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This work synthesized a PIL composite catalyst based on an in-situ surface construction strategy. This strategy promoted the stable loading of PIL in a small-size state, ensuring that the catalyst provided sufficient active sites for CO2 conversion.

This research study describes the development of new small molecules based on 2,4-thiazolidinedione (2,4-TZD) and their aldose reductase (AR) inhibitory activities. The synthesis of 17 new derivatives of 2,4-TZDs hybrids was feasible by incorporating two known bioactive scaffolds, benzothiazole heterocycle, and nitro phenacyl moiety. The most active hybrid (8b) was found to inhibit AR in a non-competitive manner (0.16 µM), as confirmed by kinetic studies and molecular docking simulations. Furthermore, the in vivo experiments demonstrated that compound 8b had a significant hypoglycaemic effect in mice with hyperglycaemia induced by streptozotocin. Fifty milligrams per kilogram dose of 8b produced a marked decrease in blood glucose concentration, and a lower dose of 5 mg/kg demonstrated a noticeable antihyperglycaemic effect. These outcomes suggested that compound 8b may be used as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of diabetic complications.

The sorbents Ni-Cu-FNP’s, Ni-Zn-FNP’s, Mn-FNP’s, and Zn-FNP’s were synthesised and utilised for the removal of Direct Golden Yellow RL dye. The optimum pH for the adsorption of direct golden yellow RL dye was 4, and 3 having the sorption capacities of 32.56, 30.44, 34.39, and 36.91 mgg−1 for Ni-Cu-FNP’s, Ni-Zn-FNP’s at 45 min and Mn-FNP’s, Zn-FNP’s at 60 min respectively with the optimum dosage of 0.05 g/50 mL. The maximum sorption capacities were 39.08 (Ni-Cu-FNP’s), 35.08 (Ni-Zn-FNP’s), 42.93 (Mn-FNP’s), and 44.22 mg/g (Zn-FNP’s) at 40°C, 37°C, 44°C, and 44°C respectively and the reduction observed in the sorption capacity by raising the temperature, showed that the process is exothermic The optimal initial concentration of dyes for all the sorbents having the maximum sorption capacities of 54.30 mg/g (Ni-Cu-FNP’s), 51.25 mg/g (Ni-Zn-FNP’s), 63.45 mg/g (Mn-FNP’s), and 66.35 mg/g (Zn-FNP’s) were 75, 100, 100, and 75 mg/L respectively to get maximal acidic dyes adsorption. Langmuir equilibrium isotherm for sorption showed good fitness on the data obtained by sorption while the pseudo-2nd-order proved good fitness on kinetic data of experiments. Surfactants, detergents, and different molar solutions of electrolytes (NaCl and AlCl3) decreased the sorption capabilities of the sorbents for the selected dye.

Herein we report the synthesis of polystyrene-graphene nanosheets (PS-GNs) and octadecylamine-graphene nanosheets (OA-GNs) which possessed much rougher surface and wider lamellar spacing than that of the pristine GNs. The incorporation of PS and OA into the GNs mitigated the agglomeration issues of the pristine GNs. The synthesized PS-GNs and OA-GNs were in turn applied as additives to prepare modified cement mortars which were tested for various mechanical and fluidity tests. The test results showed that PS-GNs and OA-GNs incorporation played effective roles in reinforcing compressive strength and flexural strength of modified cement mortar. The results revealed that in contrast to the physical reaction of PS-GNs with the cement mortar, the chelating reaction of OA-GNs with Ca2+ retarded the hydration process at 0–7 days of cement mortar. This study provides important findings for the preparation of PS-GNs/cement mortar and OA-GNs/cement mortar with enhanced mechanical properties for practical applications in construction industries.

