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In education, space exists for a tool that valorizes generic student course evaluation formats by organizing and recapitulating students' views on the pedagogical practices to which they are exposed. Often, student opinions about a course are gathered using a general comment section that does not solicit feedback concerning specific course components. Herein, we show a novel approach to summarizing and organizing students' opinions as a function of the language used in their course evaluations, specifically focusing on developing software that outputs actionable, specific feedback about course components in large-enrollment STEM contexts. Our approach augments existing course review formats, which rely heavily on unstructured text data, with a tool built from Python, LaTeX, and Google's Natural Language API. The result is quantitative, summative sentiment analysis reports that have general and component-specific sections, aiming to address some of the challenges faced by educators when teaching large physical science courses.

In recent years, immersive technology tools have burgeoned. After the release of the affordable Oculus Go headset and the Merge Cube, there has been increasing use of virtual, augmented, and extended reality (VR, AR, XR) in classrooms. Of significance to chemistry educators are the virtual lab simulations developed by Labster and HoloLab Champions and the VR app Nanome, which can be used to virtually manipulate chemicals and proteins. So far, however, there are no commercially developed products that address the transfer of chemicals and contaminants during experiments or procedures that require gloves. Herein, we discuss how VR can be used as an active learning approach to lab safety about correct glove hygiene. The work is the result of a collaboration among chemistry, computer science, and library faculty on a VR instructional module on glove hygiene. This experience is useful to bring a realistic and interactive laboratory experience to students who may have limited experience in a laboratory setting. Additionally, the project explores how to optimally use the academic library space to deploy the VR module to a large number of student users. Despite shortcomings we encountered in the first phase of development, we believe that, with technological improvements, there is significant potential for a virtual reality instructional environment that teaches glove hygiene when there may be limited access to physical laboratories.

Numerous online resources provide a variety of content for a wide range of STEM topics; however, they tend to function as isolated tidbits that provide content-specific knowledge. Application-based science education videos address the overlooked issue of concept to application by implementing experimental components in their videos and fostering connections with everyday applications. We utilized the "Journal of Visualized Experiments" (JoVE) peer-reviewed science education videos as homework assignments to supplement lectures on the topics of enthalpy, entropy, rate laws, and Le Châtelier's principle in a second-term general chemistry course. Student learning was assessed through the analysis of pre- and post-video conceptual quizzes, and value surveys were also conducted to gather student feedback about the videos. Our investigation shows that using these videos in the course significantly improved student learning and reinforced conceptual understanding for important foundational concepts, and these results hold even for students who did not feel positively toward the videos.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) and Vibrio harveyi (Vh) are two pathogenic vibriosis causing agents which are prevalent in commercial aquaculture practices. In spite of the increasing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in pathogenic organisms due to inappropriate usage of conventional antibiotics, there is an urgent need of alternative therapeutic antimicrobials. Metallic nanoparticles, particularly silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), are considered effective antimicrobials against a wide spectrum of microorganisms. Tunable properties such as size, shape, and surface functionalization enhance the properties and activities of AgNPs. Studies have explored the use of carbon dots (CDs) as an alternative source for reducing and capping AgNPs, given the limitations of using plant extracts as reducing agents for AgNP synthesis. Most of the studies synthesized CDs using various chemical precursors; however, plant-derived or biomass-derived CDs offer several advantages, such as biocompatibility, easy availability of precursors, renewability, hydrophilicity, and no requirement of heteroatom doping. In the present study, an eco-friendly hydrothermal technique was employed to synthesize high fluorescent, Biomass derived carbon dots (CDs) from the leaves of two medicinal plants, Aegle marmelos (AM) and Euphorbia hitra (EH). These CDs were then used as reducing agents for the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The absorbance peaks of synthesized AM CDs and EH CDs were at 267 nm and 274 nm, indicating π–π* electronic transitions. Upon adding CDs to AgNO3 led to a decline in CD absorption peaks and the emergence of AgNP SPR peaks at 467 nm and 479 nm, confirming AgNP formation. AM CDs showed a narrow peak at 530 nm (excitation at 360 nm), while EH CDs had a broad peak at 560 nm and AM CDs exhibited a narrow peak at 530 nm. AgNP@CD NCs did not emit luminescence, likely due to quenching during the AgNPs reduction. FTIR identified O-H, C≡C, and N-H functional groups in CDs. AgNP@AM CD NCs showed minor vibrational signals, while AgNP@EH CD NCs showed a complete reduction. The average particle sizes of the synthesized AgNPs were 8.51 nm and 23.59 nm for AM and EH, respectively. The synthesized AgNP@CD nanocomposites showed effective antivibriocidal activity with the lowest Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of 3.9 μg/mL on Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) by EH AgNP@CD NCs. The in vitro antioxidant studies revealed effective radical scavenging activity with the lowest IC50 value of 5.29 μg/mL on DPPH nitrogen free radical by AM AgNP@CD NCs. The present study found effective antivibriocidal and antioxidant properties of biomass derived AgNP@CD NCs.

