Fabrication of Stable Ru-Doped NiSe Nanostructures for Photovoltaic Coupled Electrochemical Water Splitting in Alkaline Medium.

Development of a competent and stable electrocatalyst coupled with photovoltaic system for the generation of green hydrogen, can be a plausible answer to the existing energy crisis. Herein, we have developed Ru doped NiSe via hydrothermal method as a bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting coupled with photovoltaic system. The developed pristine and doped samples were thoroughly characterized by various techniques.

Facile synthesis of ZnO/ZnS hollow nanorods via Kirkendall effect with enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue.

Because of the growing concerns about environmental issues, the search of proficient semiconductor catalysts for pollutants degradation from contaminated water is one of the interesting areas of research. Due to the larger surface area, hollow nanomaterials with hollow interior and outer thickness illustrate a class of significant nanostructured materials. The enhanced surface area provides remarkable applications of the hollow nanomaterials in catalysis.

Silver nanoparticle-induced alteration of mitochondrial and ER homeostasis affects human breast cancer cell fate.

Breast cancer is one of the most frequent forms of cancer. Although different treatment modalities are available, none has proved to be a game-changer. In this context, nanomedicine is one of the hot research areas, with different nano-formulations being explored as a therapeutic strategy against breast cancer.

Doping of MoS by "Cu" and "V": An Efficient Strategy for the Enhancement of Hydrogen Evolution Activity.

To replace Pt-based compounds in the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), MoS has already been established as an efficient catalyst. The electrocatalytic activity of MoS is further improved by tuning the morphology and the electronic structure through doping, which helps the band energy position to be modified. Presently, thin sheets of MoS (MoS-TSs) are synthesized via a microwave technique.

Aggregates of Ni/Ni(OH)/NiOOH Nanoworms on Carbon Cloth for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

The development of an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is essential to facilitate the practical application of water splitting. Here, we aim to develop an electrocatalyst, Ni/Ni(OH)/NiOOH, electrodeposition technique on carbon cloth, which shows efficient activity and durability for HER in an alkaline medium. Phase purity and morphology of the electrodeposited catalyst are determined using powder X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic techniques.

Functional Autophagic Flux Regulates AgNP Uptake And The Internalized Nanoparticles Determine Tumor Cell Fate By Temporally Regulating Flux.

Background: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are known to induce the conserved, cellular, homeostatic process- autophagy in tumor cells. Previous studies primarily focus on the pro-survival role of autophagy post AgNP exposure in tumor cells, but seldom on its role in AgNP uptake, or on the functional significance of autophagy temporal dynamics. Our study sheds more light on the extensive crosstalk that exists between AgNP and autophagy, which can be critical to the improvement of AgNP-induced therapeutic effects.

AgS/Ag Heterostructure: A Promising Electrocatalyst for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Different metal chalcogenides, being a potential candidate for hydrogen evolution catalysts, have attracted enormous attention in the field of water splitting. In the present study, AgS/Ag is revealed as an efficient catalyst for hydrogen evolution. When a sacrificial template of the CuS nanostructure is used, AgS/Ag heterostructures are synthesized following a simple wet-chemical technique.

Construction of CuS/Au Heterostructure through a Simple Photoreduction Route for Enhanced Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution and Photocatalysis.

An efficient Hydrogen evolution catalyst has been developed by decorating Au nanoparticle on the surface of CuS nanostructure following a green and environmental friendly approach. CuS nanostructure is synthesized through a simple wet-chemical route. CuS being a visible light photocatalyst is introduced to function as an efficient reducing agent.

Synthesis of Monometallic (Au and Pd) and Bimetallic (AuPd) Nanoparticles Using Carbon Nitride (CN) Quantum Dots via the Photochemical Route for Nitrophenol Reduction.

In this study, we report the synthesis of monometallic (Au and Pd) and bimetallic (AuPd) nanoparticles (NPs) using graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) quantum dots (QDs) and photochemical routes. Eliminating the necessity of any extra stabilizer or reducing agent, the photochemical reactions have been carried out using a UV light source of 365 nm where CN QD itself functions as a suitable stabilizer as well as a reducing agent. The g-CN QDs are excited upon irradiation with UV light and produce photogenerated electrons, which further facilitate the reduction of metal ions.

