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Soil contamination with toxic heavy metals [such as aluminum (Al)] is becoming a serious global problem due to the rapid development of the social economy. Although plant growth-promoting rhizo-bacteria (PGPR) are the major protectants to alleviate metal toxicity, the study of these bacteria to ameliorate the toxic effects of Al is limited. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the combined effects of different levels of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus(5 ppm and 10 ppm) of accession number of MT123456 on plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange attributes, oxidative stress and response of antioxidant compounds (enzymatic and nonenzymatic), and their specific gene expression, sugars, nutritional status of the plant, organic acid exudation pattern and Al accumulation from the different parts of the plants, which was spiked with different levels of Al [0 µM (i.e., no Al), 50 µM, and 100 µM] using aluminum sulfate [Al2(SO4)3] in wheat (Triticum aestivumL.). Results from the present study revealed that the Al toxicity induced a substantial decreased in shoot length, root length, number of leaves, leaf area, shoot fresh weight, root fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, total chlorophyll, carotenoid content, net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, soluble sugar, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar contents, calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), iron (Fe2+), and phosphorus (P) contents in the roots and shoots of the plants. In contrast, increasing levels of Al in the soil signifcantly (P< 0.05) increased Al concentration in the roots and shoots of the plants, phenolic content, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), electrolyte leakage (EL), fumaric acid, acetic acid, citric acid, formic acid, malic acid, oxalic acid contents in the roots of the plants. Although, the activities of enzymatic antioxidants such as superoxidase dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and their specific gene expression in the roots and shoots of the plants and non-enzymatic such as phenolic, favonoid, ascorbic acid, and anthocyanin contents were initially increased with the exposure of 50 µM Al, but decreased by the increasing the Al concentration 100 µM in the soil. Addition of A. calcoaceticusinto the soil signifcantly alleviated Al toxicity effects on T. aestivumby improving photosynthetic capacity and ultimately plant growth. Increased activities of antioxidant enzymes in A. calcoaceticus-treated plants seem to play a role in capturing stress-induced reactive oxygen species as was evident from lower levels of MDA, H2O2, MDA, and EL in A. calcoaceticus-treated plants. Research findings, therefore, suggested that A. calcoaceticusapplication can ameliorate Al toxicity in T. aestivumseedlings and resulted in improved plant growth and composition under metal stress as depicted by balanced exudation of organic acids.

The BaS:Sb2S3:CuS trinary chalcogenide is synthesized with a diethyldithiocarbamate ligand as a chelating substance in order to increase the effectiveness of charge storage devices and operate as an energy generation catalyst. The sustainably produced BaS:Sb2S3:CuS semiconductor showed good photo-activity because of its light absorption, with an energy band gap of 2.57 eV. The BaS:Sb2S3:CuS electrochemical performance was evaluated using a traditional three-electrode setup. With a specific power density of 8161 W kg−1and a specific capacitance of up to 958.91 F g−1, BaS:Sb2S3:CuS has shown to be a great electrode material for energy storage applications. The same series resistance (Rs) of 2.02 Ω further supported this remarkable electrochemical performance. Through electro-catalysis, the electrode produced an OER overpotential and a corresponding Tafel slope of 419 mV and 186 mV/dec. On the other hand, the Tafel slope and overpotential for HER activity were 321 mV/dec and 154 mV, respectively.

In this work, ZnFe2O4was coupled with ZnO nanorods for the development of ZnO/ZnFe2O4heterojunction. The particles were synthesized via a simple co-precipitation assisted solvothermal method. The existence of elements, morphology, structure and the nature of the prepared nanomaterials were characterized using several characterization techniques such as SEM, TEM, EDAX, XPS, FTIR, XRD, Raman, UV-vis DRS, PL, EIS and ESR. The catalyst containing 60% doped ZnFe2O4showed the best performance amongst others (20% and 40%) and the controls. ZnO/ZnFe2O4-60 showed 94% degradation efficiency against tetracycline in 240min under visible light with a rate constant of 0.011min-1. The mechanism of degradation was explained using the results obtained from the scavenging experiments. The TOC analysis confirmed the complete mineralization of the TC by the NCs. The intermediate compound formed was identified and the degradation pathway was elucidated by GC-MS analysis and the plausible pathway was further confirmed according to the values obtained from the Fukui function. The reusability and stability studies reveal the high photo-stable nature of the prepared NCs. Thus, this current work can be considered as a potential candidate for effective removal of toxic pollutants from wastewater.