A report is presented to describe how students can be empowered to construct the full, double minimum inversion potential for ammonia by performing intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations. This work can be associated with the third year physical chemistry lecture laboratory or an upper level course in computational chemistry.

Abstract Hot electrons and holes generated from the decay of localised surface plasmons in metallic nanoparticles can be harnessed for applications in solar energy conversion and sensing. In this paper, we study the generation of hot carriers in large spherical gold-silver alloy nanoparticles using a recently developed atomistic modelling approach that combines a solution of Maxwell’s equations with large-scale tight-binding simulations. We find that hot-carrier properties depend sensitively on the alloy composition. Specifically, nanoparticles with a large gold fraction produce hot carriers under visible light illumination while nanoparticles with a large silver fraction require higher photon energies to produce hot carriers. Moreover, most hot carriers in nanoparticles with a large gold fraction originate from interband transitions which give rise to energetic holes and ‘cold’ electrons near the Fermi level. Increasing the silver fraction enhances the generation rate of hot carriers from intraband transitions which produce energetic electrons and ‘cold’ holes. These findings demonstrate that alloy composition is a powerful tuning parameter for the design of nanoparticles for applications in solar energy conversion and sensing that require precise control of hot-carrier properties.

Exploiting efficient Pt-free counter-electrode materials with low cost and highly catalytic property is a hot topic in the field of Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Here, NiCo2S4/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was prepared via an economical hydrothermal ynthesis route, and the as-prepared composite exhibited comparable electrocatalytic property with the conventional Pt electrode as the counter-electrode. Enhanced optoelectronic, optical and structural characteristics have been attained over the constructed heterojunction. Band gap energy of NiCo2S4 (2.35 eV) was suppressed to 2.11 eV owing to its supporting with 10 wt.% rGO bringing about upgraded absorption of visible light. Electrochemical studies confirmed the synergetic effect of nickel and cobalt ions with the high electrical conductive rGO networks that enhance the electrocatalytic activity of NiCo2S4 nanostructures. The efficiency achieved for the NiCo2S4@rGO counter electrode (CE) based DSSC is 8.17%, which is remarkably higher than that of pristine NiCo2S4 (7.31%), and Pt (7.14%) under the same experimental conditions. In outline, given their innovative synthesis approach, affordability, and remarkable electrocatalytic attributes, the newly developed NiCo2S4@rGO counter electrodes stand out as potent contenders in future dye-sensitized solar cell applications.

The Ag-ZnO/Fu nanocomposites were successfully synthesized in an environmentally friendly manner using an aqueous Clove buds extract from the Syzygium aromaticum plant. They were then examined for antibacterial activity against bacterium strains of Escherichia coli, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococcus faecalis. The UV–Visible spectrophotometry analysis confirmed the presence of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles at 334 nm, silver oxide (Ag) nanoparticles at 416 nm, and fucoidan at 589 nm in the synthesized nanocomposites. The FT-IR analysis confirmed the presence of five different functional linkages in the synthesized nanocomposites. The positions of diffraction peaks in pure Ag-ZnO/Fu nanocomposite patterns were identified using XRD analysis. The Ag-ZnO/Fu nanocomposites synthesized are more crystalline (77 %), and less amorphous (22.2 %). Silver, O, and Zn signals were detected in the SEM and EDX spectra of the Ag-ZnO/Fu nanocomposite. Different strains of Ag-ZnO/Fu nanocomposites showed stronger antibacterial properties. The DPPH technique was used to perform the antioxidant assay. Cytotoxicity testing was carried out on zebrafish embryos treated with several groups of Clove Ag ZnO/Fucoidan. The combination Ag-ZnO/Fucoidan (300 mg/mL) showed a marginally significant difference in survival (94 %).