Effect of Substrates on the Photoelectrochemical Reduction of Water over Cathodically Electrodeposited p-Type Cu2O Thin Films.

In this study, we demonstrate development of p-Cu2O thin films through cathodic electrodeposition technique at constant current of 0.1 mA/cm(2) on Cu, Al, and indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates from basic CuSO4 solution containing Triton X-100 as the surfactant at 30-35 °C. The optical and morphological characterizations of the semiconductors have been carried out using UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy.

Study on metal nanoparticles synthesis and orientation of gemini surfactant molecules used as stabilizer.

In the present study, we report the synthesis of gold (Au), silver (Ag), and gold-silver alloy (Au-Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) by seed-mediated method using gemini surfactant, containing diethyl ether spacer group as a stabilizer. As-synthesized NPs are found very much stable and have been characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and zeta potential techniques. The orientation of gemini surfactant molecules surrounding the metal NPs has been investigated exploiting twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) fluorescence properties of a probe 4-(N,N-dimethylamino) cinnamaldehyde (DMACA).

Analysis of poly(amidoamine) dendrimer structure by UV-vis spectroscopy.

We report a UV-vis spectroscopic study of four different types of poly(amidoamine) dendrimers. The results indicate that the degree of protonation of the interior tertiary amines of these dendrimers correlates directly to an absorption band with λ(max) in the range of 280-285 nm. Specifically, at low pH, the tertiary amines are protonated and the 280-285 nm band is absent.

Layer-by-layer deposition of silver/gold nanoparticles for catalytic reduction of nitroaromatics.

A general method has been fabricated to achieve normal as well as inverted core-shell architectures of silver/gold through a layer-by-layer deposition technique on a commercial anion exchange resin. Electrostatic field force of the charged resin beads supports immobilization of anionic metal precursors [MX(n)]-, in turn deposition of silver/gold nanoparticles onto the solid resin matrix and reduction of 2-nitrobenzoic acid to obtain the corresponding amines through effective catalysis. The shell thickness has been tailored made by exploiting a new method of cyclic and repetitive deposition of the desired metal precursors.

Hydroxylation of benzophenone with ammonium phosphomolybdate in the solid state via UV photoactivation.

UV photoactivation of a mixture of benzophenone and ammonium phosphomolybdate (APM) in the solid state splits adsorbed moisture, resulting in selectively hydroxylated benzophenone and leaving an electron trapped in green (reduced) solid APM.

Effect of concentration of methanol for the control of particle size and size-dependent SERS studies.

In this paper the effect of concentration of cosolvent (methanol) for the formulation of particles size has been discussed briefly. The binary solvent system has been used which is prepared by simple mixing of two solvents. The morphology of the particles was controlled by varying the amount of cosolvent, keeping the concentration of the stabilizer and reducing agent constant.

Resin-immobilized CuO and Cu nanocomposites for alcohol oxidation.

Resin immobilized stable, spherical CuO nanoparticles prepared in the presence of cyclodextrin (CD) act as catalysts for liquid phase alcohol oxidation in air. The catalytic activity of the CuO nanocomposites and its green chemistry approach make it superior to the related resin-bound Cu(0) nanocomposite. The effect of alcohol chain length and electron-donating or -withdrawing groups influence product yield.

Gram level synthesis of lead-free solder in the nanometer length scale obtained from tin and silver compounds using silicone oil.

A straightforward route to gram level synthesis of a pure phase of the Sn-Ag nanoalloy in an eutectic composition (Sn/Ag 96.5:3.5) in silicone oil is reported.

Synthesis of superparamagnetic beta-MnO2 organosol: a photocatalyst for the oxidative phenol coupling reaction.

Superparamagnetic monodispersed spherical beta-MnO 2 nanoparticles of approximately 10 nm size with a band gap of 2.52 eV have been synthesized in toluene and support the oxidative phenol coupling reaction as a photocatalyst.

Controlled interparticle spacing for surface-modified gold nanoparticle aggregates.

Aggregation of gold nanoparticles of increasing size has been studied as a consequence of adsorption of 2-aminothiophenol (ATP) on gold nanoparticle surfaces. The capping property of ATP in the acidic pH range has been accounted from UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) studies. The effect of nanoