Search

Mercury (Hg2+) as environmental pollutant is a widespread concern due to its cytotoxic effect in humans and animals and needs to be monitored through cost effective methods based on naked-eye detection. Herein, in this study, we extracted and isolated the limonin (LMN) via a facile procedure and then employed it as capping agent for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (LMN-AgNPs) as a first report. LMN-AgNPs were characterized through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Zeta Potential Analyzer (ZPA) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. As-formed LMN-AgNPs were recognized as extremely selective and highly sensitive colorimetric sensor for Hg2+ with potential analytical application. The developed sensor showed an outstanding linear correlation with the concentration of Hg2+ in the range of 0.002 − 55 µM via a color change from deep yellow to transparent showing hypsochromic-hypochromic shift with the limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) as low as 0.21 nM and 0.7 nM respectively. The sensor was further allied with smartphone for immediate and on-site quantification of Hg2+. The LOD and LOQ of 0.42 µM and 1.4 µM was true for smartphone based sensing in the range of 7.5–55 µM Hg2+. The detection of Hg2+ was not disrupted by the presence of other metals in either of mentioned cases. The practical applicability of the proposed Hg2+ sensor was tested using spectrophotometric and smartphone based approaches in human serum and urine as well as in tap water samples with acceptable ranges of recovery. As-developed sensor can work as a potential candidate for monitoring of Hg2+ pollution in diverse fields of studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research focuses on enhancing the energy storage capabilities of mesoporous silica (MCM-41) for supercapacitor applications. Electrodes made solely from MCM-41 do not possess the desired energy density required for electronic devices. To address this, combining ferrites with MCM-41 has been proposed as a means to enhance the electrochemical behavior. In this study, various contents of COF were loaded on MCM-41. Different characterization methods were used to study the physical and surface properties of the as synthesized materials like XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, EDX and SEM-mapping. TEM images confirmed that all the as-synthesized composites retained the mesoporous structure, and the particle size of ferrites ranged from 8 to 14 nm. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD) techniques were employed to investigate the electrochemical characteristics of the composite materials in H2SO4 electrolyte solution (1.0 M) and a potential window ranging from 0.0 to 0.8 V. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of ferrites onto MCM-41 led to an elevation in specific capacitance, with the highest value (746 F.g−1) observed at 35 COF-MCM-41 composite. However, further increasing the content of ferrites resulted in a decrease in specific capacitance. Furthermore, the prepared composites exhibited excellent cycling stability even after 5000 cycles, with MCM-41, COF, and 35 COF-MCM-41 retaining 84.4%, 89.4%, and 94.8% of their initial specific capacitance, respectively. These findings highlight the significant role played by the dispersion of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles in enhancing pseudocapacitance behavior, thus improving the overall electrochemical performance of the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensitive and reliable detection of the amlodipine (AML) drug in biological and environmental samples poses a significant challenge, necessitating the development of innovative electrode platforms. Herein, efficient anodes (CuO@ITO) were constructed for the direct electrochemical detection of AML in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) by growing CuO nanostructures onto the ITO electrode. Controlled nucleation of Cu ions facilitated consistent structural growth over the ITO surface, resulting in close interfacial contact between the nanostructures and the current collector. The fabricated CuO@ITO anode exhibited remarkable electrochemical oxidation response toward AML, enabling sensitive detection within a dynamic concentration range of 0.1–1.6 µm using differential pulse voltammetry, with a detection limit of 0.014 µm. Additionally, the sensor demonstrated robust anti-interference capabilities against various biomolecules and pharmaceutical drugs, ensuring accurate and reliable AML detection even in complex biological samples. Satisfactory recoveries of spiked AML drug from human urine samples affirmed the sensor’s suitability for real-world applications. The overall findings of this work emphasize the significance of the developed sensor in enabling the sensitive and selective detection of AML, making it a valuable tool for clinical and environmental monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This correction notice is for an article titled "3D prickle-like hierarchical NiO nanostructures with oxygen vacancies for electrochemical detection of enrofloxacin antibiotics" published in Applied Physics A: Materials Science & Processing. The correction addresses the incorrect figures that appeared in the article as Figs. 2 and 3b. The corrected figures show FE-SEM images of hierarchical NiO nanostructures and TEM images of NiO nanostructures with thistle-like growth. The correction also includes revised citations in the 2nd paragraph of Sect. 3.1. The original article has been corrected. [Extracted from the article]

