Publications by authors named "Simone Quaranta"

Within the framework of plant biostimulation, a pivotal role is played by the achievement of low-cost, easily prepared nanoparticles for priming purposes. Therefore, in this report, two different synthetic strategies are described to engineer zinc oxide nanoparticles with an inulin coating. In both protocols, i.

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This work focuses on the possible application of gold nanoparticles on flexible cotton fabric as acetone- and ethanol-sensitive substrates by means of impedance measurements. Specifically, citrate- and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-functionalized gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were synthesized using green and well-established procedures and deposited on cotton fabric. A complete structural and morphological characterization was conducted using UV-VIS and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

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Industrial effluents and wastewater treatment have been a mainstay of environmental preservation and remediation for the last decade. Silica nanoparticles (SiO) obtained from rice husk (RH) are an alternative to producing low-cost adsorbent and agriculture waste recovery. One adsorption challenge is facilitating the adsorbate separation and reuse cycle from aqueous medium.

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Due to the increasing tattoo practicing in Eastern countries and general concern on tattoo ink composition and safety, the green tattoo inks Green Concentrate by Eternal, for European and "for Asia Market Only" were analyzed, under the premise that only the former falls under a composition regulation. A separation of the additives from the pigment was carried out by successive extraction in solvents of different polarities, i.e.

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Hypothesis: Inorganic small particles stemming from mineral extraction (i.e. mining waste) could be used as additive for road paving applications to improve bitumen mechanical properties.

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Gyroscopes are one of the next killer applications for the MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) sensors industry. Many mature applications have already been developed and produced in limited volumes for the automotive, consumer, industrial, medical, and military markets. Plenty of high-volume applications, over 100 million per year, have been calling for low-cost gyroscopes.

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A novel black organoammonium iodoplumbate semiconductor, namely phenyl viologen lead iodide C22H18N2(PbI3)2 (PhVPI), was successfully synthesized and characterized. This material showed physical and chemical properties suitable for photovoltaic applications. Indeed, low direct allowed band gap energy (Eg = 1.

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The synthesis of hydroxylammonium lead iodide NH3OHPbI3 was accomplished by means of the reaction between water solutions of HI and NH2OH with PbI2 in sulfolane in conjunction with either crystallization by CH2Cl2 vapor diffusion or sulfolane extraction with toluene. The appropriate choice of the solvent was found to be crucial in order to attain the desired material. The synthesized compound was extensively characterized by single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, 1H-NMR spectroscopy, TG-DTA-QMS EGA (Evolved Gas Analysis), ESI-MS, and CHNS analysis.

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In this study, we present a range of efficient highly durable electrochromic materials that demonstrate excellent redox and lifetime stability, sufficient coloration contrast ratios, and the best-in-class electron-transfer constants. The materials were formed by anchoring as little as a monolayer of predefined iron complexes on a surface-enhanced conductive solid support. The thickness of the substrate was optimized to maximize the change in optical density.

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A new and simple procedure for the deposition of lead (II, IV) oxide films by screen printing was developed. In contrast to conventional electrochemical methods, films can be also deposited on non-conductive substrates without any specific dimensional restriction, being the only requirement the thermal stability of the substrate in air up to 500 °C to allow for the calcination of the screen printing paste and sintering of the film. In this study, films were exploited for the preparation of both photoresponsive devices and photoelectrochemical cell photoanodes.

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In recent years, low-cost carbons derived from recycled materials have been gaining attention for their potentials as filler in composites and in other applications. The electrical and mechanical properties of polymer composites can be tuned using different percentages and different kind of fillers: either low-cost (e.g.

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Novel electrochromic (EC) materials were developed and formed by a two-step chemical deposition process. First, a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 2,2':6',2″-terpyridin-4'-ylphosphonic acid, L, was deposited on the surface of a nanostructured conductive indium-tin oxide (ITO) screen-printed support by simple submerging of the support into an aqueous solution of L. Further reaction of the SAM with Fe or Ru ions results in the formation of a monolayer of the redox-active metal complex covalently bound to the ITO support (Fe-L/ITO and Ru-L/ITO, respectively).

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Solid solutions of the rare earth (RE) cations Pr(3+), Nd(3+), Sm(3+), Gd(3+), Er(3+) and Yb(3+) in anatase TiO2 have been synthesized as mesoporous beads in the concentration range 0.1-0.3% of metal atoms.

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