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Green synthesis is a potential method and increasingly popular for synthesizing nanoparticles. In this study, iron nanomaterial was green sythesized using Cleistocalyx operculatus leaves extract as reducing agent. Morphology and structure of the as-prepared nanomaterial was characterized by scanning microscope, X-ray diffraction analysis methods. The collected product is iron nano material with the morphology is paticles with the diameter is approximatly 100 nm. The iron nanomaterial revealed the high degradation performance toward Methylene Blue (MB) solution. The removal color of MB is determined and confirmed by the visible ultraviolet (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy which is proportional to the amount of nanomaterial used and is influenced by pH conditions.

Mixed metal oxide composites have been widely used as adsorbents for the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater. In this work, Fe2O3/TiO2 composite was sustainably prepared via the treatment of titanium slag with a low-concentration sulfuric acid solution (20%) and used for the removal of As(V) from aqueous solutions. The resulting products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption−desorption, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The batch adsorption was employed to investigate the removal efficiency of the Fe2O3/TiO2 adsorbent toward As(V). The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were plotted in order to study the adsorption process. The adsorption of As(V) on FeO3/TiO2 fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm model, suggesting a multilayer adsorption process with an adsorption capacity of 68.26 mg·g−1. The adsorption kinetics study demonstrated that the adsorption behavior of the Fe2O3/TiO2 composite for the As(V) was pseudo-second-order. With low-cost preparation and high adsorption capacity, the prepared Fe2O3/TiO2 adsorbent could be used as an effective adsorbent for As(V) removal from contaminated water sources. The approach utilized in this research is viewed as a sustainable route for creating a proficient adsorbent for the purification of water.

The porous metal–organic complexes are emerging as novel carriers for effective and safe delivery of drugs for cancer treatment, minimizing the side effect of drug overuse during cancer treatment. This study fabricated the Fe–BTC–PEG metal–organic complex from Fe ions, trimesic acid, and poly(ethylene glycol) as precursors using an ultrasonic-assisted method. The morphology and crystallinity of the resultant complex were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. FTIR spectroscopy was employed to investigate the functional groups on the surface of the Fe–BTC–PEG complex. The result showed that the prepared Fe–BTC–PEG complex was in particle form with low crystallinity and diameter ranging from 100 to 200 nm. The obtained Fe–BTC–PEG complex exhibited a high loading capacity for the 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) anticancer drug with a maximal capacity of 364 mg/g. The releasing behavior of 5-fluorouracil from the 5-FU-loaded Fe–BTC–PEG complex was studied. Notably, the acute oral toxicity of the Fe–BTC–PEG metal–organic complex was also carried out to evaluate the safety of the material in practical application.

Synthesizing novel photocatalysts that can effectively harvest photon energy over a wide range of the solar spectrum for practical applications is vital. Porphyrin-derived nanostructures with properties similar to those of chlorophyll have emerged as promising candidates to meet this requirement. In this study, tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) nanofibers were formed on the surface of ZnO nanoparticles using a simple self-assembly approach. The obtained ZnO/TCPP nanofiber composites were characterized via scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and ultraviolet–visible absorbance and reflectance measurements. The results demonstrated that the ZnO nanoparticles with an average size of approximately 37 nm were well integrated in the TCPP nanofiber matrix. The resultant composite showed photocatalytic activity of ZnO and TCPP nanofibers concomitantly, with band gap energies of 3.12 and 2.43 eV, respectively. The ZnO/TCPP photocatalyst exhibited remarkable photocatalytic performance for RhB degradation with a removal percentage of 97% after 180 min of irradiation under simulated sunlight because of the synergetic activity of ZnO and TCPP nanofibers. The dominant active species participating in the photocatalytic reaction were •O2– and OH•, resulting in enhanced charge separation by exciton-coupled charge-transfer processes between the hybrid materials.

Metal-organic complexes are one of the most studied materials in the last few decades, which are fabricated from organic ligands and metal ions to form robust frameworks with porous structures. In this work, iron-1,4-benzenedicarboxylic-polyethylene glycol (Fe-BDC-PEG) with a porous structure was successfully constructed by an iron(III) benzene dicarboxylate and polyethylene glycol diacid. The drug-delivery properties of the resultant Fe-BDC-PEG were tested for the loading and release of the 5-fluorouracil compound. The maximal loading capacity of Fe-BDC-PEG for 5-fluorouracil was determined to be 348.22 mg/g. The drug release of 5-fluorouracil-loaded Fe-BDC-PEG after 7 days was 92.69% and reached a maximum of 97.52% after 10 days. The 7 day and acute oral toxicity of Fe-BDC-PEG in mice were studied. The results show that no reasonable change or mortality was observed upon administration of Fe-BDC-PEG complex in mice at 10 g/kg body weight. When the uptake of Fe-BDC-PEG particles in mice was continued for 7 consecutive days, the mortality, feed consumption, body weight, and daily activity were negligibly changed.