Modified graphene oxide (GO) has widened the spectrum of its applications in the preparation of highly effective composite materials. This paper reports the effect and mechanism of modified butylated GO (C4H9-GO) on the mechanical properties of reinforced cement-based composites. Experimental findings showed that compared with the pristine GO/cement composite, the fluidity of 0.03 wt% C4H9-GO/cement was slightly improved while its bending strength and compressive strength were increased by 10.50% and 17.00%, respectively, after curing for 28 days. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, mercury intrusion porosimetry, and surface area analysis revealed that C4H9-GO can effectively increase the degree of hydration, promote the formation of C–S–H bonds, Aft and Afm crystals (two kinds of calcium sulfoaluminate hydration), and inhibit the generation and development of cracks and pores thus increasing the bending and compressive strengths of the C4H9-GO/cement composite. Based on the experimental and characterization findings, a suitable mechanism for the enhancement in mechanical properties of C4H9-GO/cement was proposed. This study provides useful findings for the simplified and cost-effective preparation of C4H9-GO/cement for applications in highway and bridge construction industries.

This project studies the relationship between the carbonization temperature and ionic liquid (IL) ([Bmim]Cl and [Bmim]OAC) solution and its impact on the structure, properties and gasification reactivity of the hydrochar obtained from eucalyptus via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). The structure of hydrochar was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy while its gasification reactivity with air was measured by thermogravimetric analysis at 340 °C. Results showed that the reactivity of hydrochar prepared in the presence of IL was much higher than that prepared using water. SEM analysis revealed some vesicles on the hydrochar surface during HTC at 220 °C, while Raman and XRD results showed more disordered crystal structure of the hydrochar in the presence of ILs. XPS and Raman results revealed that C O contents on the hydrochar surface increased after adding IL which implied that IL can promote opening the loop of aromatic nucleus of biomass. This study provides important information for the preparation of highly active biochar based on IL assisted HTC of eucalyptus for practical applications.

Carboxymethyl cellulose-foam-supported HKUST-1@graphdiyne (HK@GDY/CMC-B) was constructed with high thermal conductivity and directional channels to enhance the ad-/de-sorption efficiency of acetaldehyde. Characterization results showed that (1) HKUST-1 grew within CMC and GDY via an in situ tri-phase cross-linking strategy, forming a special “alkynyl|Cu|COOH” interface, which maintained the high BET surface area (945.1 m2 g−1) of the HK@GDY/CMC-B foam and established a tight connection among the different components of the composite; (2) the π-conjugated carbon structure of GDY and the unique “alkynyl|Cu|COOH” interface within HK@GDY/CMC-B accelerated the phonon conduction and significantly enhanced the thermal conductivity of HK@GDY/CMC-B (336 mW m−1 K−1); (3) the directional channels and the hierarchical pore structure with a unique interface in the HK@GDY/CMC-B foam facilitated the diffusion and adsorption of VOCs; (4) the compact “alkynyl|Cu|COOH” interface generated more unsaturated Cu(II) and Cu(I) sites and increased adsorbent surface polarity to capture acetaldehyde. Consequently, the obtained HK@GDY/CMC-B exhibited an excellent acetaldehyde adsorption capacity of up to 11.0 mmol g−1, which was 1.3–3.4 times higher than that of many state-of-the-art adsorbents. Kinetics performance data revealed that the diffusivity of acetaldehyde on the HK@GDY/CMC-B foam increased by 60% compared to that of the pristine HKUST-1. Similarly, the desorption rate of HK@GDY/CMC-B was 2.2–6.5 times faster than that of several state-of-the-art adsorbents under similar temperature programmed desorption. This greatly realized an energy-conserving approach for adsorbent regeneration. Based on these findings, the current tri-phase cross-linking strategy can be deemed as an efficient tactic to further improve the adsorption efficiency of MOFs for fast adsorption of VOCs on the commercial level.

Herein, calcium carbonate hollow microspheres with a micro–nano hierarchical structure were successfully synthesized using disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA-2Na) as an additive, by bubbling pressurized carbon dioxide and calcium hydroxide at 120 °C. The products were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), fluorescence analysis, and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Characterization results showed that the hollow calcium carbonate microspheres were 4–6 μm in diameter and the micro–nano hierarchical structure with a 100 nm wall thickness assembled into cubic shape nanoparticles. The obtained microspheres were uniformly dispersed and exhibited an 18.79 m2 g−1 surface area. Upon increasing the preparation temperature, the morphology of the microspheres changed from a hollow sphere to a hollow ellipsoid, while with an increasing EDTA content, the size of the product decreased. Fluorescence analysis results showed that with an increasing Eu3+ content in the obtained hollow microspheres of CaCO3:Eu3+, the excitation and emission spectra and the photoluminescence intensity of the product increased achieving maximum luminescence intensity at 4% content.

