Green Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles by RS Lichen Extract and its Application in Removing Heavy Metals of Lead and Cadmium.

The present study was carried out with the aim of green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles by a distilled extract of SR (Ramalina sinensis), a local species of Fandoghlu forest in Ardabil. Among effective compounds in the extract of this local plant to remove lead and cadmium toxic metals are carbohydrates and phenolic compounds and the green synthesis of FeO nanoparticles was accomplished in a 1 h period at 70 degrees Celsius, with gradual addition of ammonia to the distiled extract obtained from plant. Synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles have been confirmed by various techniques such as ultra-violet spectrophotometry, XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and EDAX elemental analysis.

Theoretical investigation of the use of nanocages with an adsorbed halogen atom as anode materials in metal-ion batteries.

The applicability of C, BN, Ge, and AlP nanocages, as well as variants of those nanocages with an adsorbed halogen atom, as high-performance anode materials in Li-ion, Na-ion, and K-ion batteries was investigated theoretically via density functional theory. The results obtained indicate that, among the nanocages with no adsorbed halogen atom, AlP would be the best candidate for a novel anode material for use in metal-ion batteries. Calculations also suggest that K-ion batteries which utilize these nanocages as anode materials would give better performance and would yield higher cell voltages than the corresponding Li-ion and Na-ion batteries with nanocage-based anodes.