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Even low concentrations of pollutants in water, particularly heavy metals, can significantly affect the ecosystem and human health. Adsorption has been determined to be one of the most effective techniques of removing pollution from wastewater among the various strategies. To remove heavy metals such as Zn 2+ and Pb 2+ , we prepared a silica-coated CuMgFe 2 O 4 magnetic adsorbent using sol-gel method and tested it for wastewater treatment. X-ray diffraction investigation validated the creation of cubic spinel structure, while morphological analysis showed that silica coating reduces the particle size but boosts the surface roughness of the nanoparticles and also reduces the agglomeration between particles. UV-visible spectroscopy indicates a rise in bandgap and magnetic characteristics analysis indicates low values of magnetization due to silica coating. The kinetic and isotherm parameters for heavy metal ions adsorption onto silica-coated Cu 0.50 Mg 0.50 Fe 2 O 4 nanoparticles are calculated by applying pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Langmuir and Freundlich models. Adsorption kinetics revealed that the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir models are the best fit to explain adsorption kinetics. Synthesized adsorbent revealed 92% and 97% removal efficiencies for Zn 2+ and Pb 2+ ions, respectively., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

This study investigated a ternary CdS/TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction for degrading synthetic dyes and hydrogen production from aqueous media through visible light-initiated photocatalytic reactions. CdS, TiO 2 , and g-C 3 N 4 were combined in different mass ratios through a simple hydrothermal method to create CdS/TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 composite photocatalysts. The prepared heterojunction catalysts were investigated by using FTIR, XRD, EDX, SEM, and UV-visible spectroscopy analysis for their crystal structures, functional groups, elemental composition, microtopography, and optical properties. The rhodamine B dye was then degraded by using fully characterized photocatalysts. The maximum dye degradation efficiency of 99.4% was noted in these experiments. The evolution rate of hydrogen from the aqueous solution with the CdS/TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 photocatalyst remained 2910 μmol·h -1 ·g -1 , which is considerably higher than those of g-C 3 N 4 , CdS, CdS/g-C 3 N 4 , and g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 -catalyzed reactions. This study also proposes a photocatalytic activity mechanism for the tested ternary CdS/TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 heterojunctions., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

In this study, dual S-scheme ZnIn 2 S 4 -Al 2 O 3 -ZnO (ZIS-Al-Zn) heterojunctions were produced by a facile, low cost, and rapid combustion technique. These heterojunctions accelerated the photocatalytic hydrogen production due to the multi-channel-promoted separation of photocarriers. By optimizing the content of the components, the synthesized ZIS-Al-Zn composite with 20 wt% of ZnIn 2 S 4 and 30 wt% of Al 2 O 3 in the ZIS-Al-Zn composite demonstrated the highest hydrogen production rate of 54.2 mmol g -1 h -1 , which was nearly 11 and 8.30 times better than ZnO-Al 2 O 3 and ZnO-ZnIn 2 S 4 composites, respectively. The results of DRS, PL, EIS, LSV, and CV techniques showed the highest shift in the light absorption, rapid interfacial transfer, and quenched recombination of photocarriers over the ternary ZIS-Al-Zn composite than single and binary catalysts. The obtained results revealed the formation of a dual S-scheme mechanism of transfer of photocarriers in ZIS-Al-Zn heterojunctions, contributing to better hydrogen production efficiency. The optimized ZIS-Al-Zn composite also exhibited good stability and reusability., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Solar photocatalysis has emerged as a pollution-free and inexhaustible technique that has been extensively researched in the domains of environmental remediation and energy production. Herein, we have integrated ZnO and CdS nanoparticles through Cu as a solid-state electron mediator to design a ZnO-Cu-CdS Z-scheme heterosystem via a sol-gel route and further tested this as a photocatalyst for dye degradation, H 2 evolution, and CO 2 reduction. Within 60 min of visible light exposure, about 97% of methylene blue (MB) is degraded with a degradation rate constant of 0.042 min -1 for the ZnO 0.45 Cu 0.1 CdS 0.45 catalyst. The MB degradation with this catalyst is 84, 21, 4.8, and 2 times as high as those of ZnO, CdS, ZnO 0.5 CdS 0.5 , and Cu 0.1 ZnO 0.9 catalysts. The ZnO-Cu-CdS catalyst manifests an H 2 evolution efficiency of 5579 μmol h -1 g -1 , which is 169, 41, 3.9, and 3.5 times as high as those of ZnO, CdS, ZnO 0.5 CdS 0.5 , and Cu 0.1 ZnO 0.9 catalysts. Using H 2 as a reducing agent, the CO production rate over the ZnO 0.45 Cu 0.1 CdS 0.45 catalyst reaches 770 μmol h -1 g -1 , which is 3 and 1.8 times higher than those of ZnO 0.5 CdS 0.5 and Cu 0.1 ZnO 0.9 catalysts. Besides, the optimal CH 4 production rate over ZnO 0.45 Cu 0.1 CdS 0.45 reaches 890 μmol h -1 g -1 . The improved photocatalytic response of the ZnO-Cu-CdS catalyst is assigned to the delayed recombination of photoexcited charge carriers through a Z-scheme charge transport mode, maintaining the photocarriers with strong redox potentials and the dual role of Cu to serve as a conductive bridge to accelerate the charge transfer rate and enhance the light absorption due to its SPR phenomenon. This research offers a promising strategy for developing binary/ternary Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalytic systems for different photocatalytic applications.

Cancer nano-therapeutics are rapidly evolving and are often used to overcome a number of concerns with traditional drug delivery methods, including non-specific drug targeting and distribution, low oral bioavailability, and poor hydrophilicity. Modern nano-based targeting techniques have been developed as a result of advances in nano vehicle engineering and materials science, which may bring people with cancer a new hope. Clinical trials have been authorized for a number of medicinal nanocarriers. Nanocarriers with the best feasible size and surface attributes have been developed to optimize biodistribution and increase blood circulation duration. Nanotherapeutics can carry preloaded active medicine towards cancerous cells by preferentially leveraging the specific physiopathology of malignancies. In contrast to passive targeting, active targeting strategies involving antigens or ligands, developed against specific tumor sites, boost the selectivity of these curative nanovehicles. Another barrier that nanoparticles may resolve or lessen is drug resistance. Multifunctional and complex nanoparticles are currently being explored and are predicted to usher in a new era of nanoparticles that will allow for more individualized and customized cancer therapy. The potential prospects and opportunities of stimuli-triggered nanosystems in therapeutic trials are also explored in this review., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)