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Abstract Non-technical summary Tourism significantly boosts a nation's economic growth, but unrestrained practices can cause serious environmental damage. As an essential part of the tourism industry, hotels meet the fundamental needs of tourists. This study examines the sustainable environmental management practices of hotels in Malaysia. It finds that hotels prioritize cost-saving and short-term benefits over long-term environmental gains. The study also reveals variations in sustainable practices based on hotel location and star rating. These insights are useful for various stakeholders in developing strategies and initiatives to achieve sustainable development goals. Technical summary Sustainable environmental management practices (SEMP) are essential to pave the way toward achieving a net-zero emission sustainable future. This study explores the level of SEMP among hotels in Malaysia based on distinct categorizations of location and star ranking. The findings show that hotels in Malaysia adopt higher basic SEMPs but less advanced practices. However, the level of basic and advanced SEMPs in hotels differ according to their geographical locations and star ranking. The findings also suggest that hotels in Malaysia prioritize cost-saving practices and short-term benefits over the long-term benefits of sustainable practices. The study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the variations in the sustainable practices among different categories of hotels. Further, the findings are helpful for practitioners and policymakers in designing tools and measures, and promoting initiatives that best suit different types of hotels. Such efforts are crucial to promote and accelerate the engagement of sustainability practices in hotels.

The thin and porous Fluoride Conversion Coating FCC with many cracks could not offer a significant improvement in corrosion resistance for Mg. Magnesium phosphate coating improves the corrosion resistance of Mg, good bioactivity, promotes cell viability and cyto-compatibility and exhibits antibacterial activity. However, rapid dissolution in Mg in acidic magnesium phosphate containing solutions leads to the development of an inhomogeneous coating. The present study attempts to prevent the excessive dissolution of Mg by forming a fluoride conversion coating as a pre-treatment in the first stage followed by deposition of magnesium phosphate coating in the second stage to develop magnesium fluoride-magnesium phosphate duplex coatings. The morphological features, structural characteristics, nature of functional groups, corrosion behavior in Hanks’ balanced salt solution and bioactivity in simulated body fluid are assessed to ascertain the suitability of the magnesium fluoride-magnesium phosphate duplex coating in controlling the rate of degradation of Mg and improving its bioactivity using uncoated Mg and fluoride conversion coated Mg as reference. The findings of the study reveal that the magnesium fluoride-magnesium phosphate duplex coating could offer an excellent corrosion resistance and improve the bioactivity of Mg.

This work describes the use of urea as fuel and a simple solution-based approach technique for both the pure and Ce-doped ZnMn2O4. The magnetic, structural, optical, morphological, vibrational spectroscopy and solar cell analysis were performed on the resultant materials. By increasing the Ce doping, the grain size shrank. On the other hand, the average crystallite size of pure and Ce-doped ZnMn2O4 represents 29–21 nm. The results of vibrational spectroscopy revealed that the absorption bands 450–900 cm−1 and 950–1050 cm−1 both exhibit spinal manganite formation. The morphologies of the highly uniformly distributed nanoparticles in each sample varied according to the preparation. To reach the Ce doping level, the band gap energy (1.4–2.2 eV) was lowered from the bulk to the nanoscale. M-H loops, the composites showed that cations were paramagnetic to ferromagnetic, were occupied by octahedral and tetrahedral structures. Additionally, the impact of doping on the optical and structural characteristics of various blends was investigated. This advancement suggests the application of prepared blends in various optoelectronic, electrochemical, storage devices, and solar cell applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specifically, biocatalyst coupled semiconductor photocatalysts have great potential towards the eco-friendly decomposition of toxic organic dyes that contaminate water bodies. This study reports the synthesis of vermiwash activated molybdenum doped tin oxide (Mo:SnO2) nanomaterial, for the photocatalytic degradation of a representative cationic dye - methylene blue (MB). The photocatalytic performance of the synthesized nanoparticles was evaluated using UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and the degrading efficiency of MB dye was quantified. The addition of vermiwash resulted in a marked improvement in the photocatalytic activity of Mo:SnO2 nanoparticles, with a degradation efficiency of 96% achieved after 75 min of irradiation. The nanoparticles were characterized using XRD, SEM-EDX, TEM, FTIR, XPS and UV-vis to confirm the crystal structure, morphology, functional groups, elemental analysis and bandgap energy by using Tauc's plot. The study demonstrates the potential of vermiwash as a green and efficient bio co-catalyst for improving the photocatalytic activity of Mo:SnO2 nanoparticles regarding the degradation of textile effluents. Thus, this study paves a way for new eco-friendly approach for the synthesis of cost-effective, biocatalyst coupled semiconductor photocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work describes the use of urea as fuel and a simple solution-based approach technique for both the pure and Ce-doped ZnMn2O4. The magnetic, structural, optical, morphological, vibrational spectroscopy and solar cell analysis were performed on the resultant materials. By increasing the Ce doping, the grain size shrank. On the other hand, the average crystallite size of pure and Ce-doped ZnMn2O4 represents 29–21 nm. The results of vibrational spectroscopy revealed that the absorption bands 450–900 cm−1 and 950–1050 cm−1 both exhibit spinal manganite formation. The morphologies of the highly uniformly distributed nanoparticles in each sample varied according to the preparation. To reach the Ce doping level, the band gap energy (1.4–2.2 eV) was lowered from the bulk to the nanoscale. M-H loops, the composites showed that cations were paramagnetic to ferromagnetic, were occupied by octahedral and tetrahedral structures. Additionally, the impact of doping on the optical and structural characteristics of various blends was investigated. This advancement suggests the application of prepared blends in various optoelectronic, electrochemical, storage devices, and solar cell applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]