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A novel Chitosan/Indium sulfide (CS/In2S3) nanocomposite was created by co-precipitating Chitosan and InCl3 in solution, resulting in In2S3 agglomeration on the Chitosan matrix with a remarkable pore diameter of 170.384 Å, and characterized it for the physical and chemical properties. Under optimal conditions (pH = 7, time = 60 min, catalyst dosage = 0.24 g L−1, and dye concentration = 100 mg L-1), the synthesized nanocomposite demonstrated remarkable adsorption capabilities for Victoria Blue (VB), attaining a removal efficiency of 90.81%. The Sips adsorption isotherm best matched the adsorption process, which followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. With a rate constant of 6.357 × 10–3 g mg−1 min−1, the highest adsorption capacity (qm) was found to be 683.34 mg g−1. Statistical physics modeling (SPM) of the adsorption process revealed multi-interaction and multi-molecular adsorption of VB on the CS/In2S3 surface. The nanocomposite demonstrated improved stability and recyclability, indicating the possibility for low-cost, reusable wastewater dye removal adsorbents. These results have the potential to have practical applications in environmental remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics are described as plastic debris and are generally less than 5 mm in size. The growing concentration of microplastics in water bodies is causing severe concern among researchers. The identification and removal of microplastics from wastewaters are the main issues. Hence, this review focuses on the identification and removal of microplastics. The toxicity produced by the microplastics and their effects is also discussed. This review sheds light on the change of properties of plastics upon degradation. The characterization of microplastics is also essential. The microplastic adsorption ability results in carrying various other contaminants to different habitats. So, the source, fate, and transportation of microplastic debris are also discussed. The removal of microplastics is conducted by efficient methodologies such as adsorption, filtration, and chemical methods. They are all discussed, along with their applications, mechanism, advantages, and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the author developed Ca4Fe9O17/biochar (CFB) via a green method through a facile co-precipitation procedure involving egg shells as calcium precursor and investigating its performance in single as well as binary solution of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB). The CFB nanocomposite was characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, Raman, FTIR, BET, and VSM. ESR studies show the presence of hydroxyl (·OH) and superoxide (O2·¯) radicals, which are primary radical species for pollutant degradation. The average crystalline size of CFB nanocomposites was found to be 32.992 nm using XRD, whereas TEM analysis indicates a particle diameter of 35–36 nm. The degradation efficacy of MB and RhB dyes was achieved at 99.2% and 98.6%, respectively, in a single solution, whereas 99.4% and 99.2%, respectively, in a binary solution within 36 min. Additionally, an iron cluster was formed during the degradation process of MB dye. The degradation of organic contaminants and generation of iron clusters from the degraded dye products were both expedited by the remarkable extension effect of the Ca4Fe9O17 in the CFB nanocomposites. The three processes were achieved using CFB nanocomposite: (1) the advanced oxidation process; (2) degradation of MB and RhB dye in single as well as binary solution with enhanced efficiency, (3) the production of the iron cluster from degraded products. Thus, these three steps constitute a smart and sustainable way that leads to an effective effluent water treatment system and the generation of iron clusters preventing secondary pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ti2−xNiCoSnSb (x = 0.125, 0.250, 0.375, and 0.500) half Heusler (HH) high-entropy thermoelectric alloys were synthesized by the arc melting—ball milling—spark plasma sintering route. The impact of secondary phase content on the thermoelectric properties in these alloys was examined. Ni-rich intermetallic (Ni3Sn2, Ni3Sn4) compounds were observed; the intermetallic content increased for lower Ti content, e.g., Ti1.5NiCoSnSb. A Ni-rich full Heusler (FH) secondary phase was also observed. These results were consistent with first-principles calculations that show that the formation enthalpy of Ti1.5NiCoSnSb was higher than that of Ti2NiCoSnSb and the full Heusler (FH) TiNi2Sn phase. In lower Ti content samples, the electrical conductivity increased, and lattice thermal conductivity decreased at the expense of thermopower owing to higher FH and the Ni3Sn2 phase content. Ti1.5NiCoSnSb exhibited lower lattice thermal conductivity of 3.5 W/mK, compared to 5.4 W/mK at 823 K for Ti2NiCoSnSb due to increased phonon scattering at HH/Ni3Sn2 interfaces. But considering the decreasing power factor with lower Ti content, the maximum ZT obtained in Ti1.875NiCoSnSb (0.171 at 973 K) was only marginally higher than the value for Ti2NiCoSnSb. Further, compositional tuning is hence necessary to maximize the power factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a binary nanocomposite CdS/CeO2 has been fabricated via a one-pot co-precipitation method for the degradation of Rose Bengal (RB) dye. The structure, surface morphology, composition, and surface area of the prepared composite were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunaur–Emmett–Teller analysis UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The prepared CdS/CeO2(1:1) nanocomposite has a particle size of 8.9 ± 0.3 nm and a surface area of 51.30 m2/g. All the tests indicated the agglomeration of CdS nanoparticles over the surface of CeO2. The prepared composite showed excellent photocatalytic activity in the presence of hydrogen peroxide under solar irradiation towards the degradation of Rose Bengal. Near to about complete degradation of 190 ppm of RB dye could be achieved