Agricultural wastes as low-cost adsorbents with metal-binding capacities have gained greater scientific attentions; still their selectivity is badly affected by poor surface activity. Therefore, in this study, bagasse pith grafted copolymer (BPGC) adsorbent was prepared by aqueous solution polymerization using bagasse pith waste as raw material and acrylamide as grafting monomer. Textural characterization of the synthesized adsorbent was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. The effect of adsorbent dosage, solution pH and initial concentration of Cu(II) on the adsorption performance of BPGC were studied. BPGC realized higher Cu(II) adsorption performance (105.3 mg·g−1) than the pristine bagasse pith following pseudo second order kinetic model. The Langmuir adsorption model better described the isothermal adsorption behavior confirming the monolayer adsorption phenomenon. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses and related adsorption data indicated surface complexation and electrostatic interaction phenomena during the adsorption of Cu(II) with the N and O of the amide groups on the BPGC surface. This study can therefore be deemed of promising value for industrial application involving remediation of Cu(II) and other similar heavy metal ions from waste-water.

Regioselectivity is a key point in hydroformylation reactions and its control is still a challenge in heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we demonstrate that regioselectivity in heterogeneous hydroformylation can be steered by a surface microenvironment around Rh clusters, which are surrounded by K species and confined within silicate-1 zeolites. The K species create a steric hindrance microenvironment on the surfaces of Rh clusters and tune the electronic properties of Rh species, mimicking the Rh–phosphine molecular complex. This microenvironment benefits the linear adsorption of olefins, realizing 83% regioselectivity to linear butyraldehyde with TOF as high as 7328 h−1 in propylene hydroformylation. Other K species which reduce acidic sites can also inhibit the isomerization of long-chain olefins, thus boosting regioselectivity. The confinement structure can stabilize the Kx^Rh clusters to enhance the catalyst lifetime. This work provides an alternative route for developing selective heterogeneous catalysts through steering the catalyst surface microenvironment.

Counterfeit asphalts have often been deliberately adulterated to reduce costs, which has seriously impeded the development of road and highway construction. In this study, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were applied in combination to explore a fast, accurate, low-cost and efficient method to better identify the brand and quality of asphalt. Results revealed that ATR-FTIR spectra of seven brands of asphalt were basically identical, while they differ in benzene ring substituent content and (–CH2–)n (n ≥ 4) content. The fingerprint intervals of virgin asphalt were 1770–1636 cm−1, 1060–985 cm−1 and 920–690 cm−1. The aging degree of the same brand of asphalt was identified by 1770–1636 cm−1 and 1060–985 cm−1, while 920–690 cm−1 range was used to identify the fingerprint interval of the original asphalt brand. GPC analysis revealed that the large molecular size (LMS) content of original Fu Lian and Shuang Long asphalt brands greatly differed which were not identified by FTIR. Owing to the thermal oxidation, the LMS content of the same brand of virgin asphalt increased by 4–6% after short-term aging. The present study based on the integrated operation of GPC–FTIR for the fast and accurate recognition and distinguishing between different brands of asphalts could be of potential practical applications.

Poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) have gained widespread attention in recent years due to their excellent properties similar to both ionic liquids and polymers. However, their further applications are limited because abundant and flexible ions easily block nanopores in the PIL catalysts, thus blocking the active sites and ultimately leading to decreased catalytic activity. This work reports the synthesis of a PIL/graphene composite catalyst (iPOP-ZnTPy@GNFs) based on an

