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In the present study, we used a low-cost protic ionic liquid, 1-methylimidazolium chloride, to simultaneously fractionate heavy metal contaminated wood and extract the metals from the wood at elevated temperature and short reaction time. This treatment selectively dissolves the lignin and hemicellulose in the biomass, leaving a solid cellulose-rich pulp, while coordinating and extracting 80–100% of the metal species present in the wood in a one-pot process. The lignin stream was recovered from the liquor and the cellulose was hydrolysed and then fermented into ethanol. The ionic liquid was recycled 6 times and the metals were recovered from the liquor via electrodeposition. This is the first time that highly contaminated waste wood has been integrated into a process which does not produce a contaminated waste stream, but instead valorises the wood as a feedstock for renewable chemicals, materials and fuels, while efficiently recovering the metals, converting a toxic environmental hazard into a rich source of biorenewables. We have therefore used an otherwise problematic waste as a low-cost lignocellulsoic feedstock for a circular bioeconomy concept.

Electrodeposition of nanoparticles on graphene is described, providing a convenient approach for making graphene–nanoparticle composites as well as insight into the electrochemical activity of graphene. To avoid complications due to surface contamination, chemical vapour deposition grown graphene was used directly on its copper growth substrate. We identify and isolate two nanoparticle growth processes for both silver and palladium deposition: electroless deposition that appears to occur preferentially at defects and edges next to the underlying copper, and conventional electrodeposition that occurs uniformly across the graphene surface. We show that control over electrodeposited nanoparticle size and number density can be achieved through varying electrodeposition conditions. The resultant nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed across the graphene surface, suggesting that here both edge-plane and basal-plane graphene sites are electroactive. These results demonstrate that, as with other carbon nanostructures, electrodeposition is a powerful and flexible tool for forming functional composites with graphene.

This paper describes the development of a test kit for the selective detection of glyphosate (GlyP). A copper(ii)-pyrocatechol violet complex was selected by a screening approach from a pool of 96 combinations of metal ions and commercially available indicators and subsequently incorporated as a detection zone into a hydrophobic C18 solid support. With this kit, detection of 20 μM GlyP in tap water by the “naked eye” is possible and quantifications by smartphone analysis with a limit of detection as low as 2.66 μM (450 μg L−1) have been demonstrated in a proof-of-principle study., This paper describes the development of a test kit for the naked-eye detection of glyphosate (GlyP) using a copper(ii)-pyrocatechol violet complex immobilized on a C18 solid support.

A rotation stage was developed to allow the surface of bullet casings to be imaged under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). Experiments were performed over a period of seven months to determine how fingermarks deposited on the surface of Webley MkII revolver rounds change over time. Stitching software written in Python was used to combine image strips that were collected by performing ToF-SIMS analysis along the length of the revolver rounds. The ToF-SIMS analysis was performed by analysing a thin strip along the length of the casings, before rotating them through a few degrees and analysing a new strip. This process was repeated until the entire casing had been imaged. The resulting secondary ion images of the fingermarks were compared to optical images obtained from the same and similar rounds that had been exposed to cyanoacrylate fumes and subsequently stained using Basic Yellow 40 (BY40) dye. ToF-SIMS images were shown to display evidence of ridge and sweat pore level detail on samples that displayed no evidence of fingermarks when developed with cyanoacrylate and BY40. The effects of the curvature of the round casings on the morphology of fingermarks were also assessed. ToF SIMS images were compared to marks that had been deposited onto flat paper surfaces using ink. The distortions caused by differences in surface curvature and the deposition methods were found to be within acceptable limits. This journal is

This paper demonstrates a carbene stabilized precursor [Cu(tBuNHC)(hmds)] with suitable volatility, reactivity and thermal stability, that enables the spatial plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (APP-ALD) of copper thin films at atmospheric pressure. The resulting conductive and pure copper layers were thoroughly analysed and a comparison of precursor and process with the previously reported silver analogue [Ag(tBuNHC)(hmds)] revealed interesting similarities and notable differences in precursor chemistry and growth characteristics. This first report of APP-ALD grown copper layers is an important starting point for high throughput, low-cost manufacturing of copper films for nano- and optoelectronic devices.

Syntheses and crystal structures of four new hydrazone-based Cu(ii) complexes, [{Cu(L(1))(H(2)O)}(2)(mu-pyraz)](ClO(4))(2) (), [{Cu(L(1))(OClO(3))}(2)(mu-4,4'-bipy)] (), [{Cu(L(2)H)}(mu-pyraz){Cu(L(2)H)(OClO(3))}].(ClO(4)) () and [{Cu(L(2))}(2)(mu-bpe)] () [L(1)H = condensation product of benzhydrazide and pyridine-2-carbaldehyde and L(2)H(2) = condensation product of benzoyl acetone and benzhydrazide], bridged by various organic spacers [pyrazine (pyraz), 4,4'-bipyridine (4,4'-bipy) and 1,2-di(4-pyridyl)ethane (bpe)] are reported in this paper. The single-crystal X-ray crystallographic studies reveal that all are dinuclear units where and form strong intermolecular H-bonding to form sheets of interconnected ions, whereas forms sheets of dinuclear chains through pi-pi interactions; in , molecules are linked only through van der Waals interactions. The variable-temperature magnetic moment studies reveal that and show antiferromagnetic coupling between the Cu(ii) centers at lower temperatures. The binding ability of with calf thymus DNA [CT-DNA] is reported using various spectroscopic studies (UV-Vis titration, circular dichroism and fluorescence). The binding constants of with CT-DNA, as calculated by different methodologies, are of the order of 10(5) M(-1). The mode of interaction between and CT-DNA has been predicted using circular dichroic (CD) spectroscopy, where it has been shown that most probably interacts with DNA via intercalation between the base pairs leading to a change in B-DNA conformation. is also able to cleave supercoiled (SC) plasmid DNA pUC19 in a time and dose dependent manner as demonstrated by agarose gel electrophoresis, and also demonstrates its potential to cleave the SC plasmid DNA via both oxidative and hydrolytic mechanisms. Approximately 50% of leukemic cells are found to be dead when two representative leukemic cell lines are exposed to ( approximately 80 muM) even for 24 h as determined by different cell cytotoxicity assays. Preliminary results also showed that, at 20 muM, could selectively induce apoptosis in leukemic cells without affecting normal lymphocytes.