Publications by authors named "Carmel B Breslin"

Electrochemical water splitting is a promising approach in the development of renewable energy technologies, providing an alternative to fossil fuels. It has attracted considerable attention in recent years. The benchmark materials used in water splitting are precious metals that are expensive and scarce.

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The layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have demonstrated significant potential as non-noble-metal electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Their unique compositional and structural properties contribute to their efficiency and stability as catalysts. In this study, CoCuFe-LDH composites were grown on graphene (G) via a cost-effective and straightforward one-step hydrothermal process.

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The development of electrochemical sensors for flutamide detection is a crucial step in biomedical research and environmental monitoring. In this study, a composite of -derived carbon particles (CPs) and tungsten disulfide (WS) was formed and used as an electrocatalyst for the electrochemical detection of flutamide. The CPs had an average diameter of 500 nm and contained surface hydroxyl and carbonyl groups.

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The development of multidimensional structured electrode materials with simple synthetic methods and their electrochemical sensing ability against environmental pollution is still a challenge. In this article, we propose a hybrid formed using multidimensional (3D/2D) vanadium diselenide microspheres and tungsten diselenide nanosheets (VSe/WSe) for the electrochemical detection of 5-nitroquinoline (5-NQ), a highly toxic and hazardous substance that is polluting aquatic life due to increasing industrial activities. The 3D/2D VSe/WSe hybrids were prepared by a simple solvothermal method and their morphological and structural analysis was confirmed by various spectroscopy and analytical techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and differential pulse voltammetry.

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Article Synopsis
  • - New methods were developed to create 1D-VMoO rods from 2D V-doped MoSe nanosheets through a hydrothermal and calcination process, with morphology controlled by varying temperatures from 300 to 600 °C.
  • - Several analytical techniques confirmed that changes in calcination temperature affect the material's crystal phase and texture, with specific focus on the transition from Se elimination to O incorporation.
  • - The VMoSe and its products were found to be effective electrochemical sensors for detecting the antibacterial drug nitrofurantoin, with optimal performance at 500 °C, low detection limits, and successful application in real sample analysis.
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Given the levels of pollution in the aquatic environment and the development of antimicrobial resistance, it is essential to develop sensors, with sensitivity, selectivity, stability, and cost-effectiveness, for the determination of antibiotics. The present article highlights the fabrication of an ultra-sensitive graphene and copper sensor, Gr/Cu, supported on glassy carbon (GCE/Gr/Cu) for the electroanalysis of levofloxacin through a cost-effective electrodeposition method. The sequential electrodeposition of graphene and Cu was optimised to give GCE/Gr/Cu, with the Cu particles well dispersed on the graphene sheets.

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Sulfonamides are a family of synthetic drugs with a broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activity. Like other antimicrobials, they have been found in aquatic environments, making their detection important. Herein, an electrochemical sensor was designed using tannic acid exfoliated few-layered MoS sheets, which were combined with a mixture of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and graphite flakes (G).

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Metronidazole is a well-known antimicrobial drug that belongs to the nitroimidazole family of antibiotics. It has been widely used in the treatment of infections, but its accumulation in aquatic environments is an emerging concern. In this study a glassy carbon electrode was modified with graphene (Gr) nanoplatelets and bismuth.

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In this study, we synthesized heterostructured zinc stannate/tin oxide microparticles (ZTO/TO MPs) by a simple coprecipitation method and used them as an effective electrode material for the electrochemical detection of the antibacterial drug secnidazole (SCZ). The as-prepared ZTO/TO MPs were characterized by XRD, Raman, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, EDX, and XPS analyses. The physiochemical studies clearly proved that the fabricated ZTO/TO MPs were formed in a heterostructure phase without other impurities.

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Graphene and its derivatives, especially graphene oxide (GO), are attracting considerable interest in the fabrication of new adsorbents that have the potential to remove various pollutants that have escaped into the aquatic environment. Herein, the development of GO/chitosan (GO/CS) composites as adsorbent materials is described and reviewed. This combination is interesting as the addition of graphene to chitosan enhances its mechanical properties, while the chitosan hydrogel serves as an immobilization matrix for graphene.

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Supramolecular chemistry, although focused mainly on noncovalent intermolecular and intramolecular interactions, which are considerably weaker than covalent interactions, can be employed to fabricate sensors with a remarkable affinity for a target analyte. In this review the development of cyclodextrin-based electrochemical sensors is described and discussed. Following a short introduction to the general properties of cyclodextrins and their ability to form inclusion complexes, the cyclodextrin-based sensors are introduced.

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Apart from perovskites, the development of different types of pyrochlore oxides is highly focused on various electrochemical applications in recent times. Based on this, we have synthesized pyrochlore-type praseodymium stannate nanoparticles (PrSnO NPs) by using a coprecipitation method and further investigated by different analytical and spectroscopic techniques such as X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, high resolution-transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. Followed by this, we have designed a unique and novel electrochemical sensor for nitrofurazone detection, by modifying the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with the prepared PrSnO NPs.

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The quality of water is continuously under threat as increasing concentrations of pollutants escape into the aquatic environment. However, these issues can be alleviated by adsorbing pollutants onto adsorbents. Chitosan and its composites are attracting considerable interest as environmentally acceptable adsorbents and have the potential to remove many of these contaminants.

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In recent years, graphene-based materials have been identified as an emerging and promising new material in electro-Fenton, with the potential to form highly efficient metal-free catalysts that can be employed in the removal of contaminants from water, conserving precious water resources. In this review, the recent applications of graphene-based materials in electro-Fenton are described and discussed. Initially, homogenous and heterogenous electro-Fenton methods are briefly introduced, highlighting the importance of the generation of HO from the two-electron reduction of dissolved oxygen and its catalysed decomposition to produce reactive and oxidising hydroxy radicals.

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Protective polypyrrole films doped with dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS) were formed at copper, while carbon nanotubes (CNT) were incorporated within the polymer films with the DBS to give PPy-DBSCNT (polypyrrole films doped with DBS and incorporated CNT). The polymer films were deposited from a 0.05 M DBS solution at a pH of 6.

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Two stainless steel anodes, AISI 420 and AISI 310, and pure iron were compared in an electrocoagulation study for the simultaneous removal of phosphates, Orange II and Zinc ions from a synthetic wastewater at a current density of 11.7 mA cm and a surface area to volume ratio of 19.4 m.

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The simultaneous removal of phosphates, Zn and Orange II, in two synthetic wastewaters was achieved using Al-Mg and Al-Zn-In alloys as anodes at 11.7 mA cm and a surface area to volume ratio of 19.0 m.

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Nanothin sheets made of zinc sulfate hydroxide hydrate, ZnSO4[Zn(OH)2]3 x 5H2O, are easily and quickly prepared using an innovative electrochemical route onto polypyrrole-polystyrene sulfonate (PPy-PSS) films. The sheets are characterized using a range of experimental techniques. The deposits are formed on the film surface with instantaneous nucleation to grow into a network of entangled nanosheets.

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Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is highly toxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic to living organisms. In this paper, the reduction of Cr(VI) to the much less toxic trivalent state [Cr(III)] was studied at polyaniline films grown to different thickness. Much higher rates of Cr(VI) reduction were observed for the "thick" polyaniline films.

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