within 60 min under optimum conditions. The enhanced photocatalytic activity was attributed to the delayed charge recombination rate and a lower bandgap of the photocatalyst. The degradation process was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics with a rate constant of 0.05824 min−1. The prepared sample showed excellent stability and reusability and maintained about 87% of the photocatalytic efficiency till the fifth cycle. A plausible mechanism for the degradation of the dye is also presented based on the scavenger experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a novel nanocomposite, namely, Zn-modified CeO2@biochar (Zn/CeO2@BC), is synthesized via facile one-step sol-precipitation to study its photocatalytic activity towards the removal of methylene blue dye. Firstly, Zn/Ce(OH)4@biochar was precipitated by adding sodium hydroxide to cerium salt precursor; then, the composite was calcined in a muffle furnace to convert Ce(OH)4 into CeO2. The crystallite structure, topographical and morphological properties, chemical compositions, and specific surface area of the synthesized nanocomposite are characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, EDS, and BET analysis. The nearly spherical Zn/CeO2@BC nanocomposite has an average particle size of 27.05 nm and a specific surface area of 141.59 m2/g. All the tests showed the agglomeration of Zn nanoparticles over the CeO2@biochar matrix. The synthesized nanocomposite showed remarkable photocatalytic activity towards removing methylene blue, an organic dye commonly found in industrial effluents. The kinetics and mechanism of Fenton-activated dye degradation were studied. The nanocomposite exhibited the highest degradation efficiency of 98.24% under direct solar irradiation of 90 min, at an optimum dosage of 0.2 g l−1 catalyst and 10 ppm dye concentration, in the presence of 25% (V/V) 0.2 ml (4 µl/ml) hydrogen peroxide. The hydroxyl radical generated from H2O2 during the photo-Fenton reaction process was attributed to the nanocomposite's improved photodegradation performance. The degradation process followed pseudo-first-order kinetics having a rate constant (k) value of 0.0274 min−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The n–n-type ZnO–SnO2 nanocomposite was fabricated using malic acid following a simple one-pot co-precipitation method. The fabricated ZnO–SnO2 nanocomposite was employed as a photocatalyst in the degradation of Biebrich scarlet dye under UV254 light. TEM, SAED, XRD, XPS, EDX, FTIR, and UV spectra have been recorded to characterize the synthesized ZnO–SnO2 nanostructures. TEM studies found that the average particle size was 10–12 nm, and the SAED confirmed the polycrystalline nature of the synthesized nanocomposite. It was found that 97% of 10 mg/L Biebrich scarlet dye was degraded by 25 mg/L of photocatalyst within 40-min irradiation of UV254 light at an optimum pH of 6. Further studies showed that the degradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with a rate constant of 5.48 × 10−2 min−1. The fabricated ZnO–SnO2 nanocomposite was reusable up to 8 times; hence, it proved to be an efficient catalyst for the photodegradation of Biebrich scarlet dye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A (1 × 2) filtenna array inspired by an inter-digital-based bandpass filter is presented in this paper for simultaneous radiation and filtration. The feed line of the proposed antenna array resonating at 14 GHz with fractional bandwidth of 5.72% is modified in such a way that it acts like an inter-digital-based bandpass filter. The equivalent lumped circuit model of the proposed structure is analysed and detail synthesis procedure is presented. To study the impact of dimensional variations on the performance of proposed filtenna array, various parametric studies of filtenna and corresponding antenna array are performed and compared. The design strategy involves (N-1) filter circuits for realising a (1 × N) element filtenna array. The proposed array exhibits advantageous features such as low circuit complexity, compact size and low operational power over other reported filtenna arrays. The presented filtenna possesses fractional bandwidth and peak gain of 3.85% and 8.14 dB respectively at resonating frequency of 14 GHz, which covers the standards of Ku-band. The physical size of the filtenna array in terms of free space wave length is 1.96λ0 × 1.96λ0 × 0.073λ0 at 14 GHz. The radiation patterns are omni-directional in E-plane and nearly omni-directional in nature at H-plane at resonance frequency of 14 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presently, the creation of metal nanoparticles (NPs) using plant extracts has rapidly gained an appealing aspect in the realm of modern nanobiotechnology, with substantial merits over traditional techniques. In this context, cadmium oxide (CdO) NPs have been created utilizing a bio-inspired green synthetic approach using Citrus limetta peel extract. The active organic biomolecules within the peel extract functioned as reductants and stabilizers for NPs, resulting in pure CdO NPs. The structural, chemical, optical, and topological traits were evaluated utilizing XRD, FTIR, FESEM, EDX, HRTEM, UVDRS, and PL analyses. The synthesized CdO NPs are about 54 nm in size with a quasi-spherical morphology. The computed band gap of NPs was 2.59 eV, which validated the cubic phase formation of CdO NPs. The photocatalytic studies of the as-fabricated CdO NPs were investigated through Rhodamine B (RhB) dye degradation via H2O2-assisted AOP under sunlight. The effect of H2O2, photocatalyst loading, RhB dye concentration, contact time, scavengers, and recyclability study was also investigated in detail to demonstrate the functionality of the photocatalyst. Approximately 85% of the dye was decomposed within 60 min, revealing its excellent photocatalytic performance of CdO NPs. Therefore, the research outcomes thus offer that the CdO NPs may have a substantial potential for ecological remediation through a photocatalytic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]