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Nano-Perovskite materials of Gd-doped BiFeO3 catalyzed the oxidation of glycerol into formic acid in the liquid phase under atmospheric conditions.

Smart window can be defined as switchable material whose light transmission is altered upon exposure to light, voltage, or heat. However, smart windows are usually produced from expensive and breakable glass materials. Herein, transparent smart window with long-persistent phosphorescence, high optical transmittance, ultraviolet (UV) protection, rigid, high photostability and durability, an d superhydrophobicity was developed from recycled polyester (PET). Recycled polyester waste (RBW) was simply immobilized with different ratios of lanthanide-doped aluminate nanoparticles (LdAN) to provide a long-persistent phosphorescent polyester smart window (LdAN@PET) with an abili ty to persist emitting light for extended time periods. The solid-state high temperature technique was used to prepare lanthanide-doped aluminate (LdA) micro-scale powder. Then, the top-down technique was applied to afford the corresponding LdAN. Recycled shredded recycled polyester bottles were charged into a hot bath to provide a clear plastic shred bulk, which was then well-mixed with LdAN and drop-casted to provide long-persistent luminescent smart window. In order to improve the phosphor dispersion in the PET bulk, LdAN was synthesized in the nanoparticle form which was characterized utilizing transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For better preparation of translucent smart window of long-persistent phosphorescent polyester, LdAN must be homogeneously dispersed in the PET matrix without agglomeration. The morphology and chemical composition were studied by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). In addition, spectral profiles of excitation and emission, and decay and lifetime were used to better understand the photoluminescence properties. The hardness properties were also investigated. The developed phosphorescent transparent polyester smart window demonstrated a color switch to intense green underneath UV irradiation and greenish-yellow under darkness as verified by CIELab color parameters. The afterglow polyester smart window showed an absorption wavelength at 365 nm and two phosphorescence intensities at 442 and 512 nm. An enhanced UV protection, photostability and hydrophobic activity were detected. The luminescent polyester substrates with lower LdAN ratios demonstrated rapid and reversible fluorescent photochromic activity beneath the UV light. The luminescent polyester substrates with higher LdAN contents displayed long-persistent phosphorescence afterglow. The current strategy can be simply applied for the production of smart windows, low thickness anti-counterfeiting films and warning signs.

There have been strong demands for nanofibrous scaffolds fabricated by electrospinning for various fields due to their various advantages. Electrospun poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) fibre mats were prepared. The effects of processing variables as well as the inclusion of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) on the morphologies of generated fibres were investigated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The average fibrous diameter was monitored in the range 400-3000 nm relying on the total content of PEG. The fluorescence cell imaging of electrospun mats was also explored. The results of cell viability demonstrated that skin fibroblast BJ-1 cells showed different adhesions and growth rates for the three kinds of PHBV fibres. Electrospun PHBV mats with low amount of PEG offer a high-quality medium for cell growth. Therefore, those mats exhibited high potential for soft tissue engineering, in particular wound healing.

Different Zinc Oxide (ZnO) morphologies have been used to improve photodetector efficiencies for optoelectronic applications. Herein, we present the very novel hybrid ZnO flower-rod (HZFR) morphology, to improve photodetector response and efficiency when compared to the prevalently used ZnO nanorods (NRs) and ZnO nanoflowers (NFs). The HZFR was fabricated via sol-gel microwave-assisted hydrothermal methods. HZFR achieves the benefits of both NFs, by trapping a greater amount of UV light for the generation of e-h pairs, and NRs, by effectively transporting the generated e-h pairs to the channel. The fabricated photosensors were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, and a Keithley 4200A-SCS parameter analyzer for their morphology, structural characteristics, optical performance, and electrical characteristics, respectively. The transient current response, current-voltage characteristics, and responsivity measurements were set as a benchmark of success to compare the sensor response of the three different morphologies. It was found that the novel HZFR showed the best UV sensor performance with the fastest response time (~7 s), the highest on-off ratio (52), and the best responsivity (126 A/W) when compared to the NRs and NFs. Hence, it was inferred that the HZFR morphology would be a great addition to the ZnO family for photodetector applications.

To evaluate the impact of the different structure of quaternary ammonium salts (ionenes) as drug carrier of their corresponding organoclays, new nanocomposite clay-ionene (CI) drug carriers were prepared from montmorillonite (Mt) and polyquaternary ammonium salts (polyionene) and a simple bisquaternary ammonium salt. The CI drug systems were obtained by ion exchange of the sodium Mt (Na + Mt) with at least two-fold excess polyquaternary and bisquaternary ammonium salt compounds by ion exchange between sodium cations of the Na + Mt and the ammonium ions in the polyionene to produce CI systems with free quaternary ammonium halide side chains. Simple di-quaternary ammonium salts were also used to modify Mt. The structures of the prepared CI systems were characterized using Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As a model drug, sodium diclofenac (DS) was immobilized onto the CI through the remaining halide ions to provide the CI-diclofenac system (DFS). The release behavior of diclofenac from the different nanocomposites was studied at different pH values. The release behavior of the DFS showed that polyionene systems were slower than the simple bi-quaternary ammonium salts systems were. The kinetics of the release process were described using different models to explain the drug release mechanism.

Marine algae are known as seaweeds, found to be growing throughout the world. Seaweeds are plant like organism; commonly live in ocean attached to the rock (or) other hard substrata, as well as in rivers, lakes and other water bodies. Since, the mid-19th century, seaweeds were divided into four different groups, based on the color: green algae, brown algae, red algae, and blue–green algae. In this 21st century, seaweeds can be consider as food supplement, because they are chock-full of bioactive substances comprising polyphenols, polysaccharides, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, essential trace elements and fiber, and also can be tasty to be used as food. It had possessed bioactive substances; they are being used as an antiviral, antitumor, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antiasthmatic, and antioxidant. In this modern era, seaweeds are widely being used in many industries, such as food processing industry, chemistry, biofuel, biomass, and pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry. In most cases, the seaweeds are used in human and animal foods for their mineral contents (or) for the functional properties of their respective polysaccharides. In nature, polysaccharides have numerous resources from seaweed. Branches of seaweed groups differed from their reserve and cell wall polysaccharides. The polysaccharides have a huge quantity of reactive groups, a wide range of molecular weight (MW), varying chemical compound, which contribute to their diversity in structure and property. In this chapter, we describe the seaweed polysaccharides and their production and applications.