FeCl3 Research Articles

Crystallographic, Morphological, Magnetic, and Thermal Characterization of Superparamagnetic Magnetite Nanoparticles (Fe3O4) Synthesized by Chemical Coprecipitation Method and Calcined at 250°C for 4 hr

Magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) were prepared by chemical coprecipitation method using ferric chloride (FeCl3) and heptahydrate ferrous sulfate (FeSO4·7H2O) salts employing sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as a precipitant. To determine the size, shape, and chemical makeup of the produced magnetite nanoparticles, the generated powders were examined by transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, and X-ray diffractometer. It was found that the magnetite powder had made a face-centered cubic crystal structure and spherical-like particle form with particle diameters of about 30 nm. The magnetic properties of magnetite nanoparticles were evaluated using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The obtained superparamagnetic properties of the produced nanoparticles, with saturation magnetization and coercivity of 50.75 emu/g and 30.09 Oe, respectively, allow them for applications in drug delivery, MRI contrast agent, catalysis, degradation of antibiotics, antibacterial activity, removal of heavy metals and organic dyes, etc.

Fabrication of pollution-free coal gangue-based catalytic material utilizing ferrous chloride as activator for efficient peroxymonosulfate activation

Novel coal gangue-based persulfate catalyst (CG-FeCl2) was successfully synthesized by the means of calcinating under nitrogen atmosphere with the addition of ferrous chloride tetrahydrate (FeCl2·4H2O). The phase transformation of the prepared materials and gas products during the heating process are thoroughly investigated. It is suggested that ferrous chloride participated in the phase transformation and formed Si-O-Fe bonds. And the main gaseous products are H2O, H2, and HCl during the heating process. Besides, the ability of CG-FeCl2 to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for catalytic degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phenol was deeply studied. More than 95% of naphthyl, phenanthrene and phenol were removed under optimizied conditions. In addition, 1O2, ·OH, and SO4·− were involved in the CG-FeCl2/PMS system from the free radical scavenging experiment, where 1O2 played a major role during the oxidation process. Furthermore, CG-FeCl2/PMS system exhibited superior stability in a relatively wide pH range and the presence of common anion from related degradation experiments. Overall, the novel CG-FeCl2 is an efficient and environmentally friendly catalyst, displaying potential application prospect in the field of PAHs and phenol-contaminated wastewater treatment.

Effect of heat treatment on physico-chemical parameters and extractability of free radical scavengers from <i>Hibiscus sabdarifa</i> juice

Hibiscus sabdariffa also known as Roselle is a shrub generally measuring between one and two meters in height. After flowering, white or red calyxes appear, depending on the variety. These calyxes are highly prized by African populations for the production of drinking juice. Thus, this work was initiated to study the thermal effects on physico-chemical parameters of the juice obtained. The pH was determined using a pH meter, the conductivity using a conductivity meter. Polyphenols were quantified by the ferric chloride reaction and Folin-Ciocalteu's reagent. The antiradical activity was determined by the ABTS method and the mineral content was determined using an atomic absorption spectrometer. According to the results, the production of juice at 100°C allowed the extraction of more phytochemical compounds among which: flavonoids (66.6 mg EQ/100 g dry extract) and polyphenols (49.3 mg EAG/100 g dry extract). The results also showed a better anti-free radical capacity for the juice obtained at 100°C compared to the other juices in this study. Indeed, the highest percentage of inhibition was obtained with the lowest concentration of juice extracted at 100°C (0.446 mg/mL). Hence, this study allowed the determination of the optimal temperature for preparing hibiscus sabdarifa juice.

