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Multifunctional semiconductor cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) is employed for fuel cell electrolyte, which has never been used before. n-type 3C-SiC can be individually employed as the electrolyte in fuel cells, but delivers insufficient open circuit voltage and minuscule current density due to its electronic dominant property. By introducing n-type ZnO to form an n–n 3C-SiC/ZnO heterostructure, significant enhancements in the ionic conductivity of 0.12 S/cm and fuel cell performance of 270 mW cm−2 are achieved at 550 °C. It is found that the energy band bending and build-in electric field of the heterostructure play the pivotal role in the ionic transport and suppressing the electronic conduction of 3C-SiC, leading to a markable material ionic property and fuel cell performance. These findings suggest that 3C-SiC can be tuned to ionic conducting electrolyte for fuel cell applications through the heterostructure approach and energy band alignment methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, hydrothermal oxidation of electrodeposited zinc coatings is used to produce zinc oxide (ZnO) films. In the first step, zinc (Zn) coating is electrodeposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrate. The Zn films are then immersed in deionized water at 9 5 ∘ C. The exposure time of Zn coating in deionized water is varied from 1 h to 24 h in sequence. At the 24 h exposure time, X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns reveal that zinc film has been completely converted to ZnO. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) results show morphological changes from flakes (for pure Zn) or 2D plates to rod (ZnO) like morphology which further changes to cotton-flower like shapes with an increase in oxidation time. Diffuse reflectance spectral measurements show the band gap tuning with oxidation time (it decreases from 3.28 eV to 3.19 eV). Photoluminescence (PL) spectra have depicted phonon replicas with energy separation of ∼ 1 2 4 meV for the ZnO films obtained after 6 and 12 h exposure time in deionized water at 9 5 ∘ C temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albendazole is a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic drug gaining attention for its promising anti-cancer activities in human and animal studies. Breast cancer is among the most prevalent and diverse malignancies affecting women. Conventional chemotherapy faces various limitations, such as development of multidrug resistance. Nanoparticles emerge as a promising alternative to overcome multidrug resistance in targeted cancer treatment. This study examined the anticancer effects of Albendazole combined with Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs). The Albendazole-loaded Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (ALB ZnO NPs) were prepared and a 1:1 ratio was selected for further investigation because of the maximum percentage yield. Entrapment and loading efficacy were estimated at 80.3 and 40.2% respectively. Drug release in gastric media was significantly improved over time. Physicochemical characterization revealed maximum absorbance at 261nm, average size of 128nm with a zeta potential of +28.1mV, and smooth spherical morphology. FTIR spectra shift further confirmed the successful chemical bonding of Albendazole with ZnO NPs. MTT assay revealed ALB ZnO NPs induce dose dependent apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. IC50 of Albendazole was reduced from 84.85 µg/mL to 43.35 µg/mL when combined with ZnO NPs indicated marked increase in therapeutic potency. Furthermore, selective index of 4.057 reveals ALB ZnO NPs have high selective cytotoxicity towards cancer cells with a favorable safety profile for normal Vero cells. These findings suggest that ALB ZnO NPs have potential as targeted therapeutic strategy in breast cancer treatment, offering a more effective and selective alternative to conventional chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic materials such as Ag-coated ZnO nanoflowers, pristine ZnO nanoflowers and ZnO nanorods were synthesized by template-assisted method for the treatment of industrial waste water through photocatalysis. Electropolishing and anodization lead to the formation of alumina template. After that, hydrothermal treatment was carried out for the growth of ZnO nanoflowers and nanorods on the template. The morphology of synthesized samples was investigated by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction patterns and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. XRD patterns of samples clearly indicate the well crystalline structure of synthesized materials. The presence of Ag in Ag-coated ZnO nanoflowers was confirmed by