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Human rights are the rights of every person in any civilized society. Social development is mainly based on social freedom and to enjoy humanity. We are living in a very diverse society where people have different values, religions, colors, and beliefs, but one thing is common, and that is human value. In this paper, the researchers try to understand the level of respect for human rights among the people of a metropolitan city like Delhi. The research mainly focused on working professionals in the Delhi region. The analysis was based on certain criteria to understand the level of understanding of human rights. The study also pointed out that human rights education is very important for social development and must be seriously included in the academic curriculum. The methodology applied in this study for data collection is primary.

An analytical study on the propagation characteristics of shear wave in a spherical layered structure comprising of an isotropic sandy material medium covered by a concentric spherical transversely isotropic sandy material layer of finite thickness has been carried out in the present work. The source of excitation for wave propagation is considered in the outer layer and the analytical treatment with contour integration and Fourier-Legendre Expansion theorem is utilized to accomplish closed form of dispersion relation. Further, Debye Asymptotic Expansion analysis is used to deal the complication caused by the inclusion of Bessel's function, Hankel's function and their derivatives in the solution procedure. With help of Debye Asymptotic Expansion analysis, the obtained dispersion relation converts in the form of elementary functions and found to be in well-agreement with pre-established and classical results through the particular cases. Numerical computations are done to illustrate the influence of the affecting parameters (anisotropy, sandiness and radii ratio) on dispersion curves graphically. Moreover, to expose the impact of anisotropy, numerical data of three distinct transversely isotropic materials (Magnesium, Zinc and Beryl) are taken into the account to establish the comparative study with isotropic material which serves the major highlights of the present study.

Proteins and water couple dynamically over a wide range of time scales. Motivated by their central role in protein function, protein-water dynamics and thermodynamics have been extensively studied for structured proteins, where correspondence to structural features has been made. However, properties controlling intrinsically disordered protein (IDP)-water dynamics are not yet known. We report results of megahertz-to-terahertz dielectric spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations of a group of IDPs with varying charge content along with structured proteins of similar size. Hydration water around IDPs is found to exhibit more heterogeneous rotational and translational dynamics compared with water around structured proteins of similar size, yielding on average more restricted dynamics around individual residues of IDPs, charged or neutral, compared with structured proteins. The on-average slower water dynamics is found to arise from excess tightly bound water in the first hydration layer, which is related to greater exposure to charged groups. The more tightly bound water to IDPs correlates with the smaller hydration shell found experimentally, and affects entropy associated with protein-water interactions, the contribution of which we estimate based on the dielectric measurements and simulations. Water-IDP dynamic coupling at terahertz frequencies is characterized by the dielectric measurements and simulations.

The present paper investigates the scattering phenomenon of horizontally polarized Shear wave on an irregular surface of the piezomagnetic stratum lying over a piezomagnetic substrate. The expressions of frequency relation and group velocity of scattered Shear wave on the considered piezomagnetic stratum-substrate structure are deduced for magnetically open and magnetically short cases by inducing appropriate boundary conditions. A closed form expressions of reflected mechanical displacement and reflected magnetic potential function related to stratum and substrate are also determined for three different shaped irregularities (rectangular shaped, parabolic shaped and triangular shaped) by employing perturbation technique and residue theorem for both magnetically open and short cases. The efficacy of piezomagnetic coupling parameter, vertical irregular parameter due to presence of surface irregularities is portrayed on the phase velocity, group velocity, reflected mechanical displacement and reflected magnetic potential function related to the stratum for both magnetically open and short conditions graphically. A comparative study is also made to examine the impact of different shaped irregularities on the reflected mechanical displacement and reflected magnetic potential function of the stratum.