Investigation of Treatability of Automotive Industry Wastewaters by Coagulation-Flocculation, Fenton and UV/H2O2

In the automotive industry, painting operations have emerged as a major source of environmental concerns. In this study, the treatability of wastewater obtained from the automotive industry painting process was investigated by using coagulation-flocculation, ultraviolet/hydrogen peroxide (UV/H2O2), and Fenton processes. The effects of pH, coagulant, and anionic polymer doses were examined for three different coagulants in the coagulation-flocculation process. Optimal conditions were determined based on chemical oxygen demand (COD) and turbidity removal efficiency. As a result of the study, the optimum conditions for the coagulant identified as ferric chloride, which achieved the highest COD removal of 49.6% and turbidity removal of 74.4%, were determined as pH 8, coagulant dose of 400 mg L-1, and anionic polymer dose of 1 mg L-1. In the second stage of the study, Fenton and UV/H2O2 processes were applied to the effluent of the coagulation-flocculation process to increase the removal efficiency. When the results were evaluated, it was observed that the maximum COD removal efficiency of 63.4% was attained under the conditions of pH 3 and 400 mg L-1 H2O2 concentration applied in the UV/H2O2 process. However, in the Fenton process, a maximum COD removal efficiency of only 51% was achieved. From this study, it can be concluded that the UV/ H2O2 process applied after coagulation-flocculation increases the removal efficiency and can be an alternative and effective treatment process for wastewater from the automotive painting process.

Cheese wastewater treatment through combined coagulation-flocculation and photo-Fenton-like advanced oxidation processes for reuse in irrigation: effect of operational parameters and phytotoxicity assessment.

The present study aims to investigate the efficiency of a combined cheese wastewater treatment approach involving coagulation with ferric chloride coupled with a photo-Fenton-like oxidation process for potential reuse in irrigation. Laboratory-scale tests were conducted, examining the effect of various operational parameters on the treatment process. Specifically, the effects of initial wastewater pH, coagulant dosage, decantation time for the coagulation process, and initial pH, chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration, and Fe3+ and H2O2 dosages for photo-Fenton-like oxidation were studied. Coagulation was found effective at natural pH of 6 and showed a highest removal efficiency in terms of COD (50.6%), biological oxygen demand BOD5 (42.1%), turbidity (99.3%), and least sludge volume generation (11.8% v/v) for an optimum coagulant dose of 400mg Fe3+ L-1 and 8h of decantation time. Thereafter, photo-Fenton-like oxidation (Fe3+/H2O2/UVA-300W) of the pretreated cheese effluent enhanced the removal of COD, BOD5 and TOC to 91.2%, 91.4%, and 97.5%, respectively, using the optimized conditions (pH = 3; [Fe3+] = 5.0 × 10-4mol L-1; [H2O2] = 0.2mol L-1 and tirr = 24h). This study also shows that the proposed combined process allowed a significant phytotoxicity reduction toward lentil seed germination. The obtained outcome was encouraging and supports the possible use of the treated cheese wastewater as an additional water source for agricultural irrigation.

Strength and leaching behavior of tailing-based paste backfill at high water content amended with lime activated ground granulated blast furnace slag and flocculant.

Flocculent is commonly used in mining activities to improve the concentration of tailing slurry by enhancing the sedimentation process of small tailings particles. The presence of flocculent in thickened tailings is unavoidable, and it affects the heavy metal leaching performances and mechanical and rheological characteristics of tailing-based cemented paste backfill (CPB). This study is carried out to investigate the physicochemical and leachability of CPB amended with flocculants and lime-activated ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS). The stabilized samples were subjected to a series of model tests, including toxicity characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP) and pH, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction. Moreover, the CPB amended with anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) demonstrated better performance in terms of a decrease in heavy metal leachability besides higher mechanical strength than poly aluminum chloride (PAC) and poly ferric chloride (PFC) samples. Furthermore, the UCS results showed that increasing binder content up to 15% negatively influences strength improvement of all stabilized samples because of weak connections between soil particles and cementitious material, resulting in high leachability of heavy metals. The analysis of XRD and SEM showed that anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) cases exhibited more voluminous hydration products, resulting in a compact stabilized matrix and substantially reduced heavy metal leachability.