EDS spectral analysis and X-ray diffraction patterns. Grain size was found to be in the range of 10–25 nm as calculated by Scherer's formula from XRD patterns. The sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity of Ag-coated ZnO nanoflowers, ZnO nanoflowers and ZnO nanorods was investigated and compared with each other. In addition, the stability and recovery of photocatalyst were also checked. Photocatalytic degradation experiment results indicated that Ag-coated ZnO nanoflowers had highest photocatalytic activity towards methylene blue dye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures have been grown from electrodeposited Zn thin film followed by hydrothermal oxidation. The Zn layer was grown on copper (Cu) substrate at room temperature and then oxidized hydrothermally at 95 °C for different time duration. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns depicted that Zn thin film transformation to ZnO started after 1 h of oxidation and almost completed after 24 h. SEM results show the morphological transformation from Zn thin film to ZnO nanostructures by varying hydrothermal oxidation time duration. The influence of this morphological transformation on the photoluminescence (PL) spectra and non-enzymatic glucose sensing has been investigated. The full width half maximum (FWHM) of the UV emission peak in PL spectra became narrow with an increase in oxidation time. The electrochemical glucose sensing measurements show that the current density rises with an increase in oxidation time. The maximum current density has been observed for ZnO nanostructure oxidized for 24 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Figure 3 (a) the axis title as well as units are inadvertently mentioned as "Wavenumber (cm−1)", which should be read as "Wavelength (nm)". In the same Figure, the peak labels are mistakenly mentioned with units of "cm−1" instead of "nm". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CNTs were decorated onto Sr doped ZnO nanoparticles to construct an efficient photocatalyst via a facile sol-gel method. The as-fabricated Sr doped ZnO/CNTs with recyclability exhibits Sr and CNTs content dependent hydrogen evolution activit under visible light illumination. The Sr doped ZnO/CNTs photocatalyst shows the highest hydrogen evolution rate of 2732.2 μmolh−1g−1, which is 33.7 and 2.83 times higher than pure ZnO and Sr doped ZnO photocatalysts, respectively. The improved hydrogen evolution activity of Sr doped ZnO/CNTs is primarily assigned to high surface area, Sr doping and construction of heterojunction, which can extend the light absorption, decrease the optical band gap and improve the charge separation. Moreover, the underlying photocatalytic mechanism is proposed on the basis of Mott-Schottky study and explains the interfacial charge transfer process from ZnO to CNTs and Sr. This work open new strategies to synthesize CNTs based nanocomposite for hydrogen evolution. • Sr doped ZnO and Sr doped ZnO/CNTs successfully synthesized via sol-gel method. • PL and EIS confirmed the prolong electron-hole separation over Sr doped ZnO/CNTs. • Sr doped ZnO/CNTs possess abundant active sites and least impedance. • Sr doped ZnO/CNTs showed much higher hydrogen evolution than pure and Sr doped ZnO. • High stability and recyclability over Sr doped ZnO/CNTs was confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wurtzite ZnO nanostructures doped with up to 17 at% Ni have been formed by hydrothermal oxidation of electrodeposited Zn–Ni alloy films. The wire diameter decreases with Ni content, up to about 20–50 nm for the Zn 0.83 Ni 0.17 O nanowires formed in NaCl solution. A strong ultra-violet emission is seen in the photoluminescence spectra obtained at 10 K and room temperature. A substantial visible emission exhibited by un-doped ZnO nanostructures formed in pure water becomes negligible by nickel doping and almost completely vanishes for the samples prepared in chloride solution, due to higher crystalline quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wurtzite ZnO has been grown by electro-deposition of zinc on copper substrate followed by its hydrothermal oxidation in NaCl solution at 100-130 °C. Scanning electron microscopy has revealed the formation of nanowires and nanorods (with a diameter of about 100 nm to more 1 µm); and microtubes are numerously formed with a diameter of up to 3 µm. For microtubes of various diameters, the wall thickness remained about 0.9 µm. Optical studies illustrated strong ultraviolet emission in the photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence spectra without green luminescence, which suggests that high-quality ZnO structures are formed by our technique for ultraviolet photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]