The evaluation of in vitro and in silico anti-diabetic activity of wild edible fruit Ziziphus oenophilia (L.) extract: molecular docking and statistical analysis.

The study examined the potential of minimizing the toxicity effects of carrageenan (CG) grafted with isoliquiritigenin (ILG), using zebrafish as a model. CG is a sulfated linear polysaccharide that possesses numerous biological activities such as antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, antihyperlipidemic, anticoagulant, anticancer, and immunomodulatory. CG triggers inflammation, which may result in a variety of health issues, specifically when it is utilized in high doses, in large quantities, or over prolonged periods. ILG, a biologically active compound derived from flavonoids, exhibits antioxidant characteristics. Ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) serves as a redox initiator in the co-polymerization process to successfully graft CG with ILG. CG-ILG conjugation is analyzed using SEM, FTIR, UV, and fluorescence spectra. Further, the toxicity effects of CG and CG-ILG are evaluated using zebrafish embryos at different concentrations. At 72 hpf, CG demonstrated toxicity above 0.4 µg/mL, whereas CG-ILG showed no significant toxicity up to 0.8 µg/mL. Thus, results indicate CG-ILG possesses low toxicity in comparison to CG, and the grafting of ILG successfully minimized the toxicity effects of CG. Using the ToxTrac software, a substantial decrease (P

In this study, a hydrothermal method was used to synthesize a ZSM-5/ZnO nanocomposite which was used to photocatalytic activity degrade methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) dye in an aqueous solution. The structure, morphology, composition and optical and textural properties of the composites were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and UV– vis diffuse absorption spectroscopy (UV–vis DAS), photoluminescence (PL) and N2 adsorption/desorption, respectively. TEM images showed the ZnO nanorods were uniformly embroidered on the surface of ZSM-5 sphere surfaces, and the embroidered ZnO nanorods had an average size of 80 ± 20 nm. The presence of ZnO in ZSM-5 leading resulted in a increase in the surface area (125.6 m2/g) and pore size (21.3 nm) as confirming by nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm experiments. The ZnO/ZSM-5 composite was further used as a photocatalyst material in the dye (methylene blue: MB and Rhodamine B: RhB) degradation process, and the performance was compared with that of pure prepared ZnO. Moreover, the degradation efficiency of the ZSM-5/ZnO composite for MO degradation was found to be ∼92 after 180 min, which is higher than that of the pure ZSM-5. While, the degradation efficiency of ZSM-5/ZnO composite was found to be 98.5 % towards RhB dye under identical experimental conditions. The ZSM-5/ZnO composite was also extensively reused for five photo degradation cycles without experiencing any significant changes in its activity or crystalline characteristics.The improved mechanism was also discussed in detail.

The present work reports for the facile synthesis of novel vanadium oxide/polypyrrole (V2O5/Ppy) nanohybrids using various loadings of the V2O5. This novel hybrid photocatalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman, UV–Visible absorption spectra (UV–Vis), photoluminescence spectra (PLS) and N2 adsorption-desorption analysis. XRD and TEM results suggest that V2O5 with individual spherical shaped nanoparticles of around 20–25 nm, which is uniformly wrapped on the surface of the Ppy sheets. A significant reduction in the bad gap energy (3.06–2.13 eV) and prevent the electron-hole recombination process was examined by UV and PL studies. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency was carried out for Reactive Black 31 (RB 31) and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) dyes under visible light. The results illustrate that the optimal hybrid catalyst could reach 99 % of removal efficiency towards RB31 with visible light irradiation for 60 min. Moreover, the catalyst show high TOC efficiency (88%) high apparent constant (0.9189 min−1), and good stability with multiple cycle experiments. The improved photocatalytic mechanism was also discussed in detail. In comparison to V2O5 (425 μmol−1h−1 of H2) and PPy (151 μmol−1h−1 of H2), the optimised composite, 15 wt% V2O5 incorporated PPy showed a remarkable production rate under visible light (2255 μmol−1h−1 of H2).