Combination of diketone and PAO to achieve macroscale oil-based superlubricity at relative high contact pressures

1-(4-ethylphenyl)-nonane-1,3-dione (0206) is an oil-soluble liquid molecule with rod-like structure. In this study, the chelate (0206-Fe) with octahedral structure was prepared by the reaction of ferric chloride and 1,3-diketone. The experimental results show that when using 0206 and a mixed solution containing 60% 0206-Fe and 40% 0206 (0206-Fe(60%)) as lubricants of the steel friction pairs, superlubricity can be achieved (0.007, 0.006). But their wear scar diameters (WSD) were very large (532 µm, 370 µm), which resulted in the pressure of only 44.3 and 61.8 MPa in the contact areas of the friction pairs. When 0206-Fe(60%) was mixed with PAO6, it was found that the friction coefficient (COF) decreased with increase of 0206-Fe(60%) in the solution. When the ratio of 0206-Fe(60%) to PAO6 was 8:2 (PAO6(20%)), it exhibited better comprehensive tribological properties (232.3 MPa). Subsequent studies have shown that reducing the viscosity of the base oil in the mixed solution helped to reduce COF and increased WSD. Considering the COF, contact pressure, and running-in time, it was found that the mixed lubricant (Oil3(20%)) prepared by the base oil with a viscosity of 19.7 mPa·s (Oil3) and 0206-Fe(60%) exhibited the best tribological properties (0.007, 161.4 MPa, 3,100 s).

An Injectable Puerarin Depot Can Potentiate Chimeric Antigen Receptor Natural Killer Cell Immunotherapy Against Targeted Solid Tumors by Reversing Tumor Immunosuppression.

Chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cell therapy represents a potent approach to suppressing tumor growth because it has simultaneously inherited the specificity of CAR and the intrinsic generality of NK cells in recognizing cancer cells. However, its therapeutic potency against solid tumors is still restricted by insufficient tumor infiltration, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments, and many other biological barriers. Motivated by the high potency of puerarin, a traditional Chinese medicine extract, in dilating tumor blood vessels, an injectable puerarin depot based on a hydrogen peroxide-responsive hydrogel comprising poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate and ferrous chloride is concisely developed. Upon intratumoral fixation, the as-prepared puerarin depot (abbreviated as puerarin@PEGel) can activate nitrogen oxide production inside endothelial cells and thus dilate tumor blood vessels to relieve tumor hypoxia and reverse tumor immunosuppression. Such treatment can thus promote tumor infiltration, survival, and effector functions of customized epidermal growth factor receptor (HER1)-targeted HER1-CAR-NK cells after intravenous administration. Consequently, such puerarin@PEGel-assisted HER1-CAR-NK cell treatment exhibits superior tumor suppression efficacy toward both HER1-overexpressing MDA-MB-468 and NCI-H23 human tumor xenografts in mice without inducing obvious side effects. This study highlights a potent strategy to activate CAR-NK cells for augmented treatment of targeted solid tumors through reprogramming tumor immunosuppression.

Fe loading 3D micro-meso-porous carbon sphere derived from natural cellulose of sawdust activating peroxymonosulfate for degradation of enrofloxacin

Fe loading 3D micro-meso-porous carbon sphere (Fe@3C-2N) was derived from natural cellulose of sawdust and melamine through sodium alginate and ferric chloride cross-linking followed by carbonization processes, which served as peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activators for enrofloxacin (ENR) degradation. The cellulose was produced by the delignification of sawdust with sodium chlorite. The delignification of sawdust and the addition of melamine increased the porosity and electron transport capacity of Fe@3C-2N. When the dosages of Fe@3C-2N and PMS were 0.60 g L−1 and 0.20 g L−1 respectively, the degradation rate of ENR (20 mg L−1) reached 92.17 % within 80 min, suggesting the satisfactory activation performance of PMS. The good structural stability of Fe@3C-2N makes it suitable for use as packing in continuous flow reactors for wastewater treatment. Quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) suggested that SO4•− and 1O2 were the dominant reactive oxygen species (ROSs) in Fe@3C-2N/PMS system. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that Fe3C, pyrrolic N and graphitic N were the potential active sites.