Hydrazine electrooxidation is an important reaction as it assists in decreasing the OER overvoltage. Herein, we report the utilization of high entropy nano-catalyst alloy for the electrooxidation of hydrazine. High entropy nano-catalyst comprising five elements (Ag, Au, Pt, Pd, Cu) shows profound activity towards this molecule at low overvoltage. An intriguingly high entropy nano-catalyst prepared by the casting-cum-cryomilling method is endowed with unique catalytic activity for HzOR. Detailed analysis of gaseous product points to the formation of nitrogen as well as oxygen as the oxidation product, a sign of accompanying oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Interestingly, significant oxygen is detected at 1.13 V (RHE) in a neutral buffered medium, confirming that OER is functional at a voltage near to the thermodynamic voltage of 1.23V (RHE). The quantitative contribution of each hydrazine and OER reaction is ascertained which explains a vital insight into this reaction. Density functional theory calculations showed that both HzOR and OER assist each other where the electron-donating effect of H2O to the surface can reduce the endothermicity of the HzOR. Whereas, the electron acceptance of *NHNH2 helps in the favorable overlap of the HEA Fermi level and vacant states with the HOMO of H2O.

The interplay between the central nervous system (CNS) and the enteric nervous system (ENS) constitutes the gut-brain axis. This represents a dynamic and bidirectional network of signaling pathways involving the vagus nerve, the immune system, and the molecules released by various microorganisms thriving in our gut. Since humans and bacteria have evolved together and learned to live together in a symbiotic relationship, which is decisive for physio/immune homeostasis of the body. Disruption in this (also known as dysbiosis) is associated with various pathological consequences including several neurological disorders. Out of several pathways that are associated with neurological manifestation, the inflammasome pathway is associated with the progression of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease, depression, schizophrenia, and autism. A growing body of evidence now suggests a reciprocal influence of microbiota and inflammasome activation in the brain. In this chapter, we discuss the cross talk between human gut microbiota and the key immunological signaling processes and their role in CNS development and neurological diseases.

This paper proposes an integration of concentrating solar power (CSP) with a sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) process and assesses its overall solar-to-fuel conversion performance. A thermodynamic treatment of the SE-SMR process for H2 production is presented and evaluated in an innovative two reactors system configuration using CSP as a heat input. Four metal carbonate/metal oxide pairs are considered, and the equilibrium thermodynamics reveals that CaCO3/CaO pair is the most suitable candidate for this process. Additionally, a reactor-scale thermodynamic model is developed to determine the optimum operating conditions for the process. For the carbonation step, temperatures between 700 and 900 K and steam-to-methane ratio ≥4 are found to be the most favorable. Furthermore, an advanced process model, which utilizes operating conditions determined from the reactor-scale model, is developed to evaluate the process efficiency. The model predicts that the proposed process can achieve a solar-to-fuel efficiency ∼41% for calcination temperature of 1500 K and carbonation temperature of 800 K, without considering any solid heat recovery. An additional 2.5% increase in the process efficiency is feasible with the consideration of the solid heat recovery. This study shows the thermodynamic feasibility of integrating the SE-SMR process with CSP technologies.

Tantalum oxynitride (I²-TaON) is a potential photoanode because of its suitable band gap and band-edge positions for water-splitting. However, low carrier mobility restricts the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency from the theoretical limit. Here, using the DFT + U formalism, we find that the excess electron tends to form a localized small polaron at the Ta-site (Ta+4 species) over delocalized electrons. The polarization potential created by lattice distortion around Ta+5(d0) generates a driving force to construct Ta+4(d1) by electron capture. The donated electron from n-type single donor defects becomes self-trapped and forms a weakly bound state with the defect. The thermally activated polaronic charge transfer via nearest-neighbor hopping is non-adiabatic using the DFT + U method. However, O substitution at bridging the N site increases the Ta-Ta hopping distance and changes the polaron hopping toward an adiabatic regime. The calculated polaron mobility because of the high migration barrier for both in pristine (0.31 eV) and in the presence of the ON defect (0.36 eV) supports the experimentally observed low mobility and high carrier lifetime in a I²-TaON photoanode. This study provides a mechanistic understanding of the factors controlling the formation and transport of electron polarons, which can guide in designing a I²-TaON photoanode with better efficiency. © copy; 2021 American Chemical Society.