We review recent results on textile triboelectric nanogenerators (T-TENGs), which function both as harvesters of mechanical energy and self-powered motion sensors. T-TENGs can be flexible, breathable, and lightweight. With a combination of traditional and novel manufacturing methods, including nanofibers, T-TENGs can deliver promising power output. We review the evolution of T-TENG device structures based on various textile material configurations and fabrication methods, along with demonstrations of self-powered systems. We also provide a detailed analysis of different textile materials and approaches used to enhance output. Additionally, we discuss integration capabilities with supercapacitors and potential applications across various fields such as health monitoring, human activity monitoring, human–machine interaction applications, etc. This review concludes by addressing the challenges and key research questions that remain for developing viable T-TENG technology.

Cellulose nanofibre (CNF) is the sustainable nanomaterial used for developing high-performance barrier materials that are renewable, recyclable, and biodegradable. The CNF film has very low oxygen permeability; however, its water vapor permeability is significantly higher than that of conventional packaging plastics. The fabrication method influences their barrier properties of the film. A spray-coating CNF on a stainless-steel plate was developed to form a compact film with two unique surfaces, namely a smooth layer on the base side and rough layer on the free side. It improves both the ease of preparation of the film and reduces the water vapour permeability via tailoring the basis weight and thickness of the film through simple adjusting CNF content in the suspension. The air permanence of the film from 1.0 wt.% to 2.0 wt.% CNF suspension is less than 0.003 µm/Pa·S confirming that is an impermeable film and proves a good packaging material. SEM, optical profilometry, and AFM revealed that the spray-coated surface was smooth and glossy. For sprayed CNF films with basis weight between 86.26 ± 13.61 and 155.85 ± 18.01 g/m2, WVP were ranged from 6.99 ± 1.17 × 10−11 to 4.19 ± 1.45 × 10−11 g/m·Pa·S. In comparison, the WVP of 100 g/m2 vacuum filtered CNF film was 5.50 ± 0.84 × 10−11 g/m·Pa·S, spray-coated film (of 96.6 g/m2) also show similar permeability at around 5.34 ± 0.603 × 10−11 g/m·Pa·S. The best performance was achieved with spraying of 2.0 wt.% CNF and a water vapour permeability of 3.91 × 10−11 g/m·s·Pa. Spray coated CNF film is impermeable against air and water vapour and a potential alternative to synthetic plastics.

The influence of sulfate-reducing bacteria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans on stainless steel SS 202 corrosion in neutral media was studied in detail using weight loss and electrochemical routes. The bacterial activity resulted in material loss with an average rate of 0.015 mm/year. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed a significant increase in the sessile bacterial population with the immersion period. Use of 500 ppm palash (Butea monosperma) leaf extract (PLE) reduced the average corrosion rate to 0.002 mm/year. SEM analysis showed a very thin external film formation in the presence of the inhibitor. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies confirmed the presence of corrosion products such as Fe2O3 and FeS. The gas chromatography–mass spectrometry studies showed the dominant percentage of various terpenoids along with vitamin E as the main components of the PLE. Electrochemical analysis showed the existence of a diffusion barrier. The resistance offered by the diffusion barrier is high in the inhibited sample when compared to uninhibited samples.

This research study was to develop a nano bioactive scaffold (NBAS) using gelatins (Gel), nanofibrin (Nano-FB), and glycerol (Gly) by film casting method for potential use in skin tissue engineering. The developed NBAS were characterized for their molecular interaction (Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)), microstructure (scanning electron microscopy (S.E.M.)), mechanical strength (tensile strength (MPa), elongation at break (%), and flexibility (%)), and Cell viability (M.T.T. assay ((3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide)) were assessed in the biocompatibility study. The mechanical result of the N.B.F. possessed better (tensile strength of 5.22 ± 0.07 MPa), (elongation at break of 5.88 + 0.04%), and (flexibility of 9.18 ± 0.09%) properties. The Invitro study using a human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cell line proved the 100% biocompatibility of NBAS. Based outcome of this study, performed its mechanical properties and exhibited biocompatibility in skin tissue engineering. The study has devised a process for using slaughterhouse and fish waste in the production of valuable medical products like wound dressing materials.

