Fold Enhancement Research Articles

Multi-anode enhanced the bioelectricity generation in air-cathode microbial fuel cells towards energy self-sustaining wastewater treatment

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) hold considerable promise for harnessing the substantial energy resources present in wastewater. However, their practical application in wastewater treatment is limited by inadequate removal of organic matter and inefficient power recovery. Previous studies have investigated aeration as a method to enhance the removal of organic matter, but this method is energy-intensive. To address this issue, this study proposed using MFC-recovered bioelectricity for aeration, thereby mitigating the associated expenses. An air-cathode MFC with multi-anode was constructed and optimized to maximize electricity supply for aeration. Carbon-felt anodes were chosen as the most effective anode configuration, due to the high abundance of electroactive bacteria and genes observed in the biofilm generated on their surface. By incorporating six carbon felt anodes, the MFC achieved a 1.7 and 1.1 fold enhancement in the maximum power and current density, respectively. The optimized MFC unit achieved a stable current density of 0.32 A/m2 and achieved COD removal of 60% in the long-term operation of 140 days in a 50 L reactor. In a reactor scaled up to 1600 L, 72 MFCs successfully powered a mini air pump work for 10 s after an 81-s charging period. The intermittent aeration resulted in partial increases in DO concentrations to 0.03–3.5 mg/L, which is expected to promote the removal of nitrogen compounds by the nitrification-anammox process. These groundbreaking results lay the foundation for self-sustaining wastewater treatment technologies.

Response surface bioprocess provenance for enhanced chitinase production by Thermomyces dupontii for translation of chitinous waste to short-chain chitooligosaccharides

Chitinase, a chitin degrading glycosyl hydrolase, has received a great deal of interest because of the wide range of potential uses in the bio-based industries. A large output of the enzyme at a reasonable manufacturing cost is essential for its sustainable product oriented applications. Thermomyces dupontii ITCC 9104 has been identified as a thermophilic fungal chitinase producer with maximum chitinase production (168.30 ± 0.86 Ul−1). Nutritional components have been considered to exert profound effect on enzyme production. Derivation of optimum levels of five nutritional components as independent variables under submerged fermentation was carried out by employing central composite design resulted into 1.70 fold enhancement in the extracellular chitinase titres. The level of factors and design has been further validated by linear regression as well. Thin layer chromatographic analysis has revealed that chitinase derived from T. dupontii efficiently hydrolyzes colloidal chitin into a mixture of short-chain chitooligosaccharides and glucosamine. The findings presented here provided evidence that the Desert Ecosystem of Rajasthan could be a rich source for the exploration and prospecting of thermophilic chitinase producing microbial strains. The optimization strategies have opened up perspectives for better production of chitooligosaccharides aimed at the clean-up of coastal chitin pollution with generation of ‘products of value’ in an environmental friendly, economical and sustainable manner.

PREPARATION, CHARACTERISATION, EVALUATION AND DFT ANALYSIS OF CILNIDIPINE-L-PHENYLALANINE COCRYSTAL

Objective: The objective of this study was to prepare, characterise and evaluate pharmaceutical cocrystals of Cilnidipine using L-phenylalanine as the coformer to enhance the aqueous solubility of Cilnidipine. It was also proposed to study the mechanism of cocrystal formation based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) using Gaussian software. Methods: To overcome the limitation of poor aqueous solubility of Cilnidipine, a 1:1 pharmaceutical cocrystal of Cilnidipine was prepared using L-phenylalanine as the coformer by liquid assisted grinding (LAG) technique. The resultant cocrystals were characterised by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). They were evaluated for their saturation solubility in water. The mechanism of cocrystal formation was studied at the DFT level of theory. Results: The band broadening of the–NH and–NO peaks in FTIR spectra of Cilnidipine indicated the formation of hydrogen bonds in the prepared cocrystals. A single sharp melting endotherm at 218.40 °C in the DSC curve confirmed the formation of cocrystals. The appearance of new peaks in the PXRD pattern of the prepared cocrystals showed the formation of a new crystalline phase. FE-SEM analysis also confirmed the above findings. The prepared cocrystals exhibited 3.31 folds enhancement in saturation solubility. The DFT analysis showed the formation of intrmolecular hydrogen bonding between the–NO of Cilnidipine and–NH of L-phenylalanine. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated a successful approach for enhancing the solubility of poorly water-soluble drug Cilnidipine by cocrystallisation technique using L-phenylalanine as the coformer.

