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The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of phytochemical analysis and the antibacterial activity of extracts of stem, flowers and leaves of Tamarix dioica Roxb. ex Roth. Four solvents namely, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate, methanol and acetone were selected to obtain extracts from different parts of the plant. The organic solvent extracts were investigated for phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity against two bacterial strains, namely Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The result of phytochemicals revealed the presence of various constituents, such as phlobatannins, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, phenols, proteins, terpenoids, flavonoids and steroids by using standard procedures. Most of these components were present in methanol and ethyl acetate extract. Therefore, four out of two extracts, such as methanol and ethyl acetate extracts from stems, flowers, and leaves, were used to test their evidence of antibacterial activity. From this, it was observed that the methanol extracts of stem, flowers and leaves of T. dioica were highly effective together with E. coli and S. aureus with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 500 μg/mL. Considering that the ethyl acetate (EA) extracts from the stem, flowers and leaves of T. dioica were examined to be ineffective against E. coli and S. aureus and MIC values were not observed in two strains of bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a simple approach was used to produce nonprecious, earth abundant, stable and environmentally friendly NiCo 2 O 4 /CuO composites for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. The nanocomposites were prepared by a low temperature aqueous chemical growth method. The morphology of the nanostructures was changed from nanowires to porous structures with the addition of CuO. The NiCo 2 O 4 /CuO composite was loaded onto a glassy carbon electrode by the drop casting method. The addition of CuO into NiCo 2 O 4 led to reduction in the onset potential of the OER. Among the composites, 0.5 grams of CuO anchored with NiCo 2 O 4 (sample 2) demonstrated a low onset potential of 1.46 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). A current density of 10 mA cm -2 was achieved at an over-potential of 230 mV and sample 2 was found to be durable for 35 hours in alkaline media. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicated a small charge transfer resistance of 77.46 ohms for sample 2, which further strengthened the OER polarization curves and indicates the favorable OER kinetics. All of the obtained results could encourage the application of sample 2 in water splitting batteries and other energy related applications., Competing Interests: Authors declare no conflict of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)