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The objective of the existing research was essentially focused on recovery of MnO2 nanoparticles from consumed dry cells by employing adapted hydrometallurgical process. Experimental tests for the recovery of MnO2 present in the dry cell batteries have been carried out by an acidic reductive leachant, namely oxalic acid. The elemental compositions of the recovered metals from dry cells were confirmed by Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). Surface morphology of the recovered metals was examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Phase composition of the recovered metals from dry cell batteries were confirmed from X-ray Diffract meter (XRD). Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) studies were carried out to clarify the reversibility of the reactions. The obtained MnO2 catalyst was applied for the degradation of different nonvolatile dye compounds such as Indigo carmine (IC) and Rhodamine B (RB). The performance of MnO2 shows fast degradation of dyes of high concentration.

In the current study, chitosan films were prepared by dispersing different commercially-modified nanoclays, such as C-Na, C-10A, C-15A, C-30B, and C-93A. The exfoliation and morphology were studied using XRD and SEM. The C-15A, C-30B and C-93A nanoclays/Cts BNCs (Bionanocomposites) showed very good uniform exfoliation compared to that of other clays. The thermal analyses were evaluated using DSC and TGA. These results also confirmed that because of exfoliation, the thermal properties were improved in the case of C-15A, C-30B and C-93A nanoclays/Cts BNCs. The swelling capacity of a chitosan/clay films were studied. Increasing the chitosan content in the film increased the swelling capacity significantly; the decreasing order of swelling capacity of Cts/Clay films is in accordance with the decrease in clay content. Greater swelling capacity is shown by films Cts, C-Na and C-10A is because of the presence of greater hydrophilic agencies in the film makeup, which assist in improving the swelling characteristics of the films. The antibacterial activities of Cts/clay were also investigated against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria ( E. coli and S. aureus) according to the zone of inhibition in the disc diffusion method.