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A low-cost adsorbent developed from unmodified Azadirachta indica leaves was used for adsorptive removal of the Congo Red dye from an aqueous medium. The adsorbent was characterized by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. For optimization of operational parameters such as dye concentration, solution pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, and temperature, batch adsorption experiments were performed. It was found that for neem leaves powder (NLP), the optimum conditions were as follows: adsorbent dose of 0.8 g, contact time of 100 min having a solution with pH value of 5, adsorbate initial concentration of 40 ppm at temperature 60 °C where maximum amount of dye, i.e., 84%, removal was observed. The process followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, which reveals physical adsorption. According to isothermal investigations, sorption data were best fit with the Freundlich isotherm model. Thermodynamically, the adsorption of the Congo Red dye by the neem leaf powder was exothermic. Furthermore, the mechanistic removal of the Congo Red dye by the NLP has been explored with the help of the surface complex formation (PHREEQC) mechanism. Overall, the results of the study explore the promising nature of NLP for Congo Red dye removal. HIGHLIGHTS Providing clean water to the population is one of humanity's main challenges.; Adsorption is one of the most cost-effective and promising techniques for dye removal from polluted water.; 84% of Congo Red dye removal takes place at optimized conditions.; Isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamics were studied.; The promising nature of the developed system was checked with tap water.;

This paper focuses on capturing price movement and price stability in rural and urban markets. Pakistan collects prices from both markets, but only for the computation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is calculated on a monthly basis. It is proposed to include rural markets by widening the scope of the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), computed by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The inconsistency in the prices of rural markets is observed on the basis of different measures, including descriptive and inferential statistics. Therefore, it is suggested to include rural markets as well in the SPI computation. Large numbers of head counts make transactions in rural areas, which may be taken into account for capturing the accurate weekly consumption pattern of the consumers. Prices of all SPI items were taken from urban and rural markets and checked for normality through the Kolmogorov-Smirnovand Shapiro-Wilk tests. Further, the normality was checked graphically by the Q-Q plot (Quantile-Quantile plot) and histogram. Due to the skewness of the data, non-parametric methods like the geometric coefficient of variation and the coefficient of mean deviation from the median have been applied to check the consistency of the prices in rural markets. The prices of rural markets for further framing of policy to widen the scope of capturing the movement of prices.

The development of environmental remedies using ecofriendly and green technologies is attracting increasing research attention. Herein, the green synthesis of molybdenum oxide (MoO3) nanoparticles (NPs) using extract of selected Asteraceous flora species is reported for the first time along with the investigation of the degradation ability for organic pollutants and pollen morphological characteristics of wetland species of the family Asteraceae. An X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation and crystalline structure of the MoO3 NPs. Fourier transform infrared spectra of Lactuca Serriola extract indicated the presence of capping agents, reducing agents, and phytochemicals. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed the almost spherical shape of the MoO3 NPs. A qualitative and quantitative palynological investigation of 21 species belonging to 12 genera of the Asteraceae from different wetlands of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is also reported. The MoO3 NPs degraded 99% of crystal violet dye within 30 minutes with a degradation rate of 0.022 min−1. The cost-efficient and green synthesis method for MoO3 NPs with high catalytic activity provides a new platform for the development of photocatalysts.

In the present study, stabilizer caged fluorescent rhodamine B mesoporous silica particles with special shapes were prepared. The prepared particles have a pore volume of 1.92 cm3/g and a pore diameter of 12 nm. The abundant hydroxyl functional groups of mesoporous silica are responsible for the superior loading capacity of target molecular specie. The appearance of bands due to –COOH, –CH3, –CH2, –NH etc. indicated that the fluorescent rhodamine B could be encaged with the stabilizer inside the mesoporous channels. The performance of mesostructured origami silica matrix was evaluated by in vitro release experiments. From the in vitro release results, this material is suggested to have appropriate features for almost no release at pH = 1.2 and very slow release at neutral pH value. The same material could be best employed at pH 4.5 and at high pH values. It is concluded that mesostructured origami silica matrix is a smart nano-platform and can be utilized for high retention of cargo molecules.

A proficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective catalyst for remediation of organic contaminants in the environment is a burning issue in recent decades. In the present study, the cobalt doped MnO (Co-MnO) photocatalyst was synthesized via cost-effective and environmentally friendly reverse micelle route. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed the synthesis of well-defined cubic-phased MnO and Co-MnO. XRD structural parameters and Williamson-Hall plot of MnO and Co-MnO samples were also explained in detail. Optical band gap analysis revealed an enhanced red-shift of 2.16 eV for Co-MnO photocatalyst as compared to pristine MnO (2.81 eV). The remediation efficiency of pristine MnO and its cobalt doped sample was also was tested using an organic contaminant crystal violet (CV) dye. Excellent synergistic effects of adsorption and photocatalysis at normal conditions, simple degradation mechanism, impressive kinetic investigation, and the low dose utilization proved that the newly synthesized Co-MnO photocatalyst might have commercial applications for environmental applications.

The development of environmental remedies using ecofriendly and green technologies is attracting increasing research attention. Herein, the green synthesis of molybdenum oxide (MoO3) nanoparticles (NPs) using extract of selected Asteraceous flora species is reported for the first time along with the investigation of the degradation ability for organic pollutants and pollen morphological characteristics of wetland species of the family Asteraceae. An X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation and crystalline structure of the MoO3 NPs. Fourier transform infrared spectra of Lactuca Serriola extract indicated the presence of capping agents, reducing agents, and phytochemicals. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed the almost spherical shape of the MoO3 NPs. A qualitative and quantitative palynological investigation of 21 species belonging to 12 genera of the Asteraceae from different wetlands of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is also reported. The MoO3 NPs degraded 99% of crystal violet dye within 30 minutes with a degradation rate of 0.022 min−1. The cost-efficient and green synthesis method for MoO3 NPs with high catalytic activity provides a new platform for the development of photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of effective synthesis routes and applications of magnetic nanomaterials are of great importance in recent years. Here in this article, W3+ substituted manganese ferrite (MnFe2−xWxO4) nano particles were prepared via cost effective and a new micro emulsion strategy. The synthesized materials were first characterized by different physicochemical analyzing techniques to study the structural, spectral and magnetic properties in detail. From the XRD investigation, a cubic phase was observed in all samples of Tungsten substituted Manganese ferrites with a very minute secondary phase. Variation in lattice parameters and observed peak shifting in substituted samples directed towards introduction of tungsten ions in the spinel MnFe2O4. The change in band positions (ν1 and ν2) also suggested the incorporation of foreign impurity (W3+) in spinel lattice. From the magnetic measurement investigation, a significant rise in saturation magnetization (Ms) and coercivity (Hc) was observed. In this regard, the excellent properties and the soft magnetic behavior and of this new tungsten substituted manganese ferrite (MnFe2−xWxO4) suggested its effective utilization in sensors, switching, multilayer chip inductor and many advance technological applications.