Carbon Emission Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Typical Processes in Drinking Water Treatment Plant

Based on the actual operating conditions and data monitoring, the carbon emission characteristics of typical processes of a drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) in Tianjin were studied. The total carbon emission intensity measured by CO2-eq was 0.254 kg·m-3, and the proportion of carbon emissions from electricity consumption and reagent consumption was 81.76% and 9.15%, respectively. The key carbon emission sectors of electricity consumption were the water supply pump house, ultrafiltration membrane process, and inlet pump house, which accounted for 50.99%-73.51%, 17.64%-20.70%, and 17.97%-22.40% of the total carbon emission from electricity consumption in the DWTP, respectively. The contribution of sodium hypochlorite to the carbon emission of reagent consumption was 89.12%-90.30%, followed by ferric chloride, PAC, and ammonium sulfate. In the traditional water purification process, the carbon emission intensity of the process unit was in the order of inlet pump house > rapid filter > sedimentation tank. The order in the ultrafiltration membrane advanced treatment process was inlet pump house > ultrafiltration membrane > mechanical coagulation > clarification tank. The carbon emission intensity of the rapid filter process and the ultrafiltration membrane process were 0.070 9 kg·m-3 and 0.109 0 kg·m-3, respectively. The ultrafiltration membrane process could save 23% of the reagent consumption, and its carbon emission of electricity consumption was twice that of the traditional treatment process. The analysis of factors affecting carbon emission in key sectors showed that the raw water quality parameters such as turbidity, pH, ammonia nitrogen, temperature, etc., were significantly correlated with the carbon emission intensity of sodium hypochlorite. There was a significant linear regression relationship between ex-factory water pressure, daily water supply, and carbon emission intensity of the water supply pump house. The control measures of water quality and water pressure can effectively reduce the carbon emissions of the DWTP.

Cellulose-based carbon nanotubes array with lawn-like 3D architecture for oxygen reduction reaction

The conversion of biomass into high-performance carbon-based materials provides an opportunity to valorize biomass for advanced applications. Achieving this necessitates requires dedicated efforts and innovations in biocarbon synthesis, design, and applications. This study proposes the controllable conversion of biomass-derived cellulose into well-distributed carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by tuning the precipitation of cellulose pyrolysis generated vapors with in-situ formed ferric metal nanoparticles. The obtained CNTs exhibited lawn-like 3D architecture with similar length, uniform alignment, and dense distribution. The combined use of ferric chloride and dicyandiamide as the reagents with a mass ration of 0.162:1.05, demonstrated optimal performance in controlling the morphology of CNTs, enhancing the graphitization, and increasing the content of graphitic-N and pyridine-N. This multi-dimensional modification enhanced the electrocatalytic performance of the obtained CNTs, achieving an onset potential of 0.875 V vs. relative hydrogen electrode (RHE), a half-wave potential of 0.703 V vs. RHE, and a current density of −4.95 mA cm−2 during the oxygen reduction reaction. Following microbial fuel cells (MFCs) tests achieved an output voltage of 0.537 V and an output power density of 412.85 mW m−2, comparable to MFC with Pt/C as the cathode catalyst. This biomass-derived catalyst is recommended as a high-quality, non-noble metal alternative to traditional noble-metal catalysts.