Graphene has been extensively considered an ideal additive to improve the mechanical properties of many composite materials, including rubbers, because of its novel strength, high surface area, and remarkable thermal and electron conductivity. However, the pristine graphene shows low dispersibility in the rubber matrix resulting in only slightly enhanced mechanical properties of the rubber composite. In this work, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were modified with dioctyl phthalate (DOP) to improve the dispersibility of the graphene in the natural rubber (NR). The distribution of the DOP-modified GNPs in the NR matrix was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. The effect of the modified GNPs’ contents on the mechanical properties of the GNPs/NR composite was studied in detail. The results showed that the abrasion resistance of the graphene-reinforced rubber composite significantly improved by 10 times compared to that of the rubber without graphene (from 0.3 to 0.03 g/cycle without and with addition of the 0.3 phr modified GNPs). The addition of the modified GNPs also improved the shear and tensile strength of the rubber composite. The tensile strength and shear strength of the NR/GNPs composite with a GNPs loading of 0.3 phr were determined to be 23.63 MPa and 42.69 N/mm, respectively. Even the presence of the graphene reduced the other mechanical properties such as Shore hardness, elongation at break, and residual elongation; however, these reductions were negligible, which still makes the modified GNPs significant as an effective additive for the natural rubber in applications requiring high abrasion resistance.

Metal oxides and their composites have been extensively studied as effective adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions in environmental remediation. In this work, Cu0.5Mg0.5Fe2O4 was synthesized by a co-precipitation method followed by calcination (900 °C) and investigated for Pb(II) adsorption. The resultant samples were characterized by various analytical techniques including X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption–desorption, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results revealed that single-phase cubic spinel was obtained by the calcination of as-synthesized samples at a temperature of 900 °C. Cu0.5Mg0.5Fe2O4 ferrite is a mesoporous material with a surface area, a total pore volume, and an average pore size of 41.3 m2/g, 0.2 cm3/g, and 15.1 nm, respectively. Pb(II) adsorption on Cu0.5Mg0.5Fe2O4 fitted well to the Langmuir model, indicating monolayer adsorption with a maximum capacity of 57.7 mg/g. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model can exactly describe Pb(II) adsorption with the normalized standard deviation (Δq) of 1.24%. The obtained results confirmed that the Cu0.5Mg0.5Fe2O4 ternary oxides exhibit a high adsorption capacity toward Pb(II), thanks to the increase in active adsorptive sites of ferrite.

Green synthesis has emerged as a sustainable approach for the fabrication of nanomaterials in the last few decades. Leaf extracts have been considered low-cost and highly efficient reactants for the synthesis of nanoparticles. In this study, an aqueous extract of Cleistocalyx operculatus leaves was employed as a reductant to synthesize Ag/TiO

In this study, the operation parameters of a partial nitrification process (PN) treating saline wastewater were optimized using the Box-Behnken design via the response surface methodology (BBD-RSM). A novel strategy based on the control of the carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N), alkalinity/ammonia ratio (K/A), and salinity in three stages was used to achieve PN in a sequence batch reactor. The results demonstrated that a high and stable PN was completed after 50 d with an ammonia removal efficiency (ARE) of 98.37 % and nitrite accumulation rate (NAR) of 85.93 %. Next, BBD-RSM was applied, where ARE and NAR were the responses. The highest responses from the confirmation experiment were 99.9 % ± 0.04 and 95.25 % ± 0.32 when the optimum C/N, K/A, and salinity were identified as 0.84, 2, and 5.5 (g/L), respectively. The results were higher than those for the nonoptimized reactor. The developed regression model adequately forecasts the PN performance under optimal conditions. Therefore, this study provides a promising strategy for controlling the PN process and shows how the BBD-RSM model can improve the PN performance.

In this work, a g-C3N4/porphyrin nanocomposite was fabricated through the self-assembling of monomeric Tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) molecules with g-C3N4 nanomaterials. The characterizing results showed a good distribution of TCPP nanofibers with a diameter of < 100 nm and several micrometers in length on the g-C3N4 nanoflakes’ surfaces. The prepared g-C3N4/porphyrin nanocomposite had two bandgap energies of 2.38 and 2.7 eV, which could harvest a wide range of photon energy in the light spectrum, particularly in visible light. The obtained C3N4/TCPP nanocomposite revealed a remarkable photodegradation efficiency toward rhodamine B dyes, with a RhB removing rate of 3.3 × 10−2 min−1. The plausible mechanism for the photocatalytic performance of the g-C3N4/porphyrin photocatalyst for the RhB dye’s degradation was also studied and discussed.