In the past decade, several different classes of two-dimensional (2D) materials beyond graphene such as layered polymorphs of group V elements (phophorene, arsenene), Metalenes (gallenene, stanene etc.), Transition Metal–Dichalcogenides (TMDs), group III monochalcogenides, transition metal carbides as well as nitrides have been thoroughly explored. These atomically thin materials have gathered significant focus due to their unique electronic, optical, and magnetic properties, which are seldom found in their bulk counterparts due to the high surface to volume ratios and quantum confined electronic structure. These properties have led to excitement in the research community due to their potential applications in various fields of optoelectronics, energy harvesting and storage, sensing, electronics, magneto-electronics, and thermo-electronic applications. However, there is another emerging class of layered oxide 2D materials, which has been sporadically explored and lacks a systematic compilation of the made progress, potential benefits and research opportunities that may lie ahead. This specific review provides a thorough and systematic summary of research carried out on layered 2D oxides both from an experimental and theoretical perspective. Due to ultra-thin nature of the 2D metal oxides, a majority of the atoms are accessible to the surfaces, which induces new properties and applications in comparison to traditional bulk oxides. We discuss several different classes of metal oxides in their 2D forms such as MO, MOx, MxOy (where M stands for metals; x and y possible oxidation states) as well as Perovskite type oxides in this review specifically focusing on optoelectronics, sensing and electrochemical storage applications. We further make critical comparisons with bulk metal oxides, and elaborate the specific advantages of 2D metal oxides as compared to their bulk counterparts in respective applications. Finally, we conclude by providing a critical assessment and outlook of technical challenges and research opportunities for future development of layered 2D oxides.

Spinal anesthetic-induced hypotension is the most worrisome complication for patients undergoing cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. The present study compares norepinephrine and phenylephrine bolus for the treatment of hypotension during spinal anesthesia for cesarean section.One hundred twenty- six women aged between 22 and 40 years with singleton pregnancy classified to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical class I and II posted for elective cesarean section under spinal anesthesia were randomly divided into two groups of 63 each. Group I patients received phenylephrine 50 mcg (microgram) as an intravenous bolus, and Group II received 4 mcg of norepinephrine as an intravenous bolus to treat spinal hypotension.On comparing the demographic data of the patients in terms of age, weight, height, ASA Grade, level of block and surgery time no significant differences were found between the groups. Similarly, the fetal parameters were found to be not significantly different between the groups. However, the number of bolus doses of vasopressors required for the treatment of spinal-induced hypotension was significantly reduced in Group II (p=0.02). The frequency of bradycardia was found to be higher in patients who were given phenylephrine as compared to patients administered noradrenaline boluses (p=0.03). Five (7.93%) patients had shivering in Group I, while similar episodes were observed in 10 (15.87%) patients (p=0.05). Moreover, no significant difference was observed in comparing the heart rate and mean arterial pressure between the groups.Intermittent boluses of norepinephrine are found to be effective in the management of spinal‑induced hypotension during caesarean section.

Protein dynamics is strongly influenced by the surrounding environment and physiological conditions. Here we employ broadband megahertz-to-terahertz spectroscopy to explore the dynamics of water and myoglobin protein on an extended time scale from femto- to nanosecond. The dielectric spectra reveal several relaxations corresponding to the orientational polarization mechanism, including the dynamics of loosely bound, tightly bound, and bulk water, as well as collective vibrational modes of protein in an aqueous environment. The dynamics of loosely bound and bulk water follow non-Arrhenius behavior; however, the dynamics of water molecules in the tightly bound layer obeys the Arrhenius-type relation. Combining molecular simulations and effective-medium approximation, we have determined the number of water molecules in the tightly bound hydration layer and studied the dynamics of protein as a function of temperature. The results provide the important impact of water on the biochemical functions of proteins.