Environmental impact of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural production from cellulosic sugars using biochar-based acid catalyst

In this study, HMF was successfully synthesized from a range of cellulosic sugars, utilizing sustainable acidic biochar derived from cassava rhizome (CR). Various acid precursors such as sulfuric acid (H2SO4),p-toluenesulfonic acid (TsOH), and ferric chloride (FeCl3) were chosen. Acids grafted biochar were carried out through a facile hydrothermal method. HMF production was performed at 175 °C for 0.5 h using 10 % of the acidic biochar catalyst in water to isopropanol (i-PrOH) mixture ratio of 1:4. The maximum HMF yields of fructose (53.29 wt%), glucose (2.94 wt%), and cellulose (0.38 wt%) could be achieved over 600-H2SO4, 700-FeCl3, and 400-H2SO4catalysts, respectively. Moreover, the recyclability of the acidic biochar catalysts could distinguish more than five times without significant loss of activity. Remarkably, the life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost analysis of the HMF production process indicated that the future sustainable industrial production of HMF could be realizedinvolving the 600-TsOH catalyst.

Ameliorating tannery sludge dewaterability by disintegration of extracellular biopolymers with FeCl3-MnSO4/oxalic acid/sodium percarbonate: Spectroscopic profiling of dissolved organic matter in sludge filtrate

Effectual sludge dewatering techniques are strongly desired by industrial wastewater treatment plants. In this work, we scrutinised the efficacy of various Fenton based complex mediated processes like ferric chloride (FeCl3)/oxalic acid (OA)/sodium percarbonate (SPC) (FOS), FS (without OA), manganese sulphate (MnSO4)/oxalic acid (OA)/sodium percarbonate (SPC) (MOS) and MS (without OA) for which capillary suction time (CST) was attained as follows: MS (204 s) < MOS (180 s) & FS (180 s) < FOS (174 s) at pH 3. This implied the role of chelating agent (OA) in improving sludge dewaterability by disintegrating Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) and releasing converted free water from the sludge flocs. FTIR results of sludge samples revealed the higher release of aromaticity after treatment process. Presence of aromatic carboxylate compounds were confirmed by GC–MS analysis. A detailed inquisition on the dissolved organic matter (DOM) of filtrate samples using 3DEEM fluorescence methods like second derivative Accumulative Fluorescence Emission (AFE), Fluorescence Regional Integration (FRI) and UV–Visible spectroscopic method like multipeak Gaussian fitting were performed that signified Microbial Soluble Products.

Achievement of waste sludge deep dehydration under acidic conditions with polydimethyldiallylammonium chloride and ferric chloride: performance and mechanism.

The biological treatment of wastewater generates a substantial amount of waste sludge that requires dewatering before final disposal. Efficient sludge dewatering is essential to minimize storage and transportation costs. In this study, the sludge conditioners polydimethyldiallylammonium chloride (PDMDAAC) and ferric chloride (FeCl3) were sequentially dosed, and the pH was adjusted to 3. As a result, the sludge moisture content (MC) was reduced to 59.4%, achieving deep dewatering. After conditioning, the tightly bound extracellular polymeric substances (TB-EPS) were reduced from 34.5 to 10.2 mg g-1 VSS, with the majority of the reduced fractions being composed of protein (PN). In contrast, soluble EPS increased more than 8 times. Subsequent studies revealed that the decrease in PN from TB-EPS primarily involved tryptophan and tyrosine proteins, accompanied by a significant reduction in the N-H and C[double bond, length as m-dash]C absorption peaks. These results highlight the critical role of TB-EPS dissolution in achieving deep dehydration, with the N-H in PN was identified as the key group influencing sludge dewatering. Combined with the changes in sludge particle size and morphology, the dewatering mechanism can be summarized as follows: PDMDAAC dissolves TB-EPS, simultaneously disrupting the floc structure and refining the sludge. Subsequently, FeCl3 reconstructs these elements, forming larger particle sizes. Finally, hydrochloric acid reduces TB-EPS once again, releasing bound water. This study offers alternative methods and new insights for achieving deep dewatering of waste sludge.

