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In recent years, nanoparticles have emerged as an important player in a broad range of applications, especially thanks to recent advances in their synthesis. The silver and copper nanoparticles are often used due to their antibacterial and fungicidal activities, and this article presents the results of the nanoparticle synthesis using electrical glow discharge generated directly in a volume of their salt solutions. Therefore, there is no influence of air (i.e. reactive nitrogen species) as it is usual in other commonly used approaches. Nanoparticles were prepared under various experimental conditions, and they were characterized by ultraviolet/visible spectrometry, dynamic light scattering, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. Particles were produced without any surfactant or stabilizing agent, and some of them showed higher resistance against agglomeration during their short-term (days) storage. The nanoparticle formation mechanism was confirmed by the fast camera imaging. Thus, the developed approach can be applied for simple environmentally friendly nanoparticle production for various applications.

This study focused on fluoride (F−) contamination of water sources in Bahimi village, Cameroon. After the first investigation, results revealed that all water samples collected had elevated concentrations of fluoride ions (2.3 ± 0.1) mg/L to (4.5 ± 0.2) mg/L above the WHO guidelines (less than 1.5 mg/L). To mitigate the F− levels, the use of bone char (BC) as an adsorbent material was proposed and its performance was tested. BC was prepared from bovine bones at different calcination temperatures (350 °C, 450 °C, 550 °C and 650 °C) and residence times (1 h and 2 h). The prepared materials were characterized in detail by SEM/EDS, BET, FTIR, and XRD. The BET findings indicated that the surface area of BC samples decreased with increasing calcination temperature and residence time. At a lower heating temperature and holding time (350 °C, 1 h), the prepared BC exhibited a higher specific surface area (112.3 ± 0.3) m2/g and adsorption capacity for F− in the sampled water. Also, the batch adsorption experiments showed that the optimized adsorbent dose of 8 g/L facilitates the reduction in the F− level of the sampled water below the acceptable limit level (1.5 mg/L) within 5 min of treatment. The presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in natural water has a positive effect on the removal of F− in BC resulting in a high adsorption performance range of (72.5 ± 1.4)% to (80.3 ± 0.6)%. It was found that the adsorption of Ca2+ on the BC surface occurs via cation exchange with Na+. However, an increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the treated water limited the application of BC. Overall, the study presented a cost-effective adsorbent for the removal of this recalcitrant ion in the water source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma–liquid systems are best recognised in biomedicine, where the generation of plasma‐treated water and complex organic‐containing solutions affords biological effects. However, plasma interactions with liquids are more diverse. In this review, we look from the chemical point of view at the three fields of plasma–liquid interaction in which plasma is used to convert organic substrates. In wastewater treatment, plasma decomposes organic substances: the selectivity towards specific products is less crucial than process energy costs. In the conversion of organic liquids for sustainable energy purposes, the carbon and hydrogen selectivity to syngas are important, but these are still destructive reactions yielding small molecules. Finally, we provide a comprehensive plasma application list for synthetic organic chemistry and discuss their mechanisms and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The design of advanced materials with superb anti-bacterial efficiency by engineering appropriate surface properties has now become a consolidated strategy to improve the functional properties of polymers, metals, and a variety of biomedical materials. Antimicrobial coatings can create a healthier living and working environment and offer holistic solutions to people with health problems. This Tutorial will serve as a reference point for scientists pursuing sustainable antimicrobial coatings development, by providing a design framework and a toolbox for enabling plasma-based technologies in additive engineering of new materials. A succinct description of how novel, efficient methods based on non-equilibrium reactive plasma chemistries can be applied to produce sophisticated, high-value advanced coatings with the anti-bacterial or antifungal function will be used to illustrate the utility of plasma methods. Described plasma-based methods can minimize the process steps and dramatically reduce the use of expensive and hazardous reagents, which is a point of high interest in the development of novel sustainable and green manufacturing processes. The Tutorial aims to provide an overview of the principle and state-of-the-art in plasma technology, which is useful for researchers and broad auditoria of students working in antimicrobial materials development and additive engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]