Synthesis and Evaluation of Starch-Grafted-Poly[(Acrylic Acid)--Acrylamide] Based Nanoclay Polymer Composite Fertilizers for Slow Release of Nitrogen in Soil.

Nitrogen (N) losses from conventional N fertilizers contribute to environmental degradation and low N use efficiency. Highlighting the need for slow-release fertilizers (SRFs) to mitigate these problems, this study aims to develop slow-release N fertilizers using starch-grafted-poly[(acrylic acid)--acrylamide] based nanoclay polymer composites (NCPCs) and investigate their efficacy for slow N delivery in soil. Three types of NCPCs, NCPC(A) (poly [(acrylic acid)--acrylamide]), NCPC(W) (wheat starch-grafted-poly[(acrylic acid)--acrylamide), and NCPC(M) (maize starch-grafted-poly[(acrylic acid)--acrylamide) were prepared and characterized using FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques.

Synthesis and Performance Evaluation of Novel Bentonite-Supported Nanoscale Zero Valent Iron for Remediation of Arsenic Contaminated Water and Soil.

Groundwater arsenic (As) pollution is a naturally occurring phenomenon posing serious threats to human health. To mitigate this issue, we synthesized a novel bentonite-based engineered nano zero-valent iron (nZVI-Bento) material to remove As from contaminated soil and water. Sorption isotherm and kinetics models were employed to understand the mechanisms governing As removal.

Mixture of fuels approach for the synthesis of SrFeO(3-δ) nanocatalyst and its impact on the catalytic reduction of nitrobenzene.

A modified solution combustion approach was applied in the synthesis of nanosize SrFeO(3-δ) (SFO) using single as well as mixture of citric acid, oxalic acid, and glycine as fuels with corresponding metal nitrates as precursors. The synthesized and calcined powders were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis and derivative thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTG), scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N2 physisorption methods, and acidic strength by n-butyl amine titration methods. The FT-IR spectra show the lower-frequency band at 599 cm(-1) corresponds to metal-oxygen bond (possible Fe-O stretching frequencies) vibrations for the perovskite-structure compound.

Characterization of parasporin gene harboring Indian isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is popularly known as insecticidal bacterium. However, non-insecticidal Bt strains are more extensively available in natural environment than the insecticidal ones. Parasporin (PS) is a collection of genealogically heterogeneous Cry proteins synthesized in non-insecticidal isolates of Bt.