Neem products including conventional preparations and formulations have been used widely for improving the growth, yield, and management of insect pests attacking especially on field crops. Phytochemicals are extracted from distinguish parts of the neem plant vary significantly due to abiotic and biotic factors from collection of the raw material to extract preparation and product formulation. Content of highly active ingredient, insect species and growth stage, type of formulation, and combined of products with another control method. In this manuscript, the direct and indirect actions of neem extract on growth, yield, and insect pests are delineated and realistic implications for future strategies are discussed.

This study discusses the propagation of a horizontally polarised shear wave in a layered composite structure consisting of couple stress stratum over a functionally graded orthotropic viscoelastic substrate due to point source existing at an imperfect interface of the stratum and substrate. Because of the CS effect in the stratum, the existence of the second kind of dispersive (shear) wave is established along with conventional first kind of a shear wave. The closed-form dispersion equations and damping equations of the first and second kind of a dispersive wave are derived by adopting non-traditional boundary conditions and Green’s function technique. The effect of characteristic length of microstructure, imperfect bonding parameter and functional gradient parameters on velocity profiles and attenuation profiles of the first and second kind of dispersive wave has been computed numerically and delineated graphically. For validation, established results are matched with the classical one.

Purpose To introduce modified submental platysmal adipomyofascial flap as a new and viable hairless locoregional option for reconstruction of small- to mid-sized defects after ablative surgery in oral/oropharyngeal cancer patients keeping in mind the present pandemic situation. Methods An observational retrospective study was conducted using modified submental platysmal adipomyofascial flap as a locoregional reconstructive option for both intraoral and oropharyngeal defects in early-stage oral/oropharyngeal cancer patients, from Jan 2016 to May 2020 in a tertiary care hospital. All patients in this study were male and the overall flap outcome was evaluated with post-operative follow-up. Results Out of 18 patients, in 4 patients modified submental platysmal adipomyofascial flap was used as a combination of flaps for reconstruction. Six patients (33.33%) underwent adjuvant radiation therapy/radiation chemotherapy. The long-term functions (speech and swallowing) and cosmetic outcomes were good in the majority of the patients. One patient (5.55%) had pinhole oroantral fistula. No patient had any major flap failure. Conclusion Modified submental platysmal adipomyofascial flap can be considered as a good alternative in male patients for reconstruction of small- to mid-sized oral cavity/oropharyngeal defects post-resection, especially during the prevailing pandemic crisis. It is an oncologically safe procedure with the major advantage of providing a hairless flap for oral cavity, tonsillar and BOT resection defects with lesser donor site morbidity.

Superalloys constitute an important class of materials that are heavily employed in turbines of aircraft engines and power plants. Vickers hardness is an important mechanical property for selection of a material. In this work, we develop an alternate approach, which uses the microstructures to estimate the hardness of a Co- and Ni- based superalloys. Advanced image processing techniques coupled with data-driven machine learning (ML) are used to predict the Vickers hardness of these superalloys. Complex image derived properties such as 2-point correlations and compositions of superalloys are utilized as a feature to develop highly accurate ML model. The ML model trained through Gaussian process regression (GPR) using microstructure and compositional features show unprecedented accuracy with root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.14 and R2 of 0.98. Further analysis of the model is done to establish a relationship between the Vickers hardness with microstructural and compositional parameters. Addition of certain compounds such as iron and titanium can in general lead to increase in Vickers hardness, while addition of elements such as aluminium, tantalum and hafnium negatively affect the Vickers hardness. Most importantly, the developed ML model is trained on experimental data, as opposed to simulated data, making our approach directly applicable for accurate prediction of Vickers hardness.