Environmental pollution, in particular, the wastewater from the textile and dyeing production process is causing serious issues for the ecosystem and humans. It has been well-demonstrated that zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) are one of the most promising materials in the treatment of environmental pollutants. In this work, the Cleistocalyx operculatus leaf extract was employed as a green reductant for the synthesis of the nZVIs nanoparticles from iron ions precursor. Notably, a microfluidic device was also used as micro-reactor for the synthesis process of the nanoparticles, making it easy to control and optimise the morphologies and sizes of nZVI. The morphology and crystallinity of nZVI were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The nZVIs prepared in a microfluidic reactor using Cleistocalyx operculatus leaf extract as reductant were in plate-like structure with the thickness of around 5 nm and the diameter in range of hundred nanometers. The removal efficiency of Rhodamin B (RhB) dye by the prepared nZVI was determined by ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy. The results showed that the nZVI revealed high removal performance toward RhB with removal efficiency of higher than 90% after 30 min of treatment. The effects of dye’s concentration, time, and pH solution on the treatment performance of RhB were also studied.

Herein, we report the design and synthesis of two naphthalene diimide amphiphiles NDI-TA1 and NDI-TA2 bearing acylated and deacylated hydroxyl groups of tartaric acid, respectively. Furthermore, we investigated the influence of acylation and deacylation of hydroxyl groups of tartaric acid over UV-vis, aggregation induced emission (AIE), chirality and supramolecular self-assembly formation. A bottom-up supramolecular self-assembly formation approach of the NDI-TA1 amphiphile exhibited biomimetic hairy caterpillar-like superstructures in a THF/MCH 30 : 70 v/v solvent system, whereas long uniform helical ribbons were also yielded at a higher volume percentage of MCH in THF (90 : 10 v/v). Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy studies revealed a chiral aspect of the self-assembled supramolecular structures at wavelengths corresponding to their absorptions. Interestingly, NDI-TA1 aggregates at higher amounts of MCH in THF exhibited AIE properties because of excimer formation. On the other hand, the NDI-TA2 amphiphile displays total quenching of emission, i.e. the aggregation cause quenching (ACQ) effect. The SEM images of deacylated amphiphile NDI-TA2 show belt and sheet-like supramolecular self-assembled microstructures.

Construction of hybrid three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical nanostructures via self-assembly of organic and inorganic compounds have recently attracted immense interest from scientists due to their unique properties and promise in a large range of applications. In this article, hybrid flower structures were successfully constructed by self-assembly an antibiotic, kanamycin, with Cu2+. The flower-like morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy, to be approximately 4 µm in diameter and about 10 nm in thickness. FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction confirmed the antibiotic-inorganic hybrid structure was uniform composition, and showed crystallinity due to ordered self-assembly. The hybrid flowers showed high photocatalytic activity towards degradation of methyl blue during 240 minutes under visible light irradiation. A possible mechanism of photocatalytic activity was also proposed, that exposes the inherent advantages in using antibiotic-inorganic hybrid flowers as photocatalysts, where self-assembly can be used to generate active, high surface area structures for photodegradation of pollutants.

Zero-valent iron (ZVI) has been widely studied and utilized as a highly reductive agent for environmental remediation. In this study, a ZVI nanoflake-decorated graphene composite was successfully fabricated via the reduction of Fe2+ ions in ethanol solution. The new ZVI nanoflake-decorated graphene composite (GNPs@fZVI) (here GNPs are graphene nanoplates) was thoroughly characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy mapping, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and magnetic measurements. The obtained GNP@fZVI composite consisted of hierarchical ZVI nanoflakes decorated on the surface of the GNPs. The hierarchical ZVI nanosheets presented a top layer of structural flake-like ZVI clusters with an average diameter of 1 μm and a bottom layer of uniform petal-like nanosheets with less than 10 nm thickness. The rhodamine B (RhB) removal performance of the resultant GNP@fZVI composite from aqueous solutions and the factors affecting the RhB removal efficiency of the composites were investigated. The results indicated that the as-prepared GNP@fZVI composite exhibited high RhB removal performance, and its removal efficiency was 100% after only 2.5 h of treatment using 3 g L−1 GNP@fZVI composite. Lastly, the probable simultaneous adsorption and reduction mechanism of the RhB dye using the GNP@fZVI composites was also discussed.

