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A reliable and high-rate cathode is needed to study rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). Spinel ZnMn2O4 (ZMO) has special benefits that make it an attractive cathode material for ZIBs, including high availability, cheap cost, and environmental friendliness. However, because of its poor electronic conductivity and significant volume change throughout the charge/discharge process, it significantly limits both rate capability and lifespan. In this article, high-performance cathodes for rechargeable ZIBs are made using a new conductive polymer that is composed of ZMO and polypyrrole (ZMOP). The ZMOP cathode performs as predicted, with a huge specific capacity (213 mA h−1 at 0.1 Ag−1), good rate capability (119 mAhg−1 at 2 Ag−1), and exceptional durability over time (93% retention and 99.4% columbic efficiency after 2000 cycles). Additionally, quasi-solid-state ZIBs are created using an energy density (206 W h kg−1), and power density (0.18 kW kg−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new phenanthridine-based multifunctional chemosensor (L), was synthesised via a green synthetic route and characterised using FT-IR, NMR and HRMS analysis. The sensing application of L towards metal ions in both solution and solid-state was studied using UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, which exhibits dual-sensing behaviour for Th 4+ and Hg 2+ ions with good recyclability. In aqueous acetonitrile, L showed rapid response for the detection of environmental toxic metal ions and has a very low analytical detection limit of 125.5 pM and 1.94 nM for Th 4+ and Hg 2+ ions respectively, which is remarkably lower than the World Health Organization standard. The cation binding property of the L with Th 4+ and Hg 2+ ions was investigated by Job plot, 1 H NMR titration, HR-MS and DFT calculation. The in-situ formed ensemble L-Hg 2+ was further applied in the naked-eye detection of Cys (Cystine) and His (Histidine) over other common amino acids. The utility of L for real-time detection of Hg 2+ and Th 4+ ions was explored in various sources of environmental water samples, test paper strips, fingerprint imaging, fluorescent ink and smartphone-assisted sensing techniques, demonstrating the promising on-site visualization of the probe in controlling the toxicity levels in wastewater sources without resorting to expensive instruments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Heavy metals emanate from natural and man-made sources, such as agricultural chemicals including fertilisers and pesticides, medical waste, and chemicals released from industries. Detection and monitoring toxic metal ions is one of the challenges confronting scientists in biological, environmental, and chemical systems. This study describes the design and synthesis of a new imidazole-based fluorescent and colourimetric chemosensor (DPICDT) for highly selective sensing of Hg 2+ and Cu 2+ ions in aqueous acetonitrile medium. The probe was synthesised by coupling benzil and substituted aldehyde using ethanolic ammonium acetate. The structure of DPICDT was confirmed via IR spectra, NMR, and HR-MS spectra. The DPICDT probe displayed a rapid naked-eye response towards Cu 2+ ions from colourless to red-purple and significant fluorescence quenching response towards Hg 2+ over other competitive metal ions in both solution and solid support. The binding modes of DPICDT with Cu 2+ and Hg 2+ ions were found to be at a 1 : 1 ratio as determined using Job plot, ESI HR-MS, and the sensing mechanism was evolved by 1 H NMR titrations, HR-MS spectra, and DFT calculations. The lower detection limit was 15.1 nM for Cu 2+ , eventually far less than the World Health Organization guideline for drinking water (Cu 2+ - 31.5 μM) and 1.17 μM for Hg 2+ (permissible concentration 2 ppb). Promisingly, the tissue paper-based DPICDT test strips and silica-supported DPICDT were developed and demonstrated for on-site application without resorting to expensive instruments., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

'Wealth from Waste' is an emerging concept, since it leads an effective waste treatment and waste recyclability. On the other hand, cost effective production iron oxide (IO) nanomaterials is still needed to develop, owing to their wide applications. Herein, we proposed a simple direct calcination method to prepare porous IO (Fe 3 O 4 and Fe 2 O 3 ) nanomaterials from waste toner powder. Characterization techniques reveal that a structural change happened from Fe 3 O 4 to γ-Fe 2 O 3 and γ-Fe 2 O 3 to α-Fe 2 O 3 at the calcination temperature of 500 °C and 700 °C respectively. Consequently, optical (band gap) and magnetic parameters of IO samples were significantly varied. The pigment characteristics of the IO samples were evaluated using Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) analysis. IO900 sample has shown good brown-red coloration (L* = 43.11, a* = 13.26 and b* = 5.69) and it also exhibited good stability in acidic and basic conditions. Practical applicability of IO pigments were also tested by mixing with plaster of paris (PP) powder. Further, porous IO samples were also used as catalysts in the reductive degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye in presence of excess sodium borohydride (NaBH 4 ). IO, prepared at 900 °C exhibited ∼99.9% reduction efficiency within 40 min. Recycling experiments indicated that IO900 possess good stability up to seven cycles. The present porous IO samples will become potential in pigment and environmental remediation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Mobile health apps stand as one possible means of improving evidence-based mental health interventions for youth. However, a better understanding of youth and provider perspectives is necessary to support widespread implementation., Objective: The objective of this research was to explore both youth and provider perspectives on using mobile apps to enhance evidence-based clinical care, with an emphasis on gathering perspectives on behavior-tracking apps., Methods: Inductive qualitative analysis was conducted on data obtained from semistructured interviews held with 10 youths who received psychotherapy and 12 mental health care providers who conducted therapy with youths aged 13-26 years. Interviews were independently coded by multiple coders and consensus meetings were held to establish reliability., Results: During the interviews, the youths and providers broadly agreed on the benefits of behavior tracking and believed that tracking via app could be more enjoyable and accessible. Providers and youths also shared similar concerns that negative emotions and user burden could limit app usage. Participants also suggested potential app features that, if implemented, would help meet the clinical needs of providers and support long-term use among youth. Such features included having a pleasant user interface, reminders for clients, and graphical output of data to clients and providers., Conclusions: Youths and providers explained that the integration of mobile health into psychotherapy has the potential to make treatment, particularly behavior tracking, easy and more accessible. However, both groups had concerns about the increased burden that could be placed on the clients and providers., (©Courtney C Armstrong, Erica J Odukoya, Keerthi Sundaramurthy, Sabrina M Darrow. Originally published in JMIR Mental Health (https://mental.jmir.org), 22.04.2021.)

Two (tetrahydrodibenzo[ a , i ]phenanthridin-5-yl)phenols that differ in their substituents at the para position ( P1 , R = H and P2 , R = NEt 2 ) were designed and synthesized. The presence of a -NEt 2 group in probe P2 facilitates the twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) process, making P2 emissive, which distinctly coordinated with boron trifluoride in the presence of different amines with different electronic properties. A substantial increase in emission intensity with increasing viscosity of the surrounding environment and smooth formation of a planar complex with boron and Zn 2+ ions concluded the presence of a TICT process. The selective reactivity of P2 toward a tetracoordinated boron complex has been explored as a potential tool for colorimetric and fluorescent discrimination of aromatic primary amines, i.e., anilines. Selective detection of aniline with probe P2 can be viewed through the naked eye, and the corresponding fluorescence turn-on detection limit was found to be 12.65 nM. In addition, the detection of aniline on precoated aluminum-backed thin-layer chromatography plates and Whatman filter paper strips was found to be in good agreement with the color change of P2 in solution and in vapor phase.