Determination of main influence mechanism of fulvic acid on arsenic removal by ferric chloride

In this study, synthetic wastewater containing 110 µg/L arsenate (As(V)), 0-20 mg/L fulvic acid (FA), and 0-12.3 mg/L phosphate was treated with 3 mg/L Fe3+. The mechanisms of FA and phosphate effects on As(V) removal by ferric chloride were determined using 0.22-10 µm pore-size filtration, Zetasizer analysis, and in situ flow through cell ATR-FTIR. The results showed that up to 20 mg/L FA had almost no effect on the solubility of ferric hydroxide precipitates and adsorption of As(V) by the precipitates. When FA concentration increased from 0 to 20 mg/L, the adsorption of FA led to higher negative zeta potential of the precipitates and the strong electrostatic repulsion between the precipitates decreased the particle size of ferric hydroxide flocs from larger than 10 µm to smaller than 1 µm. In the presence of 5-20 mg/L FA, 46%-63% As(V) was adsorbed onto the flocs with particle size in the range of 0.45-1 µm. On the other hand, phosphate did not affect the size of ferric hydroxide flocs and significantly increased the dissolved As(V) concentration because it competed with As(V) for adsorption sites on ferric hydroxide precipitates. The addition of 5 mg/L cationic organic flocculant significantly reduced the effect of FA on As(V) removal, but did not reduce the effect of phosphate on As(V) removal. The findings of this study will help develop effective arsenic treatment techniques and predict the mobility of arsenic in the environment.

Assessment of Fe-Based Organic Framework (Fe-MOF) as Nutrient-Slow-Releasing Material

There has been serious focus about improving the efficiency of fertilizers so as to substantially ease the problem of food security, deficit of trace elements, soil degradation, groundwater, and air pollution. Hence, assessment of Fe-Based Organic Framework (Fe-MOF) as Nutrient-Slow-Releasing Material (slow-releasing fertilizer); synthesized hydrothermally from ferric chloride, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, diammonium hydrogen phosphate, urea, and oxalic acid (OXA) is herein studied. From the FTIR results, -OH &amp; C=O (OXA) and NH2 (urea) participated in the structural formation of the MOFs. Crystals of the Fe-MOFs at different magnifications with pores sizes of ~1.10 μm were observed from the SEM results. The major peaks are (110) and (111) corresponding to 2𝜃 at 28° and 31°, respectively, as given in MOF1. For MOF2 the peaks of (110), (111), and (121) correspond to 2𝜃 at 22.12°, 27.15°, and 33°, respectively. These indicate that the metal-carbonyl linkage for the MOF. These results agreed with the face and body centered crystals. In the results of nutrient-slow-releasing capability of the iron-MOF, the trend of the release at the end of the 3-week is: PO43- (2.75 mg/L) &lt; Fe3+ (3.30 mg/L) &lt; NH4+ (3.36 mg/L) &lt; K+ (406 mg/L) for MOF1 and PO43- (2.75 mg/L) &lt; Fe3+ (3.30 mg/L) &lt; NH4+ (3.36 mg/L) for MOF2. Therefore, the synthesized MOF is recommended for real-life tests as slow-releasing fertilizer. The use of such products would also ensure food security, soil sustainability, and lessen pollution against the fast-releasing fertilizers. More so, the synthesis is handy and utilizes inexpensive reagents.

APPLICATION EXTRACTIVE DESULFURIZATION USING PIPERIDINIUM BASED IONIC SALT WITH FeCl3 AS LEWIS ACID

The study involves the synthesis of inorganic salts by reacting the organic salts with ferric chloride and organic salts (1) [mAMPi]Br, (2) [pAMPi]Br derived from the nitrogenous base of Piperidinium. Spectroscopic and physical techniques were used to characterize the prepared compounds, including mass spectrometry, infrared FT-IR, micro-elemental analysis, and 1H-NMR nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The extractive desulfurization method was used in this study, and the produced compounds were examined using model oil that contained 1000 ppm of the sulfur compound. Dibenzothiophene (DBT) was dissolved in an n-hexane solvent, and ultraviolet (UV) was used as a quantitative analysis method to calculate the percentages of sulfur removal. Future research may be able to enhance the sulfur removal rate provided by the prepared compounds, which were showed an acceptable result

Phenolic Determination in Proembryogenic Cell Complexes of Buckwheat Morphogenic Cell Culture with Osmium Tetroxide, Toluidine Blue O Dye, and Iron Chloride.