Modulation of piezoelectricity and mechanical strength in piezoelectric composites based on N0.5B0.51T-BNT nanocubes towards human-machine interfaces

Perceiving mechanical stimuli via piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) is attractive for constructing the self-powered sensing system in the field of human-machine interaction. However, the inferior piezoelectricity of the lead-free piezoelectric materials leads to the relatively low sensitivity of PENG. Herein, a 90 nm lead-free off-stoichiometric 0.95Na0.5Bi0.51TiO3-0.05Ba(Ti0.5Ni0.5)O3-δ (N0.5B0.51T-BNT) single crystal was facilely synthesized by hydrothermal method. Compared to stoichiometric 0.95Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-0.05Ba(Ti0.5Ni0.5)O3–δ, the piezoelectric coefficient presents four folds enhancement, which is associated with the enhanced local structural heterogeneity. By using glass fiber fabric (GFF) as the reinforcing matrix, a mechanically robust PENG based on N0.5B0.51T-BNT is obtained, which delivers a short-circuit current of ∼1.8 μA, and an open-circuit voltage of ∼33.8 V. Meanwhile, the composite film exhibits excellent mechanical strength which can lift the object over 10,000 folds heavier than its own weight successfully. By virtue of the high sensitivity (1.94 V/N, 95.99 nA/N), we assembled the PENG into a 3 * 3 wireless sensing array for the function of the long-distance smart switch and gesture interaction system, which commendably broadens the application scope of the piezoelectric arrays as intelligent sensors.

Intensification of aqueous mineralisation of CO2 with CaO containing industrial wastes in a modified airlift reactor

CO2 mineralisation is considered the safest storage medium for mitigating climate change. One of the challenges with the industrial demonstration of the mineralisation technology is reactor design. In the current study we demonstrate the use of draft tube based reactor for the mineralisation of CO2. The draft tube reactors show better performance as compared to the absence of draft tube at near ambient pressure for CO2 at different concentrations. The draft tube has been modified to increase the gas-liquid mass transfer rate by adding multi-orifice plates on top as well as increasing the solid precipitation in the reactor with a spiral flow arrangement at the bottom of the draft tube. At higher CO2 concentrations and near ambient pressures, the draft tube with modifications shows 2.5 fold enhancement in the overall rate as compared to draft tube without modifications. Additionally, at lower CO2 concentrations (i.e. near flue gas concentrations), the draft tube with modifications has better conversion capacity as compared to draft tube without modifications. This enhancement is due to the increased gas holdup and separation of solids in the draft tube with modifications. The precipitates obtained in the draft tube reactors show nanoparticles arranged in coral or mosaic arrangements as compared to the reactor without draft tube.

Advanced bio-inspired Cu3P/g-C3N5@Cu with highly dispersed Cu3P nanoclusters for superior visible-light-driven pollutant degradation

Mimicking the photochemical principles of plants is crucial to maximumly improve the dye-degradation activity of photocatalyst. Herein, a bio-inspired Cu3P/g-C3N5@Cu was prepared by employing a mild oxidation-reduction route. The highly dispersed Cu3P nanoclusters and g-C3N5 modification effect in Murry structure was confirmed by means of relevant characterization analysis. Notably, the resulting Cu3P/g-C3N5@Cu displayed the optimal dye-degradation activity (RhB 99.38% and MO 87.57%), which was 2.97 and 3.93 fold enhancement relative to that of bare g-C3N5, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of Cu3P/g-C3N5@Cu could be ascribed to the increased light absorption and charge separation efficiency. Through trapping experiments and EPR characterization, it was confirmed that •O2− is the most important active free radical. Additionally, from DFT results, Fukui index indicates that S, N and O were the reactive sites that are easy to be attacked. Furthermore, based on the experiments and DFT calculations, a Z-scheme mechanism was proposed.

Exploring enhanced interfacial charge separation in ZnO/reduced graphene oxide hybrids on alkaline photoelectrochemical water splitting and photocatalytic pollutant degradation

