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Graphene-porphyrin hybrid materials with direct assembly between the fluorinated graphene (FG) nanosheets and the pre-formed 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(p-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (THPP) units have been successfully synthesized. The structure–property, binding, and assembly of THPP over FG nanosheets were methodically analyzed by spectroscopic, microscopic, and solvent wetting techniques. The solvent wetting characteristics and surface free energy of the supportless THPP and FG-supported THPP were investigated. The decoration of porphyrin over FG ensued in a surface free energy of 28.7 mJ m−2 directing to hydrophobic (WCA ~ 130 ± 2°) networks. Photo-physical studies demonstrated considerable non-covalent interactions between the THPP with FG multi-layers. The emission responses of THPP and FG-THPP with ferric complexes and its coordination with respect to the –philicity of the THPP were probed using photoluminescence spectroscopy. The functional groups blended in the FG-THPP inks were subjected to fuse with interconnected networks like cellulose paper and melamine sponge by exploiting the dispersion processability followed by morphology evaluation and water-wettability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in situ synthesis of air-stable zero-valent iron nanoparticles (NZVI) embedded in cellulose fibers leads to the assembly of highly reactive magnetic filter papers. These engineered materials display a wide range of applications in the treatment of wastewater and drinking water, including chromium removal, phenol degradation, environmental bioremediation, and catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cationic quaternized carbon dots (QCDs) and anionic graphene oxide sheets (GO) are combined via non-covalent interactions following a self-assembly pathway to form highly biocompatible and fluorescent hybrid materials. These hybrids act as selective probes with controlled labelling of the cell nucleus or cytoplasm depending on the QCD loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarose, a naturally occurring biopolymer is used for the stabilization of metal, semiconductor nanoparticles. Ag and Cu nanoparticles stabilized in agarose matrix show excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli bacteria. The well dispersed metal nanoparticles within the agarose composite films can be readily converted to carbon-metal composites of catalytic importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous carbon materials from food waste have gained growing interest worldwide for multiple applications due to their natural abundance and the sustainability of the raw materials and the cost-effective synthetic processing. Herein, orange waste-derived porous carbon (OWPC) was developed through a freeze-drying method to prevent the demolition of the original biomass structure and then was pyrolyzed to create a large number of micro, meso and macro pores. The novelty of this work lies in the fact of using the macro-channels of the orange waste in order to create a macroporous network via the freeze-drying method which remains after the pyrolysis steps and creates space for the development of different types of porous in the micro and meso scale in a controlled way. The results showed the successful preparation of a porous carbon material with a high specific surface area of 644 m2 g−1 without any physical or chemical activation. The material's cytocompatibility was also investigated against a fibroblast cell line (NIH/3T3 cells). OWPC triggered a mild intracellular reactive oxygen species production without initiating apoptosis or severely affecting cell proliferation and survival. The combination of their physicochemical characteristics and high cytocompatibility renders them promising materials for further use in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review: 69 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although artificial capsule structures have been thoroughly investigated, functionality at the surfaces of their interiors has been surprisingly overlooked. In order to exploit this aspect of capsular structure, we here report the breakthrough fabrication of metallic (platinum) microcapsules with sufficient accessibility and electroactivity at both interior and exterior surfaces (open- mouthed platinum microcapsules), and also we demonstrate improvements in electrochemical and catalytic functions to emphasize the practical importance of our concept. The open- mouthed platinum microcapsules were prepared by template synthesis using polystyrene spheres, where surface-fused crystalline nanoparticles formed a capsule shell. Subsequent removal of the polystyrene spheres induced formation of mouth-like openings. The open-mouthed platinum microcapsules exhibit a substantial increase of their electrode capability for methanol oxidation and catalytic activities for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation. Notably, activity loss during CO oxidation due to undesirable particle agglomeration can be drastically suppressed using the open-mouthed microcapsules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]