In this study, we report the fabrication of polymer blended thin layer membranes from poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) as a matrix, and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and Fe2O3, ZnO, CuO and AgO nanoparticles (NPs) as primary and secondary fillers, respectively. The synthesized membranes were characterized by FTIR, XRD, AFM, water contact angle, SEM and EDX analyses. The experimental results revealed that PMMA/rGO/Ag2O exhibited 99% Cd2+ extraction from model aqueous and waste toner carbon solutions at optimized conditions of 6 mM tri-ethanol amine in the membrane phase, 4.21 mM Cd2+ concentration in the feed solution and 2.5 M NaOH in the strip solution. This was attributed to the effective particle size of Ag NPs and their ideal chemistry with PMMA and rGO, and the porosity (90%), pore size (0.1–0.72 μm), thickness (0.2 mm) and roughness of PMMA/rGO/Ag2O, where the latter also resulted in a much higher flux (2.77 × 10−2 g m−2 s−1) than many reported membranes. Attributed to high efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and ease of synthesis, the PMMA/rGO/Ag2O hybrid membrane can be used as an alternative for the remediation of Cd2+ from waste toner samples.

Silkworm excrement is a very useful biomass waste, composed of layer-structured fats and proteins, which are great precursors for carbon composite materials. In this work, new porous composites derived from silkworm excrement were prepared for selective separation of flavor 4-methylanisole from the binary 4-methylanisole/4-anisaldehyde mixture. In particular, the silkworm excrement, possessing a unique nanosheet structure, is converted into a graphite-like carbon by a simple calcination strategy followed by a metal-ion-doping procedure. This Fe@C composite exhibits a special nano-spongy morphology, anchoring Fe3C/Fe5C2 on the carbon nanosheets. Density functional theory simulations showed that 4-methylanisole presents a stronger π–π interaction and attraction forces with sp2 carbon nanosheets in Fe@C composites than 4-anisaldehyde. The selective adsorption experiments further confirmed that the Fe@C composites exhibited a 4-methylanisole capacity of 7.3 mmol/g at 298 K and the highest selectivity of 17 for an equimolar 4-methylanisole/4-anisaldehyde mixture among the examined adsorbents including MOFs and commercial activated carbon materials, which demonstrates the potential of this low-cost and eco-friendly porous carbon material as a promising sustainable adsorbent.

In this study, heavy calcium carbonate was modified with three kinds of modifiers i.e. aluminate, stearic acid and titanate as coupling agents by wet modification to prepare coupling agent modified calcium carbonate denoted as Modifier I, Modifier II and Modifier III, respectively. These modifiers and styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) were applied to prepare modified asphalt. DSR test studies revealed that at 46 °C, the storage modulus and loss modulus of 1% modifier I and SBS composite incorporated modified asphalt increased by 119% and by 135% respectively than that of pristine SBS asphalt. Similarly, this increase for 1% of modifier II and SBS composite and 0.5% of modifier III and SBS composite added version were 184%, 160% and 175% and 185% respectively. The modified asphalt exhibited enhanced viscoelastic properties than pristine asphalt. Microscopic analysis and FM results revealed the uniform distribution of modifier in the matrix asphalt. FT-IR and XRD results revealed physical modification of matrix asphalt. This study can pave the road for the synthesis of heavy calcium carbonate modified SBS composite based asphalt for practical applications.

Chalcones (1, 3-Diphenyl-2-propen-1-one) consist of a three carbon α, β-unsaturated carbonyl system and act as precursors for the biosynthesis of flavonoids in plants. However, laboratory synthesis of various chalcones has also been reported. Both natural and synthetic chalcones are known to exhibit a variety of pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial and antituberculosis. These promising activities, ease of synthesis and simple chemical structure have awarded chalcones considerable attraction. This review focuses on the anti-inflammatory effects of chalcones, caused by their inhibitory action primarily against the activities and expressions of four key inflammatory mediators viz., cyclooxygenase, prostaglandin E2, inducible NO synthase, and nuclear factor κB. Various methodologies for the synthesis of chalcones have been discussed. The potency of recently synthesized chalcones is given in terms of their IC50 values. Structure-Activity Relationships (SARs) of a variety of chalcone derivatives have been discussed. Computational methods were applied to calculate the ideal orientation of a typical chalcone scaffold against three enzymes, namely, cyclooxygenase-1, cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible NO synthase for the formation of stable complexes. The global market of anti-inflammatory drugs and its expected growth (from 2018 to 2026) have been discussed. SAR analysis, docking studies, and future prospects all together provide useful clues for the synthesis of novel chalcones of improved anti-inflammatory activities.