Visible light-driven photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis have been intensively investigated for environmental remediation and green fuel generation. A highly efficient dual functional catalyst based on rGO decorated ZnO was synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The rGO incorporation facilitates the effective utilization of solar energy and improves the charge carrier separation and transportation efficiency. 0.5 wt% GO incorporated ZnO/rGO hybrid shows the highest photocatalytic activity towards pollutant degradation. Pure ZnO shows photocatalytic efficiency of 85 %, while ZnO/rGO shows 95 % degradation efficiency. The apparent rate constant of ZnO/rGO (67 × 10−3 min−1) showed 2.7 fold enhancement in comparison to bare ZnO (24 × 10−3 min−1). Consequently, ZnO/rGO shows highest hydrogen evolution activity by photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) water splitting in alkaline medium with a significantly lower overpotential of only 755 mV at 10 mA/cm2. The Tafel slope 101 mV/dec obtained for the ZnO/rGO hybrid is much lower than that of ZnO (149 mV/dec). This significant enhancement in photoelectrocatalytic activity of the hybrid can be attributed to the enhanced visible light absorption and reduced charge carrier recombination upon rGO incorporation. PL, TCSPC, and photocurrent response measurements deepens the investigation of the separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The observations provide novel insights into the development of photocatalysts that possess dual functions for the water-solar energy nexus.

Effect of thermal treatment on zeolite for real-time gas sensing of oxygenated volatile organic compounds

The breathable air is severally polluted due to the emission of various pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and dust particles of submicron sizes. These pollutants have several adverse health hazards, which can cause fatal accidents and mortalities. In the current study, we have modified the FAU type of Zeolite (ZE) with the Si/Al to 1 and treated at different temperatures (300–600 °C) in a 10% H2 + 90% N2 mixture to achieve different distributions of oxygen vacancies. The presence of oxygen vacancy and electrons in the lattice is confirmed by EDAX, XPS and ESR techniques. The charge irregularities generated due to trapped electrons are exploited for detection of different VOCs like acetone, ethyl methyl ketone, isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, n-hexane, and benzene using the scanning kelvin probe (SKP) technique. The oxygen vacancies raise the distribution of Lewis and Brønsted basic sites, which impacts the interaction of VOCs with the sample surface and the amount of VOCs uptake. The untreated ZE and treated at 600 °C (ZE600) exhibited n-type behavior with 13.8% oxygen deficient sites with ∼1.9 μmol/g of total basic sites and 3 μmol/g of total acidic sites. The thermal treatment for ZE600 leads to ∼280 folds enhancement in surface photovoltage towards acetone with ∼ 67% of recovery concerning untreated ZE.

Surface-induced film structure for enhanced carrier transport of the conjugated/insulating polymer blends at a low semiconductor content

In this work, a donor-acceptor copolymer poly[(5,6-difluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazol-4,7-diyl)- alt(3,3‴-di(2-decyltetradecyl)-2,2'; 5′,2''; 5″,2‴-quaterthiophene-5,5‴-diyl)] (PffBT4T-2DT) has been blended with the insulating polystyrene (PS) to fabricate the field-effect transistors (FETs). The blend films deposited on the SiO2 dielectric by the octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) modification, exhibit the FET mobility 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than those on the unmodified dielectric, as well as a 10–100 folds enhancement of mobility with decreasing the PffBT4T-2DT ratios at the concentration range of 30 wt. %-5 wt. %. Detailed microstructural characterizations reveal that the OTS modification induces the change of phase-separation structure in the blend film, in which more aggregates of the PffBT4T-2DT are enriched near the semiconductor/dielectric interface. Furthermore, the OTS modification of substrate and the addition of PS facilitate the conversion from face-on to edge-on stacking orientation so that the edge-on packing structure dominates in the films with a semiconductor content of 5–10 wt. %. Based on these results, we propose that the remarkably elevated mobility at low PffBT4T-2DT contents is attributed to the enhanced edge-on arrangement of PffBT4T-2DT as well as the favorable interconnect network of chain aggregates formed at the semiconductor/dielectric interface for efficient carrier transport pathway.

Response surface methodology based optimization of keratinase from Bacillus velezensis strain ZBE1 and nanoparticle synthesis, biological and molecular characterization

The increasing demands of keratinases for biodegradation of recalcitrant keratinaceous waste like chicken feathers has lead to research on newer potential bacterial keratinases to produce high-value products with biological activities. The present study reports a novel keratinolytic bacterium Bacillus velezensis strain ZBE1 isolated from deep forest soil of Western Ghats of Karnataka, which possessed efficient feather keratin degradation capability and induced keratinase production. Production kinetics depicts maximum keratinase production (11.65 U/mL) on 4th day with protein concentration of 0.61 mg/mL. Effect of various physico-chemical factors such as, inoculum size, metal ions, carbon and nitrogen sources, pH and temperature influencing keratinase production were optimized and 3.74 folds enhancement was evidenced through response surface methodology. Silver (AgNP) and zinc oxide (ZnONP) nanoparticles with keratin hydrolysate produced from chicken feathers by the action of keratinase were synthesized and verified with UV–Visible spectroscopy that revealed biological activities like, antibacterial action against Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli. AgNP and ZnONP also showed potential antioxidant activities through radical scavenging activities by ABTS and DPPH. AgNP and ZnONP revealed cytotoxic effect against MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines with IC50 of 5.47 µg/ml and 62.26 µg/ml respectively. Characterizations of nanoparticles were carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and atomic force microscopy analysis to elucidate the thermostability, structure and surface attributes. The study suggests the prospective applications of keratinase to trigger the production of bioactive value-added products and significant application in nanotechnology in biomedicine.

