Biomolecule-Mediated Generation of Ru Nanocatalyst for Sustainable Reduction of Nitrobenzene

Mass production of morin-stabilized silver nanoparticles: Characterization, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities

Phytochemical-conjugated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are believed to act as a bridge between nanotechnology and therapy. There is a significant need for green and mass production of such materials due to their extensive applications, especially in the biomedical sector. In this study, morin-stabilized silver nanoparticles (morin/AgNPs) were synthesized on a massive scale using a one-pot solid-state technique. The reaction is achieved by ball milling of morin and silver nitrate powders at ambient temperature without any solvent or toxic reagent. The prepared morin/AgNPs exhibited a semi-hexagonal shape and ranged in size from 21 to 43 nm. The x-ray diffraction results elucidated the formation of highly crystalline AgNPs. Fourier transform infrared and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analyses prove that the hydroxyl, carbonyl, and aromatic functionalities in morin are playing major roles in the reduction and stabilization of AgNPs. The antioxidant potential of morin/AgNPs was evaluated utilizing 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Morin/AgNPs exhibited better free radical scavenging activity (IC50  = 11.7 μg/mL) than morin (IC50  = 14.8 μg/mL). Furthermore, the synthesized AgNPs showed promising antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, and Candida albicans. The largest inhibition zones were observed against S. aureus (21.2 ± 0.6 mm) and K. pneumonia (20.3 ± 0.5 mm) bacteria. The foregoing results highlighted the prospective application of morin/AgNPs as a promising antioxidant and antimicrobial material for safe medical applications. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: A simple green route for the large-scale production of AgNPs was developed. Morin acts as reducing/stabilizing agent in solid-state synthesis of AgNPs. Morin/AgNPs exhibited promising antimicrobial and antioxidant activity.

Fe3O4@SiO2@KIT-6@2-ATP@CuI as a catalyst for hydration of benzonitriles and reduction of nitroarenes

In this paper, a new type of magnetic mesoporous material (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@KIT-6@2-ATP@Cu^I) was designed and synthesized and its application in the synthesis of amides and anilines was investigated. The structure of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@KIT-6@2-ATP@Cu^I was characterized and identified using FTIR, SEM, XRD, TGA, BET, VSM, and ICP techniques. An external magnet can easily remove the synthesized catalyst from the reaction medium, and be reused in several consequence runs.

Facile preparation of Cu-Fe oxide nanoplates for ammonia borane decomposition and tandem nitroarene hydrogenation

A facile substrate involved strategy was used to prepare Cu-Fe LDO (layered double oxide) nanoplates. The material exhibited good-efficiency for decomposition of ammonia borane (AB) in alkaline methanol solution. Significantly, the material also demonstrated excellent catalytic performance in the reduction of various nitroarenes by coupling with AB hydrolysis in a one pot tandem reaction, and gave excellent yields of the corresponding amine products.