Superalloys are high-temperature materials with outstanding strength and resistance to corrosion. A prior knowledge about its hardness is essential for development of new superalloys for its applications in aeronautics and power industries. Determining the hardness of a material with experiments is usually a destructive process. In this study, using structural, compositional and processing condition parameters as descriptors, machine learning (ML) models are developed to predict Vickers hardness. We employed image processing tools, which extract structural descriptors such as volume fraction, area, perimeter and aspect ratio of the phases in the microstructures. Using the structural features in combination with elemental and processing information as features, a Gaussian process regression model for the prediction of Vickers hardness of superalloys is developed. The model gives an unprecedented accuracy with a minimum root mean square error of 0.15. The descriptors provide insights into structure–property relationships, which are important for designing superalloys with improved Vickers hardness. The proposed method for extracting features from microstructures and combining them with elemental and processing information can be extended to develop ML model for prediction of other mechanical properties of superalloys.

Weekly markets or ‘ hafta bazaars’ are an important part of India’s cultural and traditional milieu. These informal markets are held once a week at a particular place, within varying time slots, and cater to a diverse spectrum of consumers. Although these markets are important from both an economic and a cultural point of view, they have not been documented properly. A team of researchers has attempted to comprehensively document Delhi’s weekly markets by mapping their locations, products sold and the days and timings at which they are held. This article offers a geographical overview of these markets through the creation of an innovative web portal—the first such attempt to showcase and digitise these invincible economic hubs on a single platform. Lessons from this exercise could pave the way for future research to unearth the administrative and economic models that underpin the efficient and sustainable functioning of the hafta bazaars.

Rietveld refinement profile of X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the pure-phase rhombohedral structure of La2NiMnO6 (LNMO) and ‘Y’-doped LNMO nanoparticles corresponding to the space group R$$\stackrel{-}{3}$$c (SG No.: 167) with the crystallite size lying in the range of 25–16 nm. The antiferromagnetic (AFM) to strong ferromagnetic (FM) transition has been observed through M–H hysteresis loops from room temperature to extremely low temperature (2 K) for LNMO and ‘Y’-doped LNMO nanoparticles. An extraordinary magnetic moment of 4.16 to 6.25 µB per formula unit was achieved after the doping of ‘Y’ (nominally 2 to 4%) into LNMO. The temperature-dependent magnetization studies confirm the transition temperature (~ 273 K) for LNMO and LNMO2 (LNMO-2%Y) nanoparticles due to the antisite defects beside the FM ordering of the Ni-Mn sites and lower transition temperature (~ 230 K) for LNMO4 due to the local structural distortion and the superexchange interaction in FM Ni2+($${t}_{2g}^{6}{e}_{g}^{2}$$) – O($$2p$$) – Mn4+($${t}_{2g}^{3}{e}_{g}^{0}$$).

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a multifactorial malady and the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. A hallmark of PD pathology is the formation of intracellular protein inclusions, termed Lewy bodies (LBs). Recent MS studies have shown that OTU deubiquitinase ubiquitin aldehyde-binding 1 (OTUB1), a deubiquitinating enzyme of the OTU family, is enriched together with α-synuclein in LBs from individuals with PD and is also present in amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, using mammalian cell cultures and a PD mouse model, along with CD spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, immunofluorescence-based imaging, and various biochemical assays, we demonstrate that after heat-induced protein aggregation, OTUB1 reacts strongly with both anti-A11 and anti-osteocalcin antibodies, detecting oligomeric, prefibrillar structures or fibrillar species of amyloidogenic proteins, respectively. Further, recombinant OTUB1 exhibited high thioflavin-T and Congo red binding and increased β-sheet formation upon heat induction. The oligomeric OTUB1 aggregates were highly cytotoxic, characteristic of many amyloid proteins. OTUB1 formed inclusions in neuronal cells and co-localized with thioflavin S and with α-synuclein during rotenone-induced stress. It also co-localized with the disease-associated variant pS129-α-synuclein in rotenone-exposed mouse brains. Interestingly, OTUB1 aggregates were also associated with severe cytoskeleton damage, rapid internalization inside the neuronal cells, and mitochondrial damage, all of which contribute to neurotoxicity. In conclusion, the results of our study indicate that OTUB1 may contribute to LB pathology through its amyloidogenic properties.