Insight into interface electronic structure of ZnIn2S4/TiO2 heterostructure for enhanced photoelectrochemical glycerol oxidation

Developing a high-efficiency photoelectrochemical (PEC) electrode for the glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) is important for producing valuable products. The PEC performance could be enhanced by rationally designing heterostructures with inhibited recombination of charge carriers. Nevertheless, the interface electronic structure of heterostructures has not been comprehensively analyzed. In this work, the PEC GOR performance of ZnIn2S4/TiO2 heterostructure photoanode showed 1.7 folds enhancement than that of pure TiO2 photoanode at 1.23 V vs. RHE. The ZnIn2S4/TiO2 heterostructure was simulated by constructing ZnIn2S4 on the TiO2 single crystal, which was beneficial for investigating the interface electronic structure of heterostructure. Single-particle spectroscopy demonstrated a significantly increased lifetime of charge carriers. Combined with the in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, work function, and electron paramagnetic resonance, the interface electronic structure of the ZnIn2S4/TiO2 heterostructure was proposed with a Z-scheme mechanism. This work provides a comprehensive strategy for analyzing the interface electronic structure of heterostructures.

Heat shrinking polymer based film reinforced with two dimensional carbon nitride with enhanced barrier and thermal properties

In this study, a heat shrinking film has been developed where Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a host matrix crosslinked with Lactic acid (LA), further reinforced with two dimensional nanofillers (g-C3N4) as a suitable sealing material, which can be directly applicable for commercial use. Key to achieve this state-of-the-art is incorporation of 2D nanofillers, which significantly influences and improves thermal (4.5 folds enhancement) and barrier (∼2.14 times) properties of the film, compared to its pristine form. Overall results justify that the developed film can be used commercially for sealing bottle lids, container packaging etc.

Graphene Nanopores Enhance Water Evaporation from Salt Solutions: Exploring the Effects of Ions and Concentration.

With increased water stress, the development of clean water technologies is an active area of research. Evaporation-based solutions offer the advantage of low energy consumption, and recently a 10-30 fold enhancement in water evaporation flux has been observed through Å-scale graphene nanopores (Lee, W.-C., et al., ACS Nano 2022, 16(9), 15382). Herein, using molecular dynamics simulations, we examine the suitability of Å-scale graphene nanopores in enhancing water evaporation from salt solutions (LiCl, NaCl, and KCl). Cation-π interactions between ions and the surface of nanoporous graphene are found to significantly influence ion populations in the nanopore vicinity, leading to varied water evaporation fluxes from different salt solutions. The highest water evaporation flux was observed for KCl solutions, followed by NaCl and LiCl solutions, with the differences reducing at lower concentrations. Relative to the bare liquid-vapor interface, 4.54 Å nanopores exhibit the highest evaporation flux enhancements ranging from 7 to 11, with an enhancement of 10.8 obtained for 0.6 M NaCl solution, which closely resembles seawater compositions. Functionalized nanopores induce short-lived water-water hydrogen bonds and reduce surface tension at the liquid-vapor interface, thereby lowering the free energy barrier for water evaporation with a negligible effect on the ion hydration dynamics. These findings can aid in developing green technologies for desalination and separation processes with low thermal energy input.