Synthesis, characterization, and biological applications of zinc oxide nanoparticles using P. cristatus.

This lesson plan was created to support non-chemistry major students in making connections between chemical kinetics and biological systems. Chemical kinetics is often viewed by students as an abstract topic, and one that is limited only to chemical reactions that occur in a laboratory. The subtopics of chemical kinetics can be challenging for students to apply in a different context, and students often learn the topic as remote tidbits of knowledge without a clear indication of its application. The lesson involves an activity utilizing real-life case studies with biological applications of chemical kinetics to enhance student understanding and improve interest and engagement in the topic. The case studies detail the immobilization of cold-blooded animals at very low temperatures and enlightens students about the unfortunate situation that iguanas and sea turtles faced as consequences of a particularly cold spell in in Florida during winter 2018. This activity allows students to view chemical kinetics in a new light and to brainstorm on methods to solve such problems faced in real-life.

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CONPs) are one of the most important metal oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) in the emerging field of nanomedicine due to their remarkable features. Novel CONPs were synthesized using ethanolic (50%, v/v) leaf extract of the indigenous plant Artemisia abyssinica for the first time. The precursor salt concentration, extract volume, pH of the solution, and synthesis temperature were optimized with the UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Using UV-visible spectroscopy, the SPR peaks were observed at 408 nm, and the band gap was found to be 3.039 eV, revealing its semiconductor nature. The presence of phytochemicals on the surface of CONPs was confirmed by FTIR, TGA/DTA, and EDX analysis. The spherical nature and average crystal sizes of the particle 18.4 and 24.6 nm were determined using TEM and XRD analysis. CONPs showed promising antimicrobial activity against selected drug-resistant pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. The highest inhibition zone was exhibited on Staphylococcus aureus (32.5 ± 0.02 mm with MIC value 10 μg/mL) among bacterial strains and Aspergillus flavus (22 ± 0.34 mm with MIC value 25 μg/mL) in fungal strains. CONPs revealed the strong antioxidant potential (88.81 ± 0.02%, at 200 μg/mL) with an IC50 value of 5.75 μg/mL. Furthermore, CONPs remarkably exhibited DNA binding activity with CT-DNA.

Applications of Raman spectroscopy in monitoring the concentration of solvents in various distillation and solvent exchange steps in chemical synthesis are discussed. Two case studies from early-phase active pharmaceutical ingredient [...]

