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Among the aquatic pollutant remediation reactions, the reduction of toxic Cr(VI) to a benign Cr(III) is of significant interest. Among the avrious remediation methods, photocatalysis is considered optimal due to its efficiency and eco-friendly nature. Therefore, the development of highly active, visible-light-responsive, and noble-metal-free photocatalysts for the elimination of toxic heavy metal ions from wastewater is highly desirable. In this study, a facile two-step method, comprising solvothermal and hydrothermal, was used to synthesize visible-light-responsive CdS/MoS2 heterojunctions (CM-HJs). Extensive structural characterization was performed to assess the crystal structure (XRD and XPS), morphology (SEM and BET), and optical (UV-Vis) properties of the as-synthesized photocatalysts. Aquatic Cr(VI) photoreduction was conducted on these photocatalysts under visible light irradiation. The results revealed the high photocatalytic activity and photostability of CM-HJs for Cr(VI) reduction compared to the bare CdS. Among the heterojunctions, CM-10 (10 wt % MoS2) exhibted the highest acvtivty, reducing 99.04% of Cr(VI) within 60 min. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed to its high light harvesting capability and efficient separation and transportation of the produced electron-hole pairs due to the intimate contact interfaces and matching band potentials of CdS with MoS2. Based on the literature and experimental evidence, a photocatalytic mechanism for the photoreduction of Cr(VI) is discussed in detail. The effect of different parameters; like the amount of photocatalyst, amount of Cr(VI), and pH were also evaluated. Like other good photocatalysts, CM-10 owes good photostability and recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A one-step, facile and scalable hydrothermal route was employed to synthesize molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoflowers (NFs) for use in the photodegradation of Congo red (CR) dye. The phase purity, morphology, and structural features of the produced mesoporous MoS2-NFs were examined using PXRD, FESEM, EDX, XPS, BET, Raman and UV-visible DRS techniques. The nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms display a clear H3-type of hysteresis loop at P/Po of 0.8–1.0, which affords an insight into the mesoporous nature of the MoS2 NFs with a pore diameter of 1.5 to 40 nm. The mesoporous MoS2 NFs showed excellent CR degradation activity under solar light irradiation with a Kapp of 0.76 × 10−2 min−1. Importantly, the results showed a notable impact of reaction media on the degradation of CR suggesting that pH 7 is a favorable medium for this particular catalytic reaction. A kinetic study has illustrated that photodegradation of CR follows pseudo-first order kinetics. This work illustrates that mesoporous MoS2 NFs can be used as an efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of highly toxic and hazardous organic dyes in environmental remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of wheat grain can impact the farmer's income and also affect human health. The interaction between the planting time and genetic information indicated a significant effect. Determining correct planting time that can exploit the result of interaction between genotypes and atmosphere that enhance the production and grain quality. The main objective of this study was to choose the more suitable planting dates that maximize the wheat production and quality of wheat grain in cotton-wheat cropping system at different locations. Four wheat cultivars were planted at November 10th, 20th, December 1st, and December 10th at three different cottonwheat system growing districts, i.e., Bahawalpur, Khanewal, and Multan during both years. Late sown crop December 10th recorded maximum protein content (16.32%), starch contents (55.24%), and gluten content (34.19%) while early sown crop showed maximum moisture content (23.33%). Cultivar ASS-2011 demonstrated maximum protein content (13.47%), moisture content (10.73%), and starch content (55.09% and gluten content (33.66%). Year-II recorded the maximum protein content 11.95% moisture content 13.91%, starch content (53.89%), and gluten content 4.90% as compared 1st year in case of wheat crop. Wheat cultivar AAS-2011 showed best results regarding quality attributes in case of the late sown condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change caused by continuous rising level of CO2 and the depletion of fossil fuels reserves has made it highly desirable to electrochemically convert CO2 into fuels and commodity chemicals. Implementing this approach will close the carbon cycle by recycling CO2 providing a sustainable way to store energy in the chemical bonds of portable molecular fuels. In order to make the process commercially viable, the challenge of slow kinetics of CO2 electroreduction and low energy efficiency of the process need to be addressed. To this end, this review summarizes the progress made in the past few years in the development of heterogeneous electrocatalysts with a focus on nanostructured material for CO2 reduction to CO, HCOOH/HCOO-, CH2O, CH4, H2C2O4/HC2O-4, C2H4, CH3OH, CH3CH2OH, etc. The electrocatalysts presented here are classified into metals, metal alloys, metal oxides, metal chalcogenides and carbon based materials on the basis of their elemental composition, whose performance is discussed in light of catalyst activity, product selectivity, Faradaic efficiency (FE), catalytic durability and in selected cases mechanism of CO2 electroreduction. The effect of particle size, morphology and solution-electrolyte type and composition on the catalyst property/activity is also discussed and finally some strategies are proposed for the development of CO2 electroreduction catalysts. The aim of this article is to review the recent advances in the field of CO2 electroreduction in order to further facilitate research and development in this area.