Multi-compartmental MOF microreactors derived from Pickering double emulsions for chemo-enzymatic cascade catalysis

Bioinspired multi-compartment architectures are desired in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, as credited by their cell-like structures and intrinsic ability of assembling catalytic species for spatiotemporal control over cascade reactions like in living systems. Herein, we describe a general Pickering double emulsion-directed interfacial synthesis method for the fabrication of multicompartmental MOF microreactors. This approach employs multiple liquid–liquid interfaces as a controllable platform for the self-completing growth of dense MOF layers, enabling the microreactor with tailor-made inner architectures and selective permeability. Importantly, simultaneous encapsulation of incompatible functionalities, including hydrophilic enzyme and hydrophobic molecular catalyst, can be realized in a single MOF microreactor for operating chemo-enzymatic cascade reactions. As exemplified by the Grubb’ catalyst/CALB lipase driven olefin metathesis/ transesterification cascade reaction and glucose oxidase (GOx)/Fe-porphyrin catalyzed oxidation reaction, the multicompartmental microreactor exhibits 2.24–5.81 folds enhancement in cascade reaction efficiency in comparison to the homogeneous counterparts or physical mixture of individual analogues, due to the restrained mutual inactivation and substrate channelling effects. Our study prompts further design of multicompartment systems and the development of artificial cells capable of complex cellular transformations.

Multifunctional polydopamine – Zn2+-curcumin coated additively manufactured ceramic bone grafts with enhanced biological properties

The lack of site-specific chemotherapeutic agents after osteosarcoma surgeries often induces severe side effects. We propose the utilization of curcumin as an alternative natural chemo-preventive drug for tumor-specific delivery systems with 3D printed tricalcium phosphate (TCP) based artificial bone grafts. The poor bioavailability and hydrophobic nature of curcumin restrict its clinical use. We have used polydopamine (PDA) coating with Zn2+ functionalization to enhance the curcumin release in the biological medium. The obtained PDA–Zn2+ complex is characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The presence of PDA–Zn2+ coating leads to ~2 times enhancement in curcumin release. We have computationally predicted and validated the optimized surface composition by a novel multi-objective optimization method. The experimental validation of the predicted compositions indicates that the PDA–Zn2+ coated curcumin immobilized delivery system leads to a ~12 folds decrease in osteosarcoma viability on day 11 as compared to only TCP. The osteoblast viability shows ~1.4 folds enhancement. The designed surface shows the highest ~90 % antibacterial efficacy against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. This unique strategy of curcumin delivery with PDA–Zn2+ coating is expected to find application in low-load bearing critical-sized tumor-resection sites.

Noncovalent antibody catenation on a target surface greatly increases the antigen-binding avidity.

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies are widely used for diagnosis and therapy. Given the unique dimeric structure of IgG, we hypothesized that, by genetically fusing a homodimeric protein (catenator) to the C-terminus of IgG, reversible catenation of antibody molecules could be induced on a surface where target antigen molecules are abundant, and that it could be an effective way to greatly enhance the antigen-binding avidity. A thermodynamic simulation showed that quite low homodimerization affinity of a catenator, e.g. dissociation constant of 100 μM, can enhance nanomolar antigen-binding avidity to a picomolar level, and that the fold enhancement sharply depends on the density of the antigen. In a proof-of-concept experiment where antigen molecules are immobilized on a biosensor tip, the C-terminal fusion of a pair of weakly homodimerizing proteins to three different antibodies enhanced the antigen-binding avidity by at least 110 or 304 folds from the intrinsic binding avidity. Compared with the mother antibody, Obinutuzumab(Y101L) which targets CD20, the same antibody with fused catenators exhibited significantly enhanced binding to SU-DHL5 cells. Together, the homodimerization-induced antibody catenation would be a new powerful approach to improve antibody applications, including the detection of scarce biomarkers and targeted anticancer therapies.

Promoting active sites of Fe3+ ions in SrTiO3 nanosphere: A superior candidate for high performances of Dye-sensitized solar cell and Photocatalytic dye degradation

In the present exploration, the impurity like Fe is doped in the SrTiO3 (STO) in order to enhance the physical properties which in turn used to engineer the material for the specific applications like photoanode in Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) along with the visible-light driven photocatalyst. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms the formation of cubic perovskite structured SrTiO3 nanoparticles. The UV-Vis studies reveal that the impurity energy level of the Fe3+ electron could be excited to the conduction band of the SrTiO3, resulting in light absorption in the visible region. The DSSC based on Fe doped STO photoanode shows a lower recombination rate of photogenerated carriers and a longer lifetime, as evidenced by Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), Incident Photon to Current Conversion Efficiency (IPCE) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images show the spherical-like morphology. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the elements present in the material and chemical compositions. When compared with the bare STO photoanode, STF5 photoanode showed two fold increase in the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.23 % with an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.72 V, short circuit current (Jsc) of 7.32 mA cm-2, fill factor (FF) of 0.61 and four fold enhancement in IPCE of 41.18 %. Additionally, profit from the merits of STF5 photocatalyst showed a significantly enhanced photocatalytic efficiency (82 %) of methylene blue (MB) degradation under Visible light irradiation. The detailed results are presented and discussed.