This work reports urea as a promising complexing agent in sodium carbonate-based alumina slurry for chemical–mechanical planarization (CMP) of tantalum and copper. Ta and Cu were polished using Na2CO3 (1 wt. %) with alumina (2 wt. %) in the presence and absence of urea. The effect of slurry pH, urea concentration, applied downward pressure and platen rotational speed were deliberated and the outcomes conveyed. Prior to the addition of urea, the Ta removal rate (RR) was observed to increase with pH from acidic to alkaline, having a maximum RR at pH 11. However, Cu RR decreases with increasing pH with minimum RR at pH 11. With the addition of urea in the slurry, a Cu to Ta removal rate selectivity of nearly 1:1 was encountered at pH 11. The addition of urea simultaneous boosts the Ta RR and suppresses Cu RR at pH 11, as it adsorbs on the metal surface. Potentiodynamic polarization was conducted to determine the corrosion current (Icorr) and the corrosion potential (Ecorr). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of both metals was carried out in the proposed formulation and the obtained outcomes are elaborated.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for nosocomial infections and is one of the biggest global threats according to the World Health Organization (WHO), particularly causing substantial morbidity and mortality.Objectives: This study aimed at using computational approaches to screen meropenem and its analogs against OXA-23-positive Acinetobacter baumannii, analyzing the correlations between kinetic and phenotypic characteristics.Methods: A total of 5,450 compounds were screened using virtual screening workflow (HTVS, Glide-SP, and Glide-XP) to identify the best compounds based on their binding energy and interactions against OXA-23 and OXA-27 as they had phenotypic data available. Molecular dynamics simulation and density functional theory (DFT) studies were performed from the outcome of molecular docking analysis.Results: During simulations, meropenem and its analogs exhibited high-level stable interactions with Ser79, Ser126, Thr217, Trp219, and Arg259 of OXA-23. Meropenem displayed a CovDock energy of about −3.5 and −1.9 kcal mol-1 against OXA-23 and OXA-27, respectively. Among the 5,450 compounds, Pubchem_10645796, Pubchem_25224737, and ChEMBL_14 recorded CovDock energy between −6.0 and −9.0 kcal mol-1. Moreover, the infra-red (IR) spectrophotometric analysis revealed C=O and C-N atoms showing bands at 1,800 and 1,125 cm-1, respectively. These observed data are in congruence with the experimental observations.Conclusion: The identified compounds showed good agreement with the spectrophotometric analysis using DFT methods. In the earlier studies, meropenem’s MIC value was 32 μg mL−1 in OXA-23-positive isolate A2265 compared to the MIC of 1 μg mL−1 in ΔblaOXA-23 A2265. Comparing the CovDock energy and hydrogen-bonding interactions, the predicted results are in good agreement with the experimental data reported earlier. Our results highlight the importance of OXA-23 molecular docking studies and their compliance with the phenotypic results. It will help further in developing newer antibiotics for treating severe infections associated with carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative energy method. MFC technology has gained much interest in recent decades owing to its effectiveness in remediating wastewater and generating bioelectricity. The microbial fuel cell generates energy mainlybecause of oxidation-reduction reactions. In this reaction, electrons were transferred between two reactants. Bioinformatics is expanding across a wide range of microbial fuel cell technology. Electroactive species in the microbial community were evaluated using bioinformatics methodologies in whole genome sequencing, RNA sequencing, transcriptomics, metagenomics, and phylogenetics. Technology advancements in microbial fuel cells primarily produce power from organic and inorganic waste from various sources. Reduced chemical oxygen demand and waste degradation are two added advantages for microbial fuel cells. From plants, bacteria, and algae, microbial fuel cells were developed. Due to the rapid advancement of sequencing techniques, bioinformatics approaches are currently widely used in the technology of microbial fuel cells. In addition, they play an important role in determining the composition of electroactive species in microorganisms. The metabolic pathway is also possible to determine with bioinformatics resources. A computational technique that reveals the nature of the mediators and the substrate was also used to predict the electrochemical properties. Computational strategies were used to tackle significant challenges in experimental procedures, such as optimization and understanding microbiological systems. The main focus of this review is on utilizing bioinformatics techniques to improve microbial fuel cell technology.

Water electrolysis is an important alternative technology for large-scale hydrogen production to facilitate the development of green energy technology. As such, many efforts have been devoted over the past three decades to producing novel electrocatalysis with strong electrochemical (EC) performance using inexpensive electrocatalysts. Transition metal oxyhydroxide (OxH)-based electrocatalysts have received substantial interest, and prominent results have been achieved for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under alkaline conditions. Herein, the extensive research focusing on the discussion of OxH-based electrocatalysts is comprehensively highlighted. The general forms of the water-splitting mechanism are described to provide a profound understanding of the mechanism, and their scaling relation activities for OxH electrode materials are given. This paper summarizes the current developments on the EC performance of transition metal OxHs, rare metal OxHs, polymers, and MXene-supported OxH-based electrocatalysts. Additionally, an outline of the suggested HER, OER, and water-splitting processes on transition metal OxH-based electrocatalysts, their primary applications, existing problems, and their EC performance prospects are discussed. Furthermore, this review article discusses the production of energy sources from the proton and electron transfer processes. The highlighted electrocatalysts have received substantial interest to boost the synergetic electrochemical effects to improve the economy of the use of hydrogen, which is one of best ways to fulfill the global energy requirements and address environmental crises. This article also provides useful information regarding the development of OxH electrodes with a hierarchical nanostructure for the water-splitting reaction. Finally, the challenges with the reaction and perspectives for the future development of OxH are elaborated.