The molecular building block NDI–LCA was synthesized via substitution of NDA at the di-imide position with two lithocholic acid moieties. It was found that the NDI–LCA conjugate exhibits good thermal stability. The photophysical data including UV-vis and fluorescence spectral measurements and theoretical calculations reveal that NDI–LCA possesses stronger absorption and fluorescence emission properties. Furthermore, the NDI–LCA derivative self-assembled into chiral flower-like structures in the THF/MCH solvent mixture, whereas NDI–LCA in THF/water produces chiral fibril nanostructures. The formation of supramolecular self-assembly in solution was characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Circular dichroism is used to study chiral induction in supramolecular structures. The structure formed on the silicon wafer was confirmed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). X-Ray diffraction (XRD) clearly showed the crystalline morphology. In addition,the supramolecular structures of NDI–LCA in THF exhibit remarkable bio-compatibility and increased cellular uptake in cancer cells. From cell morphology and uptake studies, it can be assumed that NDI–LCA in THF supramolecular structures can act effectively as a platform for both cell markers and as a delivery agent for further studies.

In this study, the self-assembly of 5,10,15,20-tetra(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)porphyrin (coded as: TTOP) in a mixture of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and H2O and the photocatalytic activity of the resulting self-assembled aggregates toward the degradation of organic compounds were investigated. TTOP was well dispersed as monomers in THF, however, it stacked into aggregates upon the addition of water (20–90%). Depending on the THF/H2O mixture various nanostructures were observed. Microrods with an average width of 0.62 ± 0.22 μm and length of 10.17 ± 2.04 μm and sphere-like particles with diameters ranging from 0.5 to 1.2 μm were obtained in 70% water in THF. Nonetheless, the particles disappeared and the rods turned to slabs with the same length but much larger width (4.48 ± 2.27 μm) when 80% water in THF was used. Particles with irregular shapes, which connected into large aggregates, were obtained at 90% water in THF. These structures exhibited a significant difference in photocatalytic ability for the degradation of dye (rohdamine B, RhB and methylene blue, MB). The rate constants of RhB degradation were 4.35 × 10−4 min−1, 1.13 × 10−3 min−1, 2.63 × 10−3 min−1, and 3.52 × 10−3 min−1 for the porphyrin monomer in THF and its aggregate states obtained by mixing 70%, 80%, and 90% water in THF, respectively. These results indicated the important role of solvent in the formation and control of the structures of porphyrin aggregates, which are crucial to an effective porphyrin-based photocatalyst.

The design of chiral chromophores that lead to self-assembly of higher order helical structures is a powerful tool to understand the hierarchical helical structures of molecules of nature. In this work, we present a self-assembled helical super-structure produced via facial stacking of a bile acid bolaamphiphile derivative with a naphthalene diimide core (NDI-DCA), driven by solvophobic effects in THF–H2O solvent mixtures. The chirality of the helical microstructure is directed by the multiple chiral centres in the precursor molecule. The chirality of the hierarchical assemblies was observed using circular dichroism (CD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. We propose that the NDI-DCA super-structures are formed via similar interactions and mechanisms to those observed in biological molecules such as proteins and DNA.

Green synthesis has recently attracted extensive attention from scientists all over the world for the production of metal nanoparticles. Selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) have been demonstrated as a suitable supplement nutrient for the replacement of selenium ions in terms of safety and efficiency. This work presented a friendly and facile approach to synthesize the Se NPs using polyphenols content in the Cleistocalyx operculatus (CO) leaves extract. The synthesizing conditions were optimized to obtain the Se NPs with uniform distribution and shape. The prepared Se NPs were well-characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy diffractive spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The resultant Se NPs were in spherical shape with the particle size in a range from 50–200 nm. The antimicrobial properties of Se NPs were investigated against Echerichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which showed reasonable activity. The acute oral toxicity of Se NPs in mice was also studied. The result indicated that Se NPs exhibited lower toxicity than that of SeO2 with the lethal concentration (50% death of mice) of 7.75 mg kg−1.

Selenium element is considered as one of the most important micronutrients for many biological systems. It has been well demonstrated that Se nanoparticles (Se NPs) express greater bioavailability, biocompatability, and less toxicity than that of Se in ion form. In this work, the Se NPs were facilely fabricated by a one-step plasma process in the ethanol–water solution mixture. The as-prepared Se NPs were well characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The prepared Se NPs were a light red color with a spherical shape and particle size in the range of 100–200 nm. The average diameter of the Se NPs calculated from the ImageJ software and TEM image was approximately 154 nm. The EDX results showed that the Se NPs prepared by the plasma process in the solution were highly pure and stable. The acute oral toxicity of the obtained Se NPs toward mice was also studied, which revealed that the Se NPs were safe for the human body. The mechanism for the formation of Se NPs from the Se ions under the solution plasma condition was also studied and discussed.