This work reports the fabrication of alkalinized g-C3N4 and its composite with TiO2 via recrystallization-annealing strategy. The increased surface basicity boosted the fast adsorptive removal of methylene blue (MB) while the cooperated TiO2 enhanced the degradation of adsorbed MB via photocatalysis. The synthesized materials were characterized by XPS, SEM, TEM, PXRD, BET surface area, FT-IR, EDX and TG analyses. TiO2 nanoparticles were uniformly distributed in the framework of alkalinized g-C3N4 which increased the surface area of g-C3N4. Na was incorporated into g-C3N4 via thermal treatment, and the bond between C and N was dissociated while that between C OH was formed. The alkaline and negatively charged surface of g-C3N4 upon Na addition established a strong electrostatic interaction adsorption scenario with MB leading to higher adsorption efficiency of TiO2/Na-g-C3N4 (90%) than pristine g-C3N4 (80%). MB removal efficiency was further intensified (from 90% to 100% within 120 min) upon the sequential operation of adsorption followed by photocatalytic degradation over TiO2/Na-g-C3N4 under visible light irradiation. This study can be deemed of potential applications for the removal of MB and similar dyes on industrial level using the newly synthesized TiO2/Na-g-C3N4 and synergistic adsorption-photocatalytic oxidation approach.

The effect of Fe3O4 content and microwave reaction time on the properties of Fe3O4/ZnO magnetic nanoparticles (ZnO MNPs) was investigated. The corresponding structural properties of the ZnO MNPs were demonstrated by a series of characterization techniques including Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X–ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE–SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopic (HR–TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Vis diffuse reflectance (UV–vis DRS), Fourier transformed infra-red (FT–IR) spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Photocatalytic activity of the ZnO MNPs was evaluated by choosing 4–Nitrophenol (4–NP) as the target pollutant. The Characterization and experimental results indicated that the ZnO MNPs containing 20% Fe3O4 exhibited the largest specific surface area, pore volume and average pore diameter along with the strongest UV‒light absorption capacity. Moreover, diameters of the spherical ZnO MNPs decreased with the increase of Fe3O4 contents. Furthermore, saturation magnetization of the ZnO MNPs increased with increasing Fe3O4 contents, and the ZnO MNPS with 20% and 30% Fe3O4 contents exhibited good superpara–magnetic behavior and coercivity, respectively. The best degradation of 4–NP was exhibited in ZnO MNPS with 30% Fe3O4 content. On the other hand, the best photocatalytic activity was exhibited by ZnO MNPs prepared by 30 min microwave reaction time. The morphology was independent of microwave reaction time, while agglomerates of the ZnO MNPs were observed with increasing microwave reaction time up to 60 min. The study comprehensively discovered that the ZnO MNPs prepared with 20% Fe3O4 content and 30 min microwave reaction time exhibited enhanced degradation of 4–NP up to 99% within 120 min. As a conclusion, Fe3O4 content and microwave reaction time played an important role in the structural fabrication, photodegradation properties and reusability of ZnO MNPs. The current study could be deemed of great potential for the preparation and applications of ZnO MNPs in environmental remediation.

In this study, a new modifier (KPG) was prepared by modifying graphene oxide with gamma-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane (KH560) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). KPG was in turn added to aqueous ur ...

Soybean bio-asphalt was prepared by vacuum distillation after esterification of soybean acidified oil. A ratio of 1:4 of bio-asphalt and petroleum asphalt exhibited best performance in terms of penetration, softening point and ductility. Three indices tests and dynamic shear rheological tests performed 4% styrene butadiene styrene/soybean bio-asphalt modified petroleum asphalt revealed its enhanced low-temperature fatigue crack resistance and high-temperature resistance against rutting. FT-IR analysis indicated similar chemical compositions of the two types of asphalts. TGA, GPC, SEM and FM analyses revealed more light components in bio-asphalt compared to petroleum asphalt, which formed a network structure. This network structure led to improved mechanical properties of soybean bio-asphalt/SBS modified petroleum asphalt.