Rb2Tl(As/Bi)I6 are predicted to be good photovoltaic and thermoelectric materials. In this article, we have carried out firs-principles investigation on structural, electronic, optical and thermoelectric properties of Rb2Tl(As/Bi)I6. The obtained negative formation energy along with absence of imaginary frequency in phonon dispersion curve demonstrated the thermodynamic stability of Rb2Tl(As/Bi)I6 . Also, the obtained electronic band structure with new mBJ functional showed the band gap values of 1.05 eV and 1.63 eV for Rb2TlAsI6 and Rb2TlBiI6, respectively. In addition, the out shining optical properties such as higher order (105 cm−1) of absorption coefficient, appreciable optical conductivity and low reflectivity of Rb2Tl(As/Bi)I6 are resulted from the dispersed direct band gap with suitable values of Rb2Tl(As/Bi)I6. Furthermore, ultra-low thermal conductivity and high electrical conductivity leads to higher ZT values of titled systems. Thus, Rb2Tl(As/Bi)I6 are emerging photovoltaic and thermoelectric materials.

The present review presents important research work carried out relating to potential applications of nanostructures loaded conductive polymer composite materials, particularly the nanocomposites of polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene, Chitosan and Cellulose based polymers. Wide literature data is abstracted in this review pertaining to synthesis of nanocomposites, target analysts, sensitivity of the reported electrode material and the contribution of conducting polymer to achieve high efficiency. A significant attention has been given to the conductive polymer composites in the detection of pathogenic microorganism and their DNA, particularly through electrochemical methods.

A two-phase separation method called cloud point extraction (CPE) does not use hazardous or flammable organic solvents. The efficient removal of the dye Reactive Black-5 (RB-5) from an aqueous solution using Triton X-114, a nonionic surfactant, is described in this study. Three-level factorial design and response-surface methods were used to quantify the impact of process variables on the CPE process, such as operating temperature and surfactant concentration. Investigations were conducted into how these process variables affected the ratio between the phase volumes, the concentration of dye in the surfactant-rich phase, and the residual amounts of dye in the diluted phase. As a result, ANOVA was used to create and validate mathematical models. The findings demonstrated that the correlation coefficients (R2) exceeded 0.98. The acquired findings showed that the suggested extraction process is efficient, and the proposed CPE approach removes 98% of the RB-5 dye under optimal conditions.

Cancer is characterized by abnormal cell differentiation in or on the part of the body. The most commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs are developed to target rapidly dividing cells, such as cancer cells, but they also damage healthy epithelial cells. This has serious consequences for normal cells and become responsible for the development of various disorders. Several strategies for delivering the cytotoxic drugs to cancerous sites that limit systemic toxicity and other adverse effects have recently been evolved. Among them, biomolecule-conjugated metal complexes-based cancer targeting strategies have shown tremendous advantages in cancer therapy. This review focuses on several chemoselective biomolecules-bound metal complexes as prospective cancer therapy-targeted agents. In this review, we presented the details of the various extra- and intracellular targeting mechanisms in cancer therapy. We also addressed the current clinical issues and recent therapeutic strategies in targeted cancer therapy that may pave a way for the future direction of metal complexes-based targeted cancer therapy.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is being used to create new applications for smart cities. Waste management is one issue that requires various IoT components for assistance, such as RFIDs and sensors. An efficient and innovative waste collection system is required to minimize investment, operational, and expenditure costs. In this paper, the novel idea is to develop an intelligent waste management model for smart cities using a hybrid genetic algorithm (GA)–fuzzy inference engine. The system can read, collect, and process information intelligently using a fuzzy inference engine that decides dynamically how to manage a waste collection. The aim of this model is to enhance its correctness and robustness, primarily, in addition to reducing errors that arise due to working conditions. GA is used for optimization to determine the best combination of rules for the fuzzy inference system (FIS). A Mamdani model is used to estimate waste management. The proposed model uses sensors to collect vital information, and FIS is trained using fuzzy logic to determine the probability that the smart bin is nearly full. The primary issue with the traditional genetic algorithm is that during the execution of the algorithm, there is a possibility of essential gene loss. The essential gene loss refers to information relevant to location, details regarding waste filling parameters, etc., which may lead to efficiency or accuracy loss. This problem is overcome by integrating fuzzy logic with a genetic algorithm to identify crucial genes by preserving the FIS interpretability. Our system uses cost-effective, small-size sensors and ensures this solution is reproducible. The Proteus simulator is used for experiments, and satisfactory results are obtained. Overall accuracy, precision, and recall of 95.44%, 96.68%, and 93.96% are obtained in the proposed model. Classification of recyclable items is also performed, and accuracy is determined for every item, resulting in the minimization of resource waste. The cost of manual interpretation is minimized in the intelligent smart waste management system in comparison to the traditional approach, as shown in the experiments.