Facile synthesis and physicochemical characterization of κ-Carrageenan-silver-bentonite based nanocatalytic platform for efficient degradation of anionic azo dyes

Water pollution due to textile industry effluents is a global concern that warrants versatile research solutions for degrading them, and for a sustainable environment. In the present work, by using the imperative role of nanotechnology, a facile one-pot synthesis has been devised to generate κ-carrageenan capped silver nanocatalyst (CSNC), and was immobilized on 2D bentonite (BT) sheets to generate nanocatalytic platform (BTCSNC) for the degradation of anionic azo dyes. The nanocomposite(s) were physicochemically characterized using UV–Vis, DLS, TEM, FESEM, PXRD, ATR-FTIR, TGA, BET and XPS etc., to obtain insights into the nanocomposite composition, structure, stability, morphology and mechanism of interaction. The obtained CNSC are monodispersed, spherical with a size of 4 ± 2 nm, and were stabilized by the functional groups (-OH, COO‾, and SO3‾) of κ-Crg. The broadening of peak corresponding to basal plane (001) of BT montmorillonite in PXRD spectra established its exfoliation upon addition of CSNC. XPS and ATR-FTIR data evidenced the absence of covalent interactions between CSNC and BT. The catalytic efficiency of CSNC and BTCSNC composites were compared for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) and congo red (CR). The reaction followed a pseudo first order kinetics, and immobilization of CSNC on BT resulted in a 3–4 fold enhancement in degradation rates. The rates achieved for the degradation kinetics are: MO degradation within 14 s (Ka 9.86 ± 2.00 min−1), and CR degradation within 120 s (Ka of 1.24 ± 0.13 min−1). Further, a degradation mechanism has been proposed by analyzing the products identified through LC-MS. The reusability studies of the BTCSNC evidenced the complete activity of the nanocatalytic platform for six cycles, and gravitational separation method for catalyst recycling. In a nutshell, the current study provided an environmentally friendly, sizable, and sustainable nano catalytic platform” for the remediation of industrial wastewater contaminated with hazardous azo dyes”.

Cocrystallization of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Derived from Traditional Chinese Medicines.

This review highlights the cocrystals of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) derived from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) in categories, ∆pKa rule, preparation, characterization, and physicochemical properties, reported in 113 literature reports. It is founded that the formation of all of the cocrystals is in accordance with ∆pKa rule. Three preparation methods such as evaporation cocrystallization, grinding method, and suspension method, are used most, accounting for 44, 27, and 16%, respectively. Almost all cocrystals are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Thermal analysis techniques are used for 81% of cocrystals, and more than half of cocrystals are characterized by IR. Forty-four percent of cocrystals are determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SXRD) since it is difficult to get the single crystals of cocrystals. Most cocrystals of APIs in TCMs exhibit 1-10 folds enhancement in solubility, dissolution, dissolution rate, and bioavailability, and a few of them are increased by dozens or even hundreds of times in these properties. This review provides a meaningful reference for more and more APIs in TCMs prepared for pharmaceutical cocrystals in future.

Influence of applied bias on direct conversion X-ray sensing capability of nanocrystalline Ca9Ag(PO4)6(OH)2

Silver (Ag) doping in hydroxyapatite (HAP) can enhance the attenuation coefficient (μ) 0.65 cm2/g at photon energy 70 keV as compared with pure hydroxyapatite (μ = 0.31 cm2/g). In this study, direct conversion X-ray sensors were fabricated using pure HAP (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) and Ag-doped HAP (Ca9Ag(PO4)6(OH)2) to realize superior X-ray sensing capability. Thick films of wet-chemical route derived nanocrystalline samples were deposited on interdigitated electrodes by glass rod sliding technique and its X-ray instigated photocurrent characteristics at 2 V biased condition were recorded for different low doses (mGy). The observed sensitivity at 7.97 mGy dose reveals ten folds enhancement from 0.19 nC/mGy cm3 to 1.00 nC/mGy cm3. According to the “Grain boundary double Schottky potential barrier height model”, the formation of potential barrier height (φb) at the interface of grain and grain boundaries of nanocrystalline samples is identical to the Schottky barrier. By increasing the applied bias, the conduction band starts to bend and suppresses the potential barrier height (φb). In higher biased conditions, φb does not exist. Hence, the influence of applied bias on direct conversion X-ray sensing capability of Ca9Ag(PO4)6(OH)2 was investigated and discussed in detail.