The study of the localization of secondary metabolites in both plants and the cell cultures on the intravital sections is hampered by the difficulty of obtaining thin, correctly oriented sections. Techniques for fixing tissues in resins allow these difficulties to be overcome. Properly selected tissue fixation techniques allow using different dyes to identify the compound of interest. In addition, some components of tissue fixation can act as fixatives and as a dye for identifying secondary metabolites. For example, osmiumtetroxide, which fixes lipids in tissues, stains phenolic compounds black. This paper describes methods for the detection of phenolic compounds in morphogenic callus culture of buckwheat using osmium tetroxide, ToluidineBlue O dye, and ferric chloride as dyes in epoxy resin-embedded cell culture with double fixation of the material and when material fixed in Karnovsky's fixative.

Design and synthesis of high-performance polymer blend solar cell

Conducting polymer blend of poly ortho-anthranilic acid and poly ortho-phenylene diamine (PANPDA) doped with HCl was synthesized in an aqueous solution using ferric chloride as an oxidizing agent and sodium dodecyl sulfate as a template. This study extends prior research in the field by characterizing the synthesized polymer blend, employing techniques such as ATR-Raman spectroscopy, SEM, and XRD. According to XRD analysis, PANPDA exhibited an orthorhombic crystal structure with a Pnn2 space group, while SEM indicated an average crystallite size (D) of 154.1 nm. Optical properties and laser photoluminescence of PANPDA films were investigated. Geometrical analysis was performed using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and optimization via TD-DFTD/Mol3 and Cambridge Serial Total Energy Bundle (TD-FDT/CASTEP). ATR-Raman, based on TD-DFT, revealed interactions between monomers leading to polymer blend nanofiber thin films. Within a wavelength range of 190–800 nm, the optical properties of PANPDA were studied. The direct energy gap calculated using TD-DFT was 1.875 eV. The refractive index had a maximum value of 1.93 at 1.63 for the polymer blend thin film. Laser photoluminescence spectra displayed an emission peak at λmax = 621.13 nm in PANPDA films. In the heterojunction Au/(PANPDA)/p-Si/Al, the fill factor (FF) and power conversion efficiency were found to be 41.60 % and 14.61 % at 240 W/cm2, respectively. The investigated optical energy bandgap in the nanofiber blend holds promise for various energy storage and solar cell applications.

Investigating the Optimization of Magnetic Biochar Production from Rubber Seed Shells for Enhanced Cr(VI) Removal Efficiency

This study aimed to utilize agricultural and produce low-cost magnetic biochar from rubber-seed shells using ferric chloride (FeCl3) as a transition metal. The study employs Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) to determine optimal production conditions for removing chromium (Cr(VI)). The effect of preparation conditions such as pyrolysis temperature (500-700 °C), duration (90-180 min), and impregnation (1-3 M) on the produced magnetic biochar was examined. The optimal condition was demonstrated based on yield percentage and Cr(VI) removal efficiencies. The study revealed that the optimal conditions for producing magnetic biochar from rubber seed shells were a pyrolysis temperature of 580 °C, a pyrolysis time of 130 min, and a FeCl3 concentration of 3 M. Under these conditions, a yield of 48.63% was achieved, and the removal efficiencies for Cr(VI) were 41.29%. This research suggests that utilizing agricultural waste products from rubber seed shells may be a viable and economical method for producing magnetic biochar, which can serve as an efficient adsorption agent.