methods revealed similar trends and possessed approximately the same values at each fractional conversion. Activation energy varied greatly with fractional conversion and the possible causes behind the variations were analyzed in detail. The cured TGDDM/DICY exhibited outstanding mechanical and adhesive properties with tensile and shear strengths of 27.1 MPa at 25 °C and12.6 MPa at 200 °C, good dielectric properties with a low dielectric constant of 3.26 at 1000 kHz and a low water absorption of 0.41%.

an inclusive approach that considers multiple disease pathways involved in AD. Our review article briefly introduces pathophysiological factors involved in AD using interdependent but diverse hypotheses. Recent advances in the development of effective molecular tools and techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in AD, especially those in the advanced stages (clinical trials) of development, are given special consideration. In addition, contributions from our laboratory to the development of selective molecular tools for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions that target multifaceted toxicity in AD are also covered. In summary, we discuss diverse aspects of molecular mechanisms that underlie the pathogenesis of multifactorial AD, current progress and possible bottlenecks that have hampered the development of early diagnostic tools and effective drugs. Challenges and future prospects include the integration of various disease pathways for the successful development of an early diagnosis and effective drugs for the treatment of AD.

, light intensity of 150 W, and phenol initial concentration of 60 ppm at 160 min under visible light illumination. With the addition of graphene oxide to the composite, a significant increase was detected in the photocatalytic performance due to the higher available surface area and lower electron/hole recombination rate. In addition, the scavenging experiments revealed that the ·OH is responsible for the degradation of phenol during the reaction. The degradation mechanism, economic performance, mineralization, and recyclability were also investigated. Kinetic studies confirmed that photocatalytic degradation process followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. A case of real wastewater treatment was used to examine the performance of the catalyst for real case studies.

. In addition, the kinetics and equilibrium data are well described by pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm model. Moreover, the desorption and re-adsorption performance was also studied, and the results revealed that the prepared new adsorbent still showed good adsorption performance after five cycles of regeneration. Finally, the adsorption mechanism, including chemical and physical adsorption, was proposed on the basis of the microstructure analysis, adsorption kinetics and isotherm results, and chemical adsorption was found to be the main adsorption mechanism during the process of the removal of Co(ii).

A new antibiotic agent from sponge associated marine bacteria.

Herein, we report the preparation of magnetic CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles and CoFe 2 O 4 /graphene oxide (GO) hybrids and evaluate their catalytic activity as heterogeneous peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activators for the decomposition of rhodamine B.

> 270 °C) and displayed a high relaxation temperature (77 °C) with a tensile strength of 23 MPa. Preliminary adhesion tests showed that the cured product exhibited a high lap-shear strength of about 19 MPa in adhesion failure mode. Taking these advantages into account, this kind of fully bio-based EP could introduce more chances for versatile applications, such as being used in structural materials and construction adhesives.

In this study, composite nanosheets (ZIF-8@GO) were prepared via an in situ growth method and then incorporated into a polyimide (PI) matrix to fabricate mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for CO 2 separation.

In this research, we report a facile method for synthesizing a series of carboxyl functionalized graphene quantum dots (GQDs) using graphite flakes (300 meshes) as raw material.

Nucleophilic displacement of the propargylic alcohol is one of the sought-after methods in the current scenario. The highly nucleophilic alkyne functional moiety along with its considerably acidic terminal hydrogen atom allows the propargylic unit to play a crucial role in organic synthesis by offering a handle for further synthetic transformations. Until 2000, the most fundamental propargylic substitution reaction was the Nicolas reaction, a multi-step transformation, developed in 1972, which involved cobalt as a stoichiometric promoter. Therefore, the direct catalytic substitution of propargylic alcohols was a highly desirable method for development. The pioneering work on the Ru-catalyzed propargylic substitution reaction in 2000 encouraged many researchers to develop several novel catalytic propargylic substitution reactions, which have made rapid progress since then. The purpose of this review is to emphasise the involvement of diverse types of Lewis acid, transition metal and Brønsted acid catalysts in the propargylic substitution reaction and provide an updated summary of the…

Biochars have been successfully used to treat wastewater and contaminated soils. The efficiency of biochar as a biosorbent of heavy metals can be increased by reducing the particle size, exposing the inner pores and their functional groups. In this study, the empty fruit bunch biochar (EFBB) of oil palm was separated into three particle sizes, fine (F-EFBB < 50 μm), medium (M-EFBB 250-500 μm) and coarse (C-EFBB > 2000 μm) to compare their physical and chemical characteristics and their adsorption capacity for lead. Results revealed that the F-EFBB had greater surface area and exposed more micropores compared to the other particle sizes. Similarly, the F-EFBB had the most oxygen containing functional groups, CEC, and negative charges as measured by the zeta potential. The F-EFBB had the highest adsorption capacity for Pb, followed by M-EFBB and C-EFBB with the lowest. Therefore, the F-EFBB are able to adsorb more heavy metals as compared to M-EFBB and C-EFBB, as suggested by the more favourable physical and chemical characteristics.

