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The present study deals with the synthesis, characterization, and testing of a novel composite, zirconium(IV) phosphate-coated polyaniline (ZrPO4@PANI), toward the adsorption- and surface-controlled toxicity applications. Following the synthesis of the ZrPO4@PANI composite using the sol–gel route, various characterization techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction were employed to confirm its surface functionality, morphology and agglomeration, and crystallinity and crystal nature, respectively. The composite was found to be effective toward the adsorptive removal of the methylene blue dye (an organic pollutant) as against the changes in the dye concentration, dose, pH, and so forth. Also, to understand the MB adsorption kinetics, the experimental data were evaluated using the Langmuir and Freundlich models and the results were described in accordance with the Langmuir isotherm model (an adsorption capacity of 120.48 mg/g at ambient temperature). In addition, the tests conducted using pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order kinetic models confirmed the existence of pseudo-second-order rates. Furthermore, the calculation of thermodynamic parameters for the MB adsorption, namely, changes in enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs’ free energy, exhibited a spontaneous, feasible, and exothermic nature. Finally, the comparative studies of in vitro toxicity and flow cytometry confirmed that the copresence of ZrPO4 along with PANI significantly improved the biocompatibility. The outcome of the experimental results implies that the composite is capable enough of serving as the safe and low-cost adsorbent, in addition to supporting the effective capping of the surface toxicity of PANI.

Poly(aniline-co-o-anthranilic acid)-chitosan/silver@silver chloride (PAAN-CS/Ag@AgCl) nanohybrids were synthesized using different ratios of Ag@AgCl through a facile one-step process. The presence of CS led to the formation of the nanohybrid structure and prevented the aggregation of the copolymer efficiently. The synthesized nanohybrids were fully characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. (E)-N'-(Pyridin-2-ylmethylene) hydrazinecarbothiohydrazide I was prepared using thiosemicarbazide and confirmed by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and FTIR analyses. Loading of the azine derivative I using various concentrations at different pH values onto the nanohybrid was followed by UV-vis spectroscopy. Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models were used to describe the equilibrium isotherm, and the adsorption followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. A pseudo-second-order model was used to describe the kinetic data. A PAAN-CS/Ag@AgCl nanohybrid loaded with azine I interestingly showed efficient antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus more than the azine derivative I. The release of azine I at different pH values (2-7.4) was investigated and the kinetics of release were studied using zero-order, first-order, second-order, Higuchi, Hixson-Crowell, and Korsmeyer-Peppas equations.

Porous-activated carbon (PAC) materials have been playing a vital role in meeting the challenges of the ever-increasing demand for alternative clean and sustainable energy technologies. In the present scenario, a facile approach is suggested to produce hierarchical PAC at different activation temperatures in the range of 600 to 900 °C by using cow dung (CD) waste as a precursor, and H3PO4 is adopted as the nonconventional activating agent to obtain large surface area values. The as-prepared cow dung-based PAC (CDPAC) is graphitic in nature with mixed micro- and mesoporous textures. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy depicts the morphology of CDPAC as nanoporous structures with a uniform arrangement. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals spherical carbon dense nanoparticles with dense tiny spherical carbon particles. N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms show a very high specific surface area of 2457 m2/g for the CDPAC 9 (CD 9) sample with a large pore volume of 1.965 cm3/g. Electrochemical measurements of the CD 9 sample show a good specific capacitance (Cs) of 347 F/g at a lower scan rate (5 mV/s) with improved cyclic stability, which is run up to 5000 cycles at a low current density (0.5 A/g). Hence, we choose an activated carbon prepared at 900 °C to fabricate the modified electrode material. In this regard, a flexible type symmetric supercapacitor device was fabricated, and the electrochemical test results show a supercapacitance value (Cs) of 208 F/g.

Owing to the various beneficial properties of the popular spice saffron, the interaction of safranal, a secondary metabolite of the former, with hen egg white lysozyme was investigated. The formation of a complex was evidenced by UV-visible spectroscopy. Fluorescence quenching experiments were also performed to understand the binding mechanism and to evaluate the forces involved in binding. The strong absorption of safranal in the range of excitation and emission wavelengths of lysozyme fluorescence required the correction of the inner filter effect for fluorescence spectra to obtain the apparent extent of binding. There was a considerable difference between the observed spectra and corrected spectra, and a similar observation was found in the case of synchronous fluorescence spectra. From the analysis of quenching data, it was found that the mechanism involved in quenching was static with 1:1 binding between them. The interaction was found to be driven, mainly, by hydrophobic forces and hydrogen bonding. Safranal had negligible impact on the secondary structure of lysozyme. The interaction was also studied by molecular docking, and the results were in good agreement with the results obtained experimentally. The binding site of safranal was in the big hydrophobic cavity of lysozyme. The amino acids involved in the interaction were Asp52, Ile58, Gln57, Asn59, Trp62, Trp63, Trp108, Ile98, Asp101, and Ala107.