Cetylpyridinium bromide/montmorillonite-graphene oxide composite with good antibacterial activity

Size-dependent molecular interaction of nontraditional 2D antibiotics withStaphylococcus aureus

The application of nanomaterials for their antibacterial properties is the subject of many studies due to antibiotic resistance of pathogen bacteria and the necessity of omitting them from food and water resources. Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the most popular candidates for antibacterial application. However, the optimum condition for such an effect is not yet clear for practical purposes. To shed light on how GO and bacteria interaction depends on size, a wide range of GO flake sizes from hundreds of µm²going down to nano-scale as low as 10 N m²was produced. In anin-vitrosystematic study to inhibitStaphylococcus aureusgrowth, the correlation between GO flake size, thickness, functional group density, and antibacterial activity was investigated. The GO suspension with the average size of 0.05 µm², in the order of the size of the bacteria itself, had the best bacteriostatic effect onS. aureuswith the minimum inhibitory concentration value of 8 μg ml^-1, well within the acceptable range for practical use. The bacteriostatic effect was measured to be a 76.2% reduction of the colony count over 2 h of incubation and the mechanism of action was the wrapping and isolation of cells from the growth environment. Furthermore,in-vivoanimal studies revealed that 16 μg ml^-1of the optimum GO has efficient antibacterial performance against the methicillin-resistant strains of the bacteria with an enhanced wound healing rate and tensiometrial parameters which is important for realized targets.

Natural Polymers and Their Nanocomposites Used for Environmental Applications

The aim of this review is to bring together the main natural polymer applications for environmental remediation, as a class of nexus materials with advanced properties that offer the opportunity of integration in single or simultaneous decontamination processes. By identifying the main natural polymers derived from agro-industrial sources or monomers converted by biotechnology into sustainable polymers, the paper offers the main performances identified in the literature for: (i) the treatment of water contaminated with heavy metals and emerging pollutants such as dyes and organics, (ii) the decontamination and remediation of soils, and (iii) the reduction in the number of suspended solids of a particulate matter (PM) type in the atmosphere. Because nanotechnology offers new horizons in materials science, nanocomposite tunable polymers are also studied and presented as promising materials in the context of developing sustainable and integrated products in society to ensure quality of life. As a class of future smart materials, the natural polymers and their nanocomposites are obtained from renewable resources, which are inexpensive materials with high surface area, porosity, and high adsorption properties due to their various functional groups. The information gathered in this review paper is based on the publications in the field from the last two decades. The future perspectives of these fascinating materials should take into account the scale-up, the toxicity of nanoparticles, and the competition with food production, as well as the environmental regulations.

Adsorption-Based Removal of Sb (III) from Wastewater by Graphene Oxide-Modified Zirconium-Based Metal-Organic Framework Composites

The treatment of Sb (III) wastewater produced from mining activities is uniquely challenging and has therefore garnered increasing attention. Here, an amino-modified zirconium-based metal-organic framework material (UiO-66-NH2) and its composites were loaded onto graphene oxide (GO@UiO-66-NH2) via the hydrothermal method, after which these materials were used to adsorb Sb (III) in mine wastewater. The effects of adsorption time, pH, initial Sb (III) concentration, temperature, and adsorbent dosage on the removal performance of Sb (III) were then investigated. The adsorption processes of Sb (III) were examined via adsorption kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic analyses. XRD, SEM, and FTIR analyses demonstrated the presence of a porous structure and high levels of oxygen-containing functional groups on the UiO-66-NH2 and GO@UiO-66-NH2 surfaces. During the Sb (III) adsorption process, the adsorption rates of UiO-66-NH2 and GO@UiO-66-NH2 were very fast in the first 10 minutes, and the adsorption equilibrium was achieved in 12 h, with the adsorption efficiencies of 91.76% and 93.79%, respectively. At a pH of 7.0, 25°C, an initial Sb (III) concentration of 100 mg/L, and an adsorbent dosage of 0.04 g/L, the maximum Sb (III) adsorption capacities of UiO-66-NH2 and GO@UiO-66-NH2 reached 39.23 mg/g and 61.07 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption process was accurately described by the Langmuir model, meaning that the Sb (III) was adsorbed through single-layer uniform adsorption. Moreover, the adsorption process was highly consistent with the pseudo-second-order model, which was indicative of spontaneous and endothermic chemical adsorption. Additionally, the Sb (III) removal efficiency could be maintained approximately 70% after sorption-desorption recycling four times. Therefore, our study provides an economical and effective method for the removal of Sb (III) in wastewater treatment.

Montmorillonite-Based Two-Dimensional Nanocomposites: Preparation and Applications

Montmorillonite (Mt) is a kind of 2:1 type layered phyllosilicate mineral with nanoscale structure, large surface area, high cation exchange capacity and excellent adsorption capacity. By virtue of such unique properties, many scholars have paid much attention to the further modification of Mt-based two-dimensional (2D) functional composite materials, such as Mt-metal hydroxides and Mt-carbon composites. In this review, we focus on two typical Mt-2D nanocomposite: Mt@layered double hydroxide (Mt@LDH) and Mt@graphene (Mt@GR) and their fabrication strategies, as well as their important applications in pollution adsorption, medical antibacterial, film thermal conduction and flame-retardant. In principle, the prospective trend of the composite preparation of Mt-2D nancomposites and promising fields are well addressed.

Biodegradable CA/CPB electrospun nanofibers for efficient retention of airborne nanoparticles

The increase of the industrialization process brought the growth of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere. At the same time, the demand for advances in aerosol filtration is evolving towards more sustainable technologies. Electrospinning is gaining notoriety, once it enables to produce polymeric nanofibers with different additives and also the obtaining of small pore sizes and fiber diameters; desirable features for air filtration materials. Therefore, this work aims to evaluate the filtration performance of cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers and cationic surfactant cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB) produced by electrospinning technique for retention of aerosol nanoparticles. The pressure drop and collection efficiency measurements of sodium chloride (NaCl) aerosol particles (diameters from 7 to 300 nm) were performed using Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS). The average diameter of the electrospun nanofibers used was 239 nm, ranging from 113 to 398 nm. Experimental results indicated that the nanofibers showed good permeability (10^-11 m²) and high-efficiency filtration for aerosol nanoparticles (about 100 %), which can include black carbon (BC) and the new coronavirus. The pressure drop was 1.8 kPa at 1.6 cm s^-1, which is similar to reported for some high-efficiency nanofiber filters. In addition, it also retains BC particles present in air, which was about 90 % for 375 nm and about 60 % for the 880 nm wavelength. Finally, this research provided information for future designs of indoor air filters and filter media for facial masks with renewable, non-toxic biodegradable, and potential antibacterial characteristics.