Effect of the green synthesis of CuO plate-like nanoparticles on their photodegradation and antibacterial activities

Green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles and its effects on photocatalytic dye degradation and antibacterial activities are reported. The synthesis of nanoparticles by green routes provides many advantages over chemical routes, including simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and fast processing route without using any costly or harmful chemicals. Tridax procumbense (coat buttons) plant root extract was used to synthesize copper oxide nanoparticles. The synthesized Tridax procumbense-copper oxide nanoparticles (TP-CuO NPs) were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering spectroscopy (DLS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The synthesized TP-CuO NPs were applied for photocatalytic dye degradation and antibacterial activity studies. The TP-CuO NPs exhibited a maximum antibacterial activity at 500 μg mL^-1 concentration against Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli showing inhibition zones of 7.5 mm and 7.2 mm, respectively. The photocatalytic ability of the TP-CuO was also tested against the textile dye Trypan blue (TB), and showed about 55% degradation after 48 h for 500 μg mL^-1 CuO NP concentration, showing a concentration-dependent degradation efficiency. This is the first work on TP-derived CuO nanoparticles and their photocatalytic and antimicrobial applications. Overall, this study supports the superiority of green-synthesized TP-CuO NPs as photocatalytic and antimicrobial agents.

ZIF-8 templated assembly of La3+-anchored ZnO distorted nano-hexagons as an efficient active photocatalyst for the detoxification of rhodamine B in water

The use of lanthanum-anchored zinc oxide distorted hexagon (La@ZnO DH) nanoclusters as an active material for the photodegradation of rhodamine B (Rh-B) dye via hydrogen bonding, electrostatic, and π-π interactions is examined herein. The active photocatalyst is derived from porous zeolite imidazole frameworks (ZIF-8) via a combined ultrasonication and calcination process. The distorted hexagon nanocluster morphology with controlled surface area is shown to provide excellent catalytic activity, chemical stability and demarcated pore volume. In addition, the low bandgap (3.57 eV) of La@ZnO DH is shown to expand the degradation of Rh-B under irradiation of UV light as compared to the pristine ZIF-8-derived ZnO photocatalyst due to inhibited recombination of electrons and holes. The outstanding physicochemical stability and enhanced performance of La@ZnO DH could be ascribed to the synergistic interaction among La3+ particles and the ZnO nanoclusters and provide a route for their utilization as a promising catalyst for the detoxification of Rh-B.

An enhanced electrochemical and cycling properties of novel boronic Ionic liquid based ternary gel polymer electrolytes for rechargeable Li/LiCoO2 cells

A new generation of boronic ionic liquid namely 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium difluoro(oxalate)borate (EMImDFOB) was synthesized by metathesis reaction between 1-ethyl-3-methylimiazolium bromide and lithium difluoro(oxalate)borate (LiDFOB). Ternary gel polymer electrolyte membranes were prepared using electrolyte mixture EMImDFOB/LiDFOB with poly vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVdF-co-HFP) as a host matrix by facile solvent-casting method and plausibly demonstrated its feasibility to use in lithium ion batteries. Amongst ternary gel electrolyte membrane, DFOB-GPE3, which contained 80 wt% of EMImDFOB/LiDFOB and 20 wt% PVdF-co-HFP, showed excellent electrochemical and cycling behaviors. The highest ionic conductivity was found to be 10⁻³ Scm⁻¹ at 378 K. Charge-discharge profile of Li/DFOB-GPE3/LiCoO₂ coin cell displayed a maximum discharge capacity of 148.4 mAhg⁻¹ at C/10 rate with impressive capacity retention capability and columbic efficiency at 298 K.

A Rapid One-Pot Synthesis of Novel High-Purity Methacrylic Phosphonic Acid (PA)-Based Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS) Frameworks via Thiol-Ene Click Reaction

Herein, we demonstrate a facile methodology to synthesis a novel methacrylic phosphonic acid (PA)-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSSs) via thiol-ene click reaction using octamercapto thiol-POSS and ethylene glycol methacrylate phosphate (EGMP) monomer. The presence of phosphonic acid moieties and POSS-cage structure in POSS-S-PA was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H, 29Si and 31P-NMR) analyses. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrum of POSS-S-PA acquired in a dithranol matrix, which has specifically designed for intractable polymeric materials. The observed characterization results signposted that novel organo-inorganic hybrid POSS-S-PA would be an efficacious material for fuel cells as a proton exchange membrane and high-temperature applications due to its thermal stability of 380 °C.

High-performance memory device using graphene oxide flakes sandwiched polymethylmethacrylate layers

Organic bistable devices (OBDs) using graphene oxide (GO) flakes sandwiched polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) films were fabricated. These devices exhibited two accessible conducting states, that is, a low-conductivity (OFF) state and a high-conductivity (ON) state. The devices can be switched to ON state under a negative electrical sweep; it can also be reset to the initial OFF state by a reverse (positive) electrical sweep. Detailed I-V measurements have shown that in ITO/PMMA/GO/PMMA/Al sandwiches the resistive switching originates from the formation and rupture of conducting filaments. The ON/OFF ratio of the OBDs was approximately 5 x 10(3), reproducibility of more than 10(5) cycles, and retention time of 10(4) s. These properties show that the device is promising for high-density, low-cost memory application.

Fabrication and characterization of solution processed n-ZnO nanowire/p-Si heterojunction device

This paper reports the results on the fabrication and characterization of n-ZnO nanowire/p-Si heterojunction devices. ZnO nanowires were grown on p-Si substrates by two step chemical solution process at low temperature. The ZnO nanowires grown vertically on silicon substrates were characterized by FESEM, EDX and PL. Heterojunction devices of n-ZnO nanowires/p-Si were fabricated and characterized for their photo, thermal and electrical responses. The ZnO nanowires grown were found to show piezoelectric nature and its effect has also been demonstrated. I-V characteristics of the fabricated n-ZnO/p-Si hetero-junction device showed rectifying behavior at different temperatures. The turn-on voltage of the fabricated ZnO nanowire/silicon devices was 0.45 V in the ambient condition. The ideality factor of the devices determined at low bias voltage is about 7.5, which indicates the defects induced tunneling of the junction.