Conversion of carbon dioxide into selective hydrocarbon using a stable catalyst remains a holy grail in the catalysis community. The high overpotential, stability, and selectivity in the use of a s...

The present paper investigates Green’s function technique to study the impact of the non-linear heterogeneity on the propagation of the horizontally polarised shear (SH) wave in a composite layered structure due to the line source. The composite structure is comprised of two distinct isotropic homogeneous elastic layers of finite width lying over an isotropic heterogeneous semi-infinite elastic medium. A general quadratic heterogeneity (including the linear heterogeneity term) in the rigidity of the semi-infinite medium has been taken into account. An efficient analytical treatment involving Green’s function technique along with the application of Fourier transformation has been employed to establish the closed form of the dispersion equation for the propagating wave. As a special case of the problem, the closed form of the dispersion equation has been found in well agreement with the pre-established and classical results. The influence of linear and non-linear heterogeneities on the phase velocity of the horizontally polarised shear-wave has been analysed comparatively for numerous cases associated with the considered model and the corresponding single layer half-space model. It is reported that the phase velocity of the horizontally polarised shear-wave is more pronounced in the case of the corresponding single layer half-space structure as compared to the considered structure. Also, the impact of the general quadratic heterogeneity (supported by the linear heterogeneity) enhances the phase velocity most favourably as compared to the case of the simple quadratic heterogeneity, linear heterogeneity and homogeneity in the semi-infinite medium.

Molybdenum Disulphide (MoS2) is an interesting material which exists in atomically thin multilayers and can be exfoliated into monolayer or a few layers for multiple applications. It has emerged as a promising material for development of such efficient sensors. Here, we have exfoliated and decorated MoS2 flakes with novel, single phase High Entropy Alloy (HEA) nanoparticles using facile and scalable cryomilling technique, followed by sonochemical method. It is found that the decoration of HEA nanoparticles impart surface enhanced Raman scattering effect and reduction in the work function of the material from 4.9 to 4.75 eV as measured by UV photoelectron spectroscopy. This change in the work function results in a schottky barrier between the gold contact and HEA decorated MoS2 flakes as a result of drastic changes in the surface chemical non-stoichiometry. The response to hydrogen gas is studied at temperatures 30 to 100 oC and it shows unusual p-type nature due to surface adsorbed oxygen species. The nanoscale junction formed between HEA and MoS2 shows 10 times increase in the response towards hydrogen gas at 80 oC. The experimental observations are further explained with DFT simulation showing more favourable hydrogen adsorption on HEA decorated MoS2 resulting for enhanced response.

This article presents a Stefan problem including thermal conductivity and heat capacity as the functions of temperature. At α=β, the exact solutions to the proposed problem are discussed for two different specific cases, i.e. m=n=1 and m=n=2. For the general case, estimation of the solution to the problem is deliberated with the help of shifted Chebyshev tau method. To exhibit the accurateness of the obtained approximate solution, the comparison between exact and approximate solution are depicted through tables which shows that the approximate results are in good agreement with the exact solution. We also present the impact of parameters appeared in the considered problem on temperature profile and location of moving interface. It is found that the melting of the material effectively enhances when we increase either the value m or[spsbacksalsh]and n or Stefan number. Keywords: Moving boundary problem, Similarity variables, Operational matrices, Tau method, Temperature-dependent thermal coefficients