). This work introduces a new type of MXene-based textile SC, which provides a promising candidate for flexible and wearable energy storage devices.

L. extract as a reducing agent without stabilizers or surfactants. The immobilization of Cu NPs was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The Cu/MgO nanocomposite acts as a heterogeneous and recyclable catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNPH), methylene blue (MB) and congo red (CR) using sodium borohydride in aqueous media at room temperature. The catalyst was recycled multiple times without any significant loss of its catalytic activity.

2,3-Dihydroquinazolin-4-one (DHQ) belongs to the class of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds representing a core structural component in various biologically active compounds. In the past decades, several methodologies have been developed for the synthesis of the DHQ framework, especially the 2-substituted derivatives. Unfortunately, multistep syntheses, harsh reaction conditions, and the use of toxic reagents and solvents have limited their full potential as a versatile fragment. Recently, use of green chemistry and alternative strategies are being explored to prepare diverse DHQ derivatives. This fragment is used as a synthon for the preparation of biologically active quinazolinones and as a functional substrate for the synthesis of modified DHQ derivatives exhibiting different biological properties. In this review, we provide a comprehensive assessment of the synthesis and biological evaluations of DHQ derivatives.

Ni/SrZrO 3 and Ni/BaZrO 3 catalysts showed high activity for ammonia decomposition since these supports promoted the nitrogen desorption step.

Paper-based diagnostics have already revolutionized point-of-care approaches for health and environmental applications, by providing low-cost, disposable tools that can be utilized in remote settings. These devices typically consist of microfluidic, chemical, and biological diagnostic components implemented on paper substrates, towards addressing the ASSURED (Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User friendly, Rapid and Robust, Equipment free and Deliverable to end users) principles set out by the World Health Organization. Paper-based diagnostics primarily contribute to the affordable, equipment-free, and deliverable-to-end-user aspects. However, additional functionality must be integrated with paper-based diagnostic devices to achieve truly ASSURED solutions. Advances in printed electronics provide a fitting foundation for implementing augmented functionality, while maintaining the affordability and disposability of paper-based diagnostics. This paper reviews the printed functional building blocks that contribute towards achieving this goal, from individual printed electronic…

transesterification that was coupled with catalyst-alcohol diffusion. Based on this observation, a surface layer model containing three layers, namely the gel layer, solid swollen layer and pure polymer layer was used to analyze the thermoset dissolution kinetics. The epoxy dissolution kinetics was derived from the surface layer model, which could be used to predict the dissolution rate during the diffusion-rate-controlled dissolution process well. The results show that alcohols with larger diffusivity and better solubility lead to a higher alcohol/catalyst concentration in the gel layer and promote faster erosion and dissolution of epoxy. This is the first work to show that it is possible to depolymerize industrial epoxy using the principle of dynamic bonds with fast dissolution rate at mild temperature under ordinary pressure.

. A large shift towards each other in terms of the glass transition temperature was observed by DMA and DSC analysis. SEM micrographs showed not only a reduction in the PBAT phase size but also a significant increase in interfacial adhesion between the PLA and PBAT phases with increasing of MDI. Furthermore, the toughening mechanism of the oriented samples was confirmed by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) images; it was possible for the smaller crystallites of blends to form during the course of chain extension.

A simple and straightforward method using microwave-assisted reactions is presented for the functionalization of graphene oxide with aromatic and non-aromatic amines.

) chelating ability. Iron-overloaded mice treated with the MC-ZVINs, indicated a drastic reduction in serum iron content when compared with the control groups and those treated with defroxamine. MC-ZVINs exhibit satisfactory potency to chelate excessive iron in mice. The data collected in this study will be helpful for selecting the most appropriate operational conditions for synthesizing green ZVINs in biomedical applications.

This work presents the effect of different contents of graphene foam (GF) on the electrochemical capacitance of nickel phosphate Ni 3 (PO 4 ) 2 nano-rods as an electrode material for hybrid electrochemical energy storage device applications.

Indoles are some of the most versatile and common nitrogen-based heterocyclic scaffolds and are frequently used in the synthesis of various organic compounds. Indole based compounds are very important among heterocyclic structures due to their biological and pharmaceutical activities. The last decade, in particular, has witnessed considerable activity towards the synthesis of indole derivatives due to the possibilities for the design of polycyclic structures by the incorporation of multiple fused heterocyclic scaffolds in an attempt to achieve promising new heterocycles with chemical and biomedical relevance. In this study, we provide an overview on recent applications of indole in the multicomponent reactions for the synthesis of various heterocyclic compounds during the period of 2012 to 2017.

Red phosphorus (P) was covalently attached to graphene nanosheets (Gr) using high-energy ball-milling under a nitrogen atmosphere.

Arsenic pollution has become a worldwide environmental concern. Dangerous arsenic concentrations in natural waters threaten the health of millions of people, and this has received significant attention. Among the various technologies that have been developed for arsenic removal from water, the use of adsorption technology is considered to be a prevailing method, because the adsorption approach usually has high removal efficiency and the advantage of convenience of handling. In recent years, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have become prime candidates for arsenic removal, due to their hydrophilic nature and cationic layered structures. Research on arsenic removal using LDHs is mainly focused on (1) the influence of the synthesis method and composition of the LDH, (2) the influence of the particle size of the LDH, (3) the influence of the Mg/Al ratio in LDHs, (4) LDH-based hybrids and (5) the competition with other anions. This paper provides a review of the currently available literature focusing on arsenic removal using LDHs for the five parts mentioned above. In addition, based on…

fabrication of the LDHs. The effects of boiling water sealing treatment on the anodized substrate were also discussed. Moreover, the polarization curve, EIS, and immersion tests showed that LDHs fabricated on the anodized substrate with boiling water sealing treatment exhibited a significant long period of protection for the substrate.

As Lewis acids, boronic acids can bind with 1,2- or 1,3-diols in aqueous solution reversibly and covalently to form five or six cyclic esters, thus resulting in significant fluorescence changes. Based on this phenomenon, boronic acid compounds have been well developed as sensors to recognize carbohydrates or other substances. Several reviews in this area have been reported before, however, novel boronic acid-based fluorescent sensors have emerged in large numbers in recent years. This paper reviews new boron-based sensors from the last five years that can detect carbohydrates such as glucose, ribose and sialyl Lewis A/X, and other substances including catecholamines, reactive oxygen species, and ionic compounds. And emerging electrochemically related fluorescent sensors and functionalized boronic acid as new materials including nanoparticles, smart polymer gels, and quantum dots were also involved. By summarizing and discussing these newly developed sensors, we expect new inspiration in the design of boronic acid-based fluorescent sensors.

In this study, we considered the unsteady peristaltic motion of a non-Newtonian nanofluid under the influence of a magnetic field and Hall currents. The simultaneous effects of ion slip and chemical reaction were also taken into consideration. The flow problem was suggested on the basis of the continuity, thermal energy, linear momentum, and nanoparticle concentration, which were further reduced with the help of Ohm's law. Mathematical modelling was executed using the lubrication approach. The resulting highly nonlinear partial differential equations were solved semi-analytically using the homotopy perturbation technique. The impacts of all the pertinent parameters were investigated mathematically and graphically. Numerical calculations have been used to calculate the expressions for the pressure increase and friction forces along the whole length of the channel. The results depict that for a relatively large value of the Brownian parameter, the chemical reaction has a dual behaviour on the concentration profile. Moreover, there is a critical point of the magnetic parameter at which…

The Schematic representation of a Stereolithography (SL) scalable manufacturing technology called additive manufacturing (AM) in oil and gas industry.

sorption pore analysis and surface-sensitive X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the surface adsorption was mainly due to the open metal sites and surface groups of nanoporous ZIF-8. The fluorescence studies suggested ZIF-8 nanocrystals were able to generate hydroxyl radicals in water but only under UV illumination. The work presented here provides an insight into understanding nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in the removal of organic molecules from wastewater.

This paper presents an overview of alternative uses for products of sugar beet processing, especially sucrose, as chemical raw materials for the production of biodegradable polymers. Traditionally, sucrose has not been considered as a chemical raw material, because of its use in the food industry and high sugar prices. Beet pulp and beetroot leaves have also not been considered as raw materials for chemical production processes until recently. However, current changes in the European sugar market could lead to falling demand and overproduction of sucrose. Increases in the production of white sugar will also increase the production of waste biomass, as a result of the processing of larger quantities of sugar beet. This creates an opportunity for the development of new chemical technologies based on the use of products of sugar beet processing as raw materials. Promising methods for producing functionalized materials include the acidic hydrolysis of sugars (sucrose, biomass polysaccharides), the catalytic dehydration of monosaccharides to HMF followed by catalytic oxidation of HMF to…

) along with the fastest separation times (35 s) from aqueous solutions. The recovered adsorbent (3-MPA@PMNPs) was reused five times and maintained a removal efficiency of more than 85%. Therefore, the prepared novel 3-MPA@PMNPs can be employed as an alternative low-cost sorbent material for the removal cationic dyes from textile wastewater. In addition, this green nanotechnology/strategy can easily be implemented in low-economy countries for wastewater treatment.

Many materials with varied characteristics have been used for water purification and separation applications. Recently discovered graphene oxide (GO), a two-dimensional derivative of graphene has been considered as a promising membrane material for water purification due to its excellent hydrophilicity, high water permeability, and excellent ionic/molecular separation properties. This review is focussed on the possible versatile applicability of GO membranes. It is also known that selective reduction of GO results in membranes with a pore size of ∼0.35 nm, ideally suited for desalination applications. This article presents the applicability of graphene-based membranes for multiple separation applications. This is indeed the first review article outlining a comparison of GO and r-GO membranes and discussing the suitability for applications based on the porosity of the membranes.