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The current study involves a synthesis of a composite of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiONPs) with a chromium dopant to yield (Cr/NiONPs). Synthesis of nickel oxide was performed by the co-precipitation method. The synthesis of the composite was conducted by the impregnation method. FTIR, EDX, SEM, and XRD were used to characterize the synthesized materials. The synthesised materials' point zero charges (PZC) were performed using the potentiometric titration method. The obtained results show that the PZC for neat nickel oxide was around 5, and it was around 8 for Cr/NiONPs. The adsorption action of the prepared materials was examined by applying them to remove Reactive Red 2 (RR2) and Crystal Violate (CV) dyes from solutions. The outcomes demonstrated that Cr/NiONPs were stronger in the removal of dyes than NiONPs. Cr/NiONPs achieved 99.9% removal of dyes after 1 h. Adsorption isotherms involving Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms were also conducted, and the outcomes indicated that the most accurate representation of the adsorption data was offered by Langmuir adsorption isotherms. Additionally, it was discovered that the adsorption characteristics of the NiONPs and Cr/NiONPs correspond well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Each of the NiONPs and Cr/NiONPs was reused five times, and the results display that the effectiveness of the removal of RR2 dye slightly declined with the increase in reuse cycles; it lost only 5% of its original efficiency after the 5 cycles. Generally, Cr/NiONPs showed better reusability than NiONPs under the same conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, poly(p-aminophenol) (PpAP), with starch and graphene oxide (GO), was successfully synthesised by oxidative polymerisation from p-aminophenol monomer in an aqueous alkaline medium using ammonium persulfate (APS) as an oxidising agent. The synthesised polymers were characterised using UV–Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller and zeta potential techniques. These techniques confirmed the presence of site-selective interaction between the conjugated PpAP chain and π-bonded surface, and thus the H-bonding of starch and GO. Further, the enhanced dye removal efficiency was ascribed to the improved morphology and the pore volume created by the entangled PpAP/Starch/GO. The influences of experimental conditions, such as the polymer composite content, dye concentration, time, pH of the bath solution, and temperature on cationic dye adsorption, were investigated. The adsorption data were fixed to the Langmuir isotherm (R2 in the range between 0.997 and 0.9995) and showed a pseudo-second order (R2 = in the range of 0.996 to 0.9996) kinetic model. Moreover, the polymer ternary composite was able to remove a large proportion (96.7%) of the cationic dye from water at pH 7. The thermodynamic investigation found that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. In addition, the synthesised adsorbent showed good reusability at six cycles. The data acquired suggest that the PpAP/Starch/GO composite can be effectively applied and reused as an inexpensive adsorbent material for removal of MB dye from water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroactive polymers such as polyaniline and its derivatives have many potential applications, but the nature of the dopants can have an adverse effect on their properties. Polyaniline (PANI), poly(o-methoxyaniline) (POMA) and poly(o-toluidine) (POT) have been synthesised using appropriate organic acid dopants (2-naphthalenesulfonic acid and 1,5-naphthalenedisulfonic acid) via electrochemical and chemical polymerisation methods, where the later was achieved at pH (1–2) in the presence of ammonium persulfate as an oxidant. The effects of the monomers and organic dopants on the physiochemical properties and morphological surface of the polymers were studied by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electrical conductivity measurements, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The above films were also synthesised electrochemically whilst varying conditions such as scan rate, scan number and in aqueous solution of organic acids using cyclic voltammetry techniques. Cyclic voltammetry experiments have been employed to analyse the growth behaviour and electrochemical stability of films in the background electrolytes (monomer-free). It was found that PANI salts displayed higher doping levels and conductivity while POMA and POT salts were found to show lower conductivity and doping levels, respectively. Furthermore the electrochemical response of films was different in the stability and this may be because of the methoxy (–OCH3) and methyl (–CH3) groups located at the ortho position of the aromatic ring structure of the monomers (o-methoxyaniline and o-toluidine). The –OCH3 and–CH3 groups have significant steric effects and can reduce to form long chains of polymers and also decrease conductivity. The SEM showed that the morphologies of the prepared conducting polymers were different, which was associated with the nature and size of the dopant and monomer present in the bath solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a new type of multifunctional material PANI/NiO/MnO2 nanocomposite was first time prepared by chemical polymerisation from aniline monomer in the presence of metal oxides (NiO and MnO2) and an oxidant (ammonium persulfate) in acidic aqueous solution for the elimination of methyl orange (MO) dye from water. Herein, the PANI/NiO/MnO2 nanocomposite was found to be a favourable adsorbent for wastewater treatment due to its high adsorption and efficiency, self-regeneration, low cost and easy synthesis. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermo-gravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis and Zeta potential were employed to characterise the synthesised nanocomposites. The data revealed that PANI nanocomposites doped with NiO and MnO2 nanoparticles had a higher adsorption efficiency (~ 97%) than that found in pure PANI (~ 53%). The adsorption conditions, such as pH of the medium, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dosage, and adsorption time were investigated. Various kinetic and isotherm models were used to analyse the results of the kinetics and the equilibrium adsorption and to interpret the interaction between the dye and nanocomposite adsorbents. The adsorption kinetics data for MO dye on the PANI/NiO/MnO2 were well explained based on a pseudo-second-order model while adsorption isotherm results were analysed based upon the Langmuir isotherm model. In addition, the adsorption process was an endothermic, favourable and spontaneous reaction according to thermodynamic studies. Also, the influence of matrix synthetic waste on MO dye removal was studied and found to show good results with matrix synthetic waste for both PANI/NiO/MnO2 and PANI adsorbents. The experimental adsorption capacity of the PANI/NiO/MnO2 nanocomposite (248.4 mg/g) was considerably greater than that of PANI (57.5 mg/g). The PANI/NiO/MnO2 adsorbent can be recycled up to four times and maintains a good adsorption capacity throughout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrodeposition of cobalt from alternative electrolytes, including ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents (DES), has become a topic of great interest to the scientific community, with a significant impact in both academic circles and in the development of commercial industrial electrochemical processes. However, very few studies have considered the effects of water on the electrodeposition of metals from deep eutectic solvents. In this work, the electrodeposition of Co from a choline chloride (ChCl) ethylene glycol (EG)-based deep eutectic solvent (DES) containing 10%, 20% and 30% water has been studied, and for the first time a uniform and bright Co deposit has been obtained when the deposition was achieved from an electrolyte containing 20% water. The speciation of Co in a mixed 1:2 ChCl:EG-based liquid (Ethaline 200) has been studied in both the absence and presence of water. The conductivities of the Co electrolyte were increased with increasing amounts of water. The electrochemical properties of the Co electrolytes have been studied using cyclic voltammetry, where it was found that the redox peak current gets larger and shifts in a positive direction when water was included in the Co solution. The resultant surface morphologies, topography, and roughness of the Co deposits were revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), which demonstrated that a highly uniform and smooth cobalt coating had been produced when the deposition occurred in Ethaline 200 containing 20% water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report herein the electrochemical polymerisation of aniline from a choline chloride (ChCl)-based deep eutectic solvent (DES) at room temperature in both the presence and absence of deionised water in the solvent. The current study used Propeline as the DES electrolyte, which we found to be rich in protons (i.e. similar to protic ionic liquids) and which allowed the polymerisation of aniline in this system. The morphology of films was characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), which showed the polymer film to have a compact structure and rough surface. The electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) was used for the first time to investigate the mass changes that occur during the electrochemical deposition of polyaniline (PANI) in situ, and was used to monitor cation, anion, and solvent transport when PANI films were immersed in pure Propeline and 0.5 M H2SO4 solution (monomer free) at 25 °C and 50 °C. In the case of the PANI exposed to pure Propeline at room temperature, the mass change increased continuously in both oxidation and reduction switching due to anion transfer dominating the mass change, while the PANI exposed to pure Propeline at 50 °C was found to form due to a two-step combined mechanism, showing excellent redox switching stability with changing mass. These variations in mass tend to be dominated by cation expulsion in the first oxidative process (the later reductive process being cation insertion) and by anion insertion in the second oxidative stage (the early reductive process being anion expulsion). In aqueous systems, the mechanism of mass change was dominated by anion movement associated with solvent transfer. The movement of neutral species in Propeline and water is in the reverse direction to those of cation or anion transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03194-5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel polyaniline (Pani) and/or graphite (Gr)/molybdenum dioxide (MoO2) composites have been successfully synthesised via an in situ chemical polymerisation method using a Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES) as the electrolyte. The chemical structure and properties of the Pani composites were characterised using various analytical techniques such as Raman, FTIR and UV-Vis spectroscopies, Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and conductivity measurements, confirming its semi-crystalline nature. The results show shifts in the Raman, XRD and FTIR spectral features associated with the Pani composites, indicating that a matrix of metal oxide and/or graphite had formed in the polymer. Higher electrical conductivity was observed for the Pani/Gr (5.58 S cm−1) and Pani/Gr/MoO2 (9.87 S cm−1) composites compared to pure Pani (1.25 S cm−1). The homogenous growth of Pani chains on the graphite and MoO2 network were clearly observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Analysis by X-ray (EDAX). A larger surface area and greater porosity were achieved in the Pani/MoO2, Pani/Gr/MoO2 and Pani/Gr samples, while a more compact structure was obtained for the Pani sample. These findings support that the idea that the polymer/graphite composites would be more useful for electrochemical charge transport, supercapacitance and energy storage applications compared to those using the pure polymer alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]