Supercapacitors have become a popular form of energy-storage device in the current energy and environmental landscape, and their performance is heavily reliant on the electrode materials used. Carbon-based electrodes are highly desirable due to their low cost and their abundance in various forms, as well as their ability to easily alter conductivity and surface area. Many studies have been conducted to enhance the performance of carbon-based supercapacitors by utilizing various carbon compounds, including pure carbon nanotubes and multistage carbon nanostructures as electrodes. These studies have examined the characteristics and potential applications of numerous pure carbon nanostructures and scrutinized the use of a wide variety of carbon nanomaterials, such as AC, CNTs, GR, CNCs, and others, to improve capacitance. Ultimately, this study provides a roadmap for producing high-quality supercapacitors using carbon-based electrodes.

The logic in the design of a halide-mixed APb(I1−xBrx)3 perovskite is quite straightforward: to combine the superior photovoltaic qualities of iodine-based perovskites with the increased stability of bromine-based perovskites. However, even small amounts of Br doped into the iodine-based materials leads to some instability. In the present report, using first-principles computations, we analyzed a wide variety of α-CsPbI2Br and β-CsPbI2Br phases, compared their mixing enthalpies, explored their oxidative properties, and calculated their hole-coupled and hole-free charged Frenkel defect (CFD) formations by considering all possible channels of oxidation. Nanoinclusions of bromine-rich phases in α-CsPbI2Br were shown to destabilize the material by inducing lattice strain, making it more susceptible to oxidation. The uniformly mixed phase of α-CsPbI2Br was shown to be highly susceptible towards a phase transformation into β-CsPbI2Br when halide interstitial or halide vacancy defects were introduced into the lattice. The rotation of PbI4Br2 octahedra in α-CsPbI2Br allows it either to transform into a highly unstable apical β-CsPbI2Br, which may phase-segregate and is susceptible to CFD, or to phase-transform into equatorial β-CsPbI2Br, which is resilient against the deleterious effects of hole oxidation (energies of oxidation >0 eV) and demixing (energy of mixing 2Br offers an opportunity to obtain a mixed perovskite material with enhanced photostability and an intermediate bandgap between its constituent perovskites.

Photophysical studies of 4-Dicyanomethylene-2,6-Dimethyl-4H-Pyran (DDP) dye with globular proteins, Human Serum Albumin (HSA) and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) were carried out in aqueous solution. An isosbestic point resulted on the addition of serum albumins, which signifies a complex or an equilibrium state of DDP dye with albumin. Addition of BSA to DDP dye results in a fluorescence enhancement accompanied with a significant hypsochromic shift, whereas with that of HSA, a fluorescence quenching with a considerable blue shift resulted. Excited state studies of DDP dye with serum albumins portray that the role of binding sites of dye with albumins vary considerably and the nature of interaction is presumably attributed to combined hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interactions. Molecular docking studies of DDP dye with albumins and two other derivatives 4-(Dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM) dye and 4-(Dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-t-buyl)-4H-pyran (DCT) dyes with BSA and HSA elucidates that the hydrogen-bonding interaction accompanied with several hydrophobic, pi–pi an pi–alkyl interactions coexist between dye and albumins. The binding energy, intermolecular energy and stability of the DDP, DCM and DCT dyes through docking techniques with albumins authenticate that the dye predominantly acts as hydrogen-bonding acceptor site and the protein molecule as the donor. DDP dye prefers to exist in four different binding sites of HSA, whereas, in the case of BSA, the most preferred site is found to be hydrophobic domain (site I). Interestingly, the most preferred site of DCT dye is III A subdomain of HSA, whereas DCM dye is oriented towards I B subdomain. DDP and DCT are smaller in size and reside in the domain preferred for smaller ligands (II A and IIIA) as resulted in several drugs-HSA interaction whereas DCM dye which is categorized as medium to larger ligand based on the extended structure resides in the most favoured site IB. Fluorescence techniques in combination with molecular docking methods elucidate binding characteristics and the domain in which the dye resides in a micro heterogeneous environment is established in this study.