The 3D printing technology offers an innovative approach for developing energy storage devices to create facile and low-cost customized electrodes for modern electronics. Generating electric potential by moving a droplet of ionic solution over two-dimensional (2D) materials is a novel method for rain energy harvesting. This work demonstrated a liquid-solid contact electrification-based 3D printed nanogenerator where raindrop passes through the positively charged ultrathin Gadolinium Telluride (Gd2Te3) sheets. Experimental results showed that voltage as high as ~0.6 V could be generated by moving a droplet of ionic solution on the decorated 3D printed nanogenerator. The output efficiency of the nanogenerator is increased ~400% by enhancing the surface area of copious 3D printed porous structures. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations are done, revealing that the high electrical conductivity of (112) surface of Gd2Te3 is due to the p-type charge carriers. Additionally, we illustrate the enhancement of the output performance (~0.8V) by using a graphite rod and arbitrarily manipulating the surface charge. Therefore, this work can open up a new avenue to advance scientific research of Blue energy harvesting and tackle the energy crisis.

The rational design of perfluorinated amphiphiles to control the supramolecular aggregation in an aqueous medium is still a key challenge for the engineering of supramolecular architectures. Here, the synthesis and physical properties of six novel non-ionic amphiphiles are presented. The effect of mixed alkylated and perfluorinated segments in a single amphiphile is also studied and compared with only alkylated and perfluorinated units. To explore their morphological behavior in an aqueous medium, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy/electron microscopy (cryo-TEM/EM) measurements are used. The assembly mechanisms with theoretical investigations are further confirmed, using the Martini model to perform large-scale coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. These novel synthesized amphiphiles offer a greater and more systematic understanding of how perfluorinated systems assemble in an aqueous medium and suggest new directions for rational designing of new amphiphilic systems and interpreting their assembly process.

The conversion of carbon dioxide into selective hydrocarbons is vital for green energy generation. Due to the chemical instability and lower activity, environmentally stable transition metal oxides...

Developing a catalyst for green hydrogen production through water splitting, is one of the most promising ways to meet current energy demand. Here, we demonstrate spontaneous water splitting using gadolinium telluride (GdTe) with high hydrogen evolution rate. The spent catalyst can be reused after melting, which regains the original activity of the pristine sample. The phase formation and reusability are supported by the thermodynamics calculations. The theoretical calculation reveals ultra-low over-potential for hydrogen evolution reaction of GdTe caused by charge transfer from Te to Gd, hence enhancing the catalytic activity. Production of highly pure and instantaneous hydrogen by GdTe could accelerate fuel cell-based sustainable technologies.

The nanoengineered high entropy alloy (HEAs) catalysts have attracted the attention of the scientific community due to their exceptional characteristics; wide range of compositional tunability and the utilization of low-cost transition metals. During various electrochemical reactions, the oxidation of carbon-mono-oxide (CO) is an intermediate and it acts as a poison to reduce the efficiency of the reactions. A nanocrystalline HEA catalyst (CoFeNiGaZn) is prepared by easily scalable cast-cum-crush method, providing pristine catalyst surfaces. It is capable of catalyzing the CO-oxidation to CO2 with high conversion efficiency (99.8%). DFT calculations show that the high activity of the HEA can be attributed to the presence of a considerable amount of filled states of dxz and dyz orbital near the Fermi level for Ni atoms over the surface. Due to the favourable transfer of electrons from this orbital to the LUMO of reactant molecules, the endothermicity of the rate-determining step is 1.13 eV.

Dynamic fluctuations in the hydrogen-bond network of water occur from femto- to nanosecond timescales and provide insight into the structural/dynamical aspects of water at ion–water interfaces. Employing terahertz spectroscopy assisted with molecular dynamics simulations, we study aqueous chloride solutions of five monovalent cations, namely, Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs. We show that ions modify the behavior of the surrounding water molecules and form interfacial layers of water around them with physical properties distinct from those of bulk water. Small cations with high charge densities influence the kinetics of water well beyond the first solvation shell. At terahertz frequencies, we observe an emergence of fast relaxation processes of water with their magnitude following the ionic order Cs > Rb > K > Na > Li, revealing an enhanced population density of weakly coordinated water at the ion–water interface. The results shed light on the structure breaking tendency of monovalent cations and provide insight into the properties of ionic solutions at the molecular level.