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Industrial dye effluent causes significant risks to the environment. The present study was focused on photocatalytic degradation of the dye Direct Red 28 using a ternary composite of graphitic carbon nitride, TiO2, and polyorthoanisidine (g-C3N4/TiO2/POA), prepared by in-situ oxidative polymerization o- anisidine. The synthesized composite g-C3N4/TiO2/POA properties were characterized using different analytical techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed the prominent pattern of TiO2 and g-C3N4 in the composite peak at 2θ° while Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results provided the confirmation peaks for g-C3N4/TiO2/POA and POA at 1,110 cm−1 and 1,084 cm−1 for C-O-C ether. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated an increase in the average size of the composite up to 428 nm. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) spectrum provided the weight percentages of the C, O, and Ti in the composite were 8.5%, 45.69%, and 45.81%, respectively. The photocatalytic degradation of Direct Red 28 dye under UV irradiation using a composite showed that 86% Direct Red 28 dye was degraded by a 30 mg/L dose of g-C3N4/TiO2/POA in 240 min at pH 2. After four consecutive cycles, the utilized composite showed 79% degradation of Direct Red 28, demonstrating the stability and effectiveness of the g-C3N4/TiO2/POA photocatalyst. The high reusability and efficiency of the g-C3N4/TiO2/POA composite are due to increased light absorption range and reduced e−/h+ recombination rate in the presence of g-C3N4 and POA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, sulfur-doped manganese ferrites S@Mn(Fe2O4) nanoparticles were prepared by using the sol-gel and citrate method. The concentration of sulfur varied from 1 to 7% by adding Na2S. The samples were characterized by performing Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Ultraviolet–Visible spectroscopy (UV–Visible). The synthesized sulfur-doped manganese ferrites were applied to evaluate the photocatalytic degradation of the dyes. Further, the degradation studies revealed that the nanoparticles successfully degraded the methylene blue dye by adding a 0.006 g dose under the sunlight. The sulfur-doped manganese ferrite nanoparticles containing 3% sulfur completely degraded the dye in 2 h and 15 min in aqueous medium. Thus, the ferrite nanoparticles were found to be promising photocatalyst materials and could be employed for the degradation of other dyes in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poly(o-anisidine)/BaSO4 nanocomposites were prepared by oxidative polymerization of o-anisidine monomer with BaSO4 filler for the potential antibacterial properties of the composite materials. To achieve the optimal and tunable properties of the nanocomposites, the ratio of BaSO4 filler was changed at the rates of 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 10% with respect to matrix. Different analytical techniques, i.e., FTIR and UV-visible spectroscopy, were employed for functional identification and optical absorption of the poly(o-anisidine)/BaSO4 nanocomposites. The FTIR data revealed the significant interaction between POA and BaSO4, as well as the good absorption behavior of the UV-visible spectra. The conducting properties were controllable by varying the load percentage of the BaSO4 filler. Furthermore, different bacterial strains, i.e., Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive), were used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the POA/BaSO4 nanocomposites. The largest zones of inhibition 0.8 and 0.9 mm were reached using 7% and 10% for Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of carbon nanotube aspect ratio (AR) on the percolation characteristics of their polymer composites was investigated by melt blending the multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with different AR with a thermoplastic elastomer. Previously, most studies reported the effect of aspect ratio of MWCNTs only in the context of achieving the maximum electrical conductivity at lower percolation thresholds in the polymer composites. In this study, our results indicate that aspect ratio can also influence other percolation properties such as the pre-percolation conductivity, percolation conductivity and post-percolation conductivity, shape of the percolation curve, and the width of the insulator-conductor transition. We have established that AR can be used to tailor the percolation curves from sharp to quasi-linear ones, which can help us fabricate the percolative composites with stable electrical properties. Experimental results suggested that the mathematically calculated nominal AR of the MWCNTs was an unclear parameter to correlate with the percolation characteristics of the composites. Instead, an approach taking into consideration the nominal length (l) and the diameter (d) of the MWCNTs individually rather than as a combined AR (l/d) parameter gave a better explanation of the relation between MWCNT dimensions and percolation characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 133 samples of whole wheat and barley grains and wheat and barley flour collected from retail markets in the main cities of Punjab, Pakistan, were analyzed for the mycotoxin fumonisin B1 (FB1) using reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Of these samples, 120 (90%) were positive for FB1, and 75 (63%) of the 120 positive samples had FB1 concentrations higher than the European Union maximum (200 μg/kg). The limit of detection was 4 μg/kg. The highest mean (±SD) concentration of FB1 was found in whole wheat samples, 980.5 ± 211.4 μg/kg. The calculated dietary intakes of FB1 from wheat and barley flours were 4,456 and 503.7 ng/g of body weight per day, respectively. FB1 concentrations were determined for wheat and barley grain and flour samples. The highest mean FB1 concentration was found in whole wheat samples, 980.5 ± 211.4 μg/kg. About 63% of samples had FB1 concentrations higher than the recommended limit. Dietary FB1 from wheat and barley flours were 4,456 and 503.7 ng/g of body weight per day, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]