Graphene oxide (GO) is an excellent membrane-forming material with unique two-dimensional transport channels and excellent adsorption properties for heavy metal contaminants. However, swelling under cross-flow conditions and long-term water immersion leads to poor separation performances. To improve the stability of GO membrane materials, we propose a PVA-integrated graphene oxide/attapulgite membrane (GOAP) with a 3D microstructural arrangement of "brick–mortar-brick." The addition of PVA as mortar reinforces the strength of the structures via induced hydrogen bonding within the 3D water transport network. Furthermore, the Al2O3 ceramic substrate pre-treated with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) provided high mechanical stability to the composite membrane, extending the membrane's stability beyond a month of immersion without swelling or shedding. The PVA-integrated GO/ATP composite membrane maintained a rejection rate of 99% for Cu2+ solution (100 mg/L) in a 26-h continuous with nearly 100% rejection for various metals ions such as Cu2+, Ni2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+. The membrane exhibited a water flux of 20.7 L·m−2·h−1, which was 15.9-fold high than the pure GO membrane (GOM). The high water flux and heavy metal filtration rate with superior stability proved the practical suitability of the composite film for removing heavy metal ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving metal oxides intrinsic electrochemical characteristics without altering their structural or compositional elements is a challenge, especially when designing a single component-based analytical sensor for monitoring emerging pollutants. Herein we propose the induction of oxygen vacancies in hierarchical NiO nanostructures using a simple wet-chemical reduction route to improve its inherent electrochemical redox characteristics. The synthesized NiO nanostructures possessed a thistle-like morphology with nanoprickles based structural features. The 3D prickle-like nanostructures with abundant surface-oxygen vacancies realized robust redox characteristics during the electrochemical oxidation of enrofloxacin (ENF) antibiotics. The existence of oxygen vacancies in NiO (ov-NiO NPKs) increased electrochemical conductivity and elevated redox activity, resulting in a 1.46-fold increase in the oxidation response of ENF compared to its non-vacancy counterpart. The ov-NiO NPKs based sensor showed an excellent linear working response for ENF in the concentration range of 0.001 to 0.15 µM, with a detection limit of 0.12 nM. Moreover, the sensor could effectively detect ENF from environmental samples with a high recovery rate confirming its suitability for practical applications. The suggested engineering of generating oxygen vacancies in metal oxides for improving intrinsic performance opens up new avenues for developing sophisticated single-platform-based sensors for rapid and efficient monitoring of emerging environmental contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Correction: Copper oxide-based anodes for highly sensitive electrochemical detection of amlodipine" published in the Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics. The correction addresses an error in the Acknowledgements and Funding sections of the original article, where the grant number for King Saud University was incorrectly given as RSP2024R266 instead of RSP2024R79. The corrected sections now properly acknowledge the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2024R79) at King Saud University for funding the work. The publisher, Springer Nature, maintains a neutral stance on jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

MXenes have recently been recognized as potential materials based on their unique physical and chemical characteristics. The widely growing family of MXenes is rapidly expanding their application domains since their first usage as energy materials was reported in 2011. The inherent chemical nature, high hydrophilicity, and robust electrochemistry regard MXenes as a promising avenue for environment-remediation technologies such as adsorption, membrane separation, photocatalysis and the electrocatalytic sensor designed for pollutant detection. As the performance of MXenes in these technologies is on a continuous path to improvement, this review intends to cumulatively discuss the diversity and chemical abilities of MXenes and their hybrid composites in the fields mentioned above with a focus on MXenes improving surface-characteristics. The review is expected to promote the diversity of MXenes and their hybrid configuration for advanced technologies widely applied for environmental remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the synthesis of CeO2-TiO2 nanocomposite and its potential application for the visible light-driven photocatalytic degradation of model crystal violet dye as well as real industrial waste water. The ceria-titania (CeO2-TiO2) nanocomposite material was synthesised using facile hydrothermal route without the assistance of any template molecule. As-prepared composite was characterised by SEM, TEM, HRTEM, XRD, XPS for surface features, morphological and crystalline characters. The formed nanostructures were determined to possess crystal-like geometrical shape and average size less than 100 nm. The as-synthesised nanocomposite was further investigated for their heterogeneous photocatalytic potential against the oxidative degradation of CV dye taken as model pollutant. The photo-catalytic performance of the as-synthesised material was evaluated both under ultra-violet as well as visible light. Best photocatalytic performance was achieved under visible light with complete degradation (100%) exhibited within 60 min of irradiation time. The kinetics of the photocatalytic process were also considered and the reaction rate constant for CeO2-TiO2 nanocomposite was determined to be 0.0125 and 0.0662 min−1 for ultra-violet and visible region, respectively. In addition, the as-synthesised nanocomposite demonstrated promising results when considered for the photo-catalytic degradation of coloured industrial waste water collected from local textile industry situated in Faisalabad region of Pakistan. Enhanced photo-catalytic performance of CeO2-TiO2 nanocomposite was proposed owing to heterostructure formation leading to reduced electron-hole recombination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to develop a self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) for Hesperidin (HES) and Rutin (RUT) to improve their biopharmaceutical properties. The wound healing potential of HES-RUT-SNEDDS was compared to those of pure HES suspension (HES-s), empty SNEDDS (E-SNEDDS), and standard Fusidic Acid via topical application. To produce various HES-RUT-loaded SNEDDS, aqueous phase titration was used to select cinnamon oil, Labrasol and Tween 80 (surfactants), Transcutol (co-surfactant) from a diverse pool of surfactants, oils and co-surfactants. The thermodynamic stability of HES-RUT-loaded SNEDDS was assessed by examining the globule size, surface morphology, zeta potential, polydispersity index (PDI), and percent (%) transmittance. The improved physicochemical properties of the optimized HES-RUT-SNEDDS (S-N4) formulation included particle size, zeta potential, and % transmittance. Smooth and spherical particles were discovered using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). These improved SNEDDS formulations demonstrated enhanced solubility and skin permeation. When compared to HES-s, E-SNEDDS, and standard fusidic acid, the optimized HES-RUT-SNEDDS demonstrated significant wound healing activity following topical application. HES-RUT-SNEDDS is a promising approach for enhancing the wound-healing potential of HES and RUT through topical administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]