The quest for finding an effective photocatalyst for environmental remediation and treatment strategies is attracting considerable attentions from scientists. In this study, a new hybrid material, Cu

The ordering of organic molecules in a supramolecular self-assembly determines their physical, chemical, and photonic properties. Here, we report the aggregation of two achiral naphthalene diimides (NDIs), in which phenyl moieties are linked to the NDI core via a urea subunit, leading to chiral supramolecular assemblies in THF/methylcyclohexane. Circular dichroism spectroscopic analysis of twisted ribbons deposited from solutions indicated a mixture of left- and right-handed nanostructures for one NDI, whereas only left-handed structures were observed for the other one. Furthermore, this study also shows the effect of large atoms such as iodine on the self-assembly process, which governs and controls the helicity of the produced microstructures. The supramolecular assemblies were characterized by UV/Vis, fluorescence emission, CD, SEM, and XRD techniques.

In this work, we report a simple and advanced approach to fabricate graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) in the industrial scale. In this method, GNPs is obtained from the natural graphite in a single step of exfoliation with sulphuric acid 100% and oxidizing agents. The morphology and properties of GNPs is characterized by using SEM, EDS, XRD, and TEM. The resultant GNPs are 10-20μm in diameter, 5-15nm in thickness, and the bulk density of 0.015 g ml-1.

Tetrasulfonate-tetraphenylethylene (Su-TPE) is non-emissive in water and upon addition of a good solvent such as THF (fTHF = 95%) it displays strong fluorescence emission with a quantum yield of 6.33%. In the presence of spermine, emission of Su-TPE produces higher quantum yields i.e. 1 : 48 molecular ratio gives 7.21%. Furthermore, interaction of spermine with Su-TPE is also shown to be pH dependent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of Su-TPE molecule self-assemblies demonstrates that it produces various supramolecular structures at different Su-TPE : spermine molecular ratios. Nanobelts were obtained at 1 : 12, evolving into microsheets at 1 : 24, microglobular morphology at 1 : 36 and microtubes at 1 : 48 molecular ratios, respectively. Additionally, enhanced fluorescence emission was observed upon increasing the molar ratio of spermine with Su-TPE at pH 7. The physical characterisation of the system was performed using dynamic light scattering and zeta potential measurements.

Through the combination of cheaply synthesized structural fragments, spiro[fluorene-9,9′-xanthene] – otherwise termed low-cost spiro – and cyanopyridone, herein we report a new, three-dimensional, small molecule non-fullerene electron acceptor, (5Z,5′Z,5′′E,5′′′E)-5,5′,5′′,5′′′-((((S)-spiro[fluorene-9,9′-xanthene]-2,2′,7,7′-tetrayl)tetrakis(thiophene-5,2-diyl))tetrakis(methaneylylidene))tetrakis(4-methyl-1-octyl-2,6-dioxo-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridine-3-carbonitrile) [A1], which was synthesized for use in solution-processable bulk-heterojunction devices and was fully characterized by proton and carbon NMR spectroscopies together with elemental analysis. A1 was synthesized by a facile synthetic methodology using a Knoevenagel condensation reaction and was found to be highly soluble in a variety of common processing solvents such as chloroform and o-dichlorobenzene. Owing to its envisioned design, A1 displayed promising optoelectronic properties, and energy levels complementing those of the conventional donor polymers poly(3-hexylthiophene) [P3HT] and poly({4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl}{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]-thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl}) [PTB7]. Given its energy levels, solubility and excellent film forming capability, A1 was used in bulk-heterojunction devices as an n-type semiconducting component. The device performances [D : A 1 : 1.2 = 5.84% (P3HT); 7.21% (PTB7)] validated the design and use of A1 as an efficient non-fullerene acceptor.

Fe2O3-TiO2 nanoparticles promises as a highly effective material for adsorption of heavy metals and used as photocatalyst for the removal of organic dye pollutants. In this study, nanostructured Fe2O3-TiO2 composite was successfully fabricated by one-step reaction of ilmenite ore at the high temperature in ambient condition. The resultant Fe2O3-TiO2 composite was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm. The effects of sintered temperature and time on the formation of the Fe2O3-TiO2 nanocomposite were investigated in detail. The Fe2O3-TiO2 was formed from ilmenite ore after calcination at the temperature of 700oC in 3 hours, followed by a ball-milled process in 4 hours. The obtained Fe2O3-TiO2 composite has an average diameter of from 50 - 100 nm with the BET surface area of 7 m2/g.