Magnetite nanoparticles grafted with murexide-terminated polyamidoamine dendrimers for removal of lead (II) from aqueous solution: synthesis, characterization, adsorption and antimicrobial activity studies

Pyromellitic acid grafted to cross-linked LDH by dendritic units: An efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for green synthesis of 2,3-dihydro quinazoline and dihydropyrimidinones derivatives

In this work, using layered double hydroxide (LDH) inorganic substrate, melamine as binding agent and dendrimer G1 and also pyromellitic acid (PMA) organic catalytic agent a heterogeneous acid catalyst was designed and prepared. After that, the prepared organic-inorganic catalyst was evaluated by various identification techniques such as FTIR, EDX, XRD, TGA, FESEM, and BET, and the results showed that the desired structure was successfully prepared. Also, in order to investigate the efficiency of the LDH@Me-PMA nanocatalyst as an efficient and heterogeneous catalyst, it was used for green and one-pot synthesis of 2,3-dihydro quinazoline and 3,4-dihydropyrimidinone-2-(1H)-ones derivatives. The use of LDH@Me-PMA catalyst led to the synthesis of the desired derivatives with higher efficiency and shorter reaction time than previously reported works. In addition, the prepared LDH@Me-PMA acid catalyst has the ability to be recycled and reused for 5 consecutive periods and has high stability, which is well consistent with the principles of green chemistry.

Chemical Strategies for Dendritic Magneto-plasmonic Nanostructures Applied to Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Chemical analyses in the field using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) protocols are expected to be part of several analytical procedures applied to water quality monitoring. To date, these endeavors have been supported by developments in SERS substrate nanofabrication, instrumentation portability, and the internet of things. Here, we report distinct chemical strategies for preparing magneto-plasmonic (Fe₃ O₄  : Au) colloids, which are relevant in the context of trace-level detection of water contaminants due to their inherent multifunctionality. The main objective of this research is to investigate the role of poly(amidoamine) dendrimers (PAMAMs) in the preparation of SERS substrates integrating both functionalities into single nanostructures. Three chemical routes were investigated to design magneto-plasmonic nanostructures that translate into different ways for assessing SERS detection by using distinct interfaces. Hence, a series of magneto-plasmonic colloids have been characterized and then assessed for their SERS activity by using a model pesticide (thiram) dissolved in aqueous samples.

A Review: Adsorption and Removal of Heavy Metals Based on Polyamide-amines Composites

In recent years, the problem of heavy metal pollution has become increasingly prominent, so it is urgent to develop new heavy metal adsorption materials. Compared with many adsorbents, the polyamide-amine dendrimers (PAMAMs) have attracted extensive attention of researchers due to its advantages of macro-molecular cavity, abundant surface functional groups, non-toxicity, high efficiency and easy modification. But in fact, it is not very suitable as an adsorbent because of its solubility and difficulty in separation, which also limits its application in environmental remediation. Therefore, in order to make up for the shortcomings of this material to a certain extent, the synthesis and development of polymer composite materials based on PAMAMs are increasingly prominent in the direction of solving heavy metal pollution. In this paper, the application of composites based on PAMAMs and inorganic or organic components in the adsorption of heavy metal ions is reviewed. Finally, the prospects and challenges of PAMAMs composites for removal of heavy metal ions in water environment are discussed.

Natural, low-cost adsorbents for toxic Pb(II) ion sequestration from (waste)water: A state-of-the-art review

Pb(II) ions is an inorganic pollutant that is present in the environment. Its presence affects both human health and ecosystem. Economically, amongst many wastewater treatment approaches, adsorption is both cheap and environmentally friendly for removing Pb(II) ion from contaminated water. In this state of the art review, about 227 research and review based publications on adsorption-based studies between 1989 and 2021, which have used various materials as adsorbents of Pb (II) ions, were selected and reviewed for more evaluation. A number of adsorbents which have been reported in these literatures for the adsorption of Pb(II) ion are agrobased, modified agrobased, clay minerals, modified/nanocomposite clay minerals, silica-based, zeolite-based and chitosan-based adsorbents, respectively. The adsorption potential of the adsorbents is exhibited under optimum experimental conditions. The unmodified and modified agro based adsorbents were shown to exhibit the greatest Pb(II) adsorption capacity, with great potential for further exploration, compared to the others afore-listed. The effects of operating parameters such as pH, initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent dose and reaction time are discussed. Furthermore, in order to comprehend the nature of adsorption process between the adsorbent and contaminant (Pb(II)), thermodynamic analyses of adsorption systems are intensively described. All these discussions revealed the applicability of adsorption process for toxic Pb(II) ions removal with respect to wastewater treatment techniques. The review concludes by commenting on the various adsorbents' adsorption capacity and proposes some studies that should also be considered in future works.

Aminopropylimidazole as an Advantageous Coating in the Synthesis of Functionalized Magnetite Nanoparticles

Implementing new methods to prepare magnetite nanoparticles with a covered or uncovered surface has been, and still is, a significant challenge. In this work, we describe a very clear and effortless way for the preparation of magnetite nanoparticles using two types of bases, namely: 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole and sodium hydroxide. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) served as a tool for the structural investigation of the as-prepared magnetite nanoparticles. The morphology of the samples was investigated using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Comprehensive high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations (XPS) were applied as an effective tool for analyzing the composition of the various types of magnetic nanoparticles. Further polymer linkage was accomplished with poly(benzofuran-co-arylacetic acid) on the amino-functionalized surface of aminopropylimidazole-containing magnetic nanoparticles. The findings are promising for biomedicine, catalysis, and nanotechnology applications.

Cadmium oxide nanoparticles/graphene composite: synthesis, theoretical insights into reactivity and adsorption study

Graphene-based metal oxide nanocomposites are interesting and promising kinds of nanocomposites due to their large specific area, fast kinetics, and specific affinity towards heavy metal contaminants. In this work, a facile and cost-effective route was used to synthesize CdO nanoparticles (CdO NPs) and graphene-based CdO nanocomposite (G–CdO). The prepared nanomaterials were characterized and explored for lead removal from water. Both CdO NPs and G–CdO composite exhibited excellent sorption capacity of 427 and 398 mg g⁻¹, respectively, at pH 4.8 and T = 298 K, which was superior to individual graphene and many other adsorbents. The results indicated that the recovered nanomaterials endure 4 times recyclability retaining up to 89% lead uptake efficiency. To complement the experimental study, DFT calculations were performed to investigate the stability of the formed G–CdO composite compared to CdO NPs; the reactivity of G–CdO compared to plain graphene as well as the interaction insights between graphene and CdO clusters were studied using natural-bond-orbital (NBO), electron-localization-function (ELF) and reduced-density-gradient (RDG) analyses.

Graphene-based metal oxide nanocomposites are interesting and promising kinds of nanocomposites due to their large specific area, fast kinetics, and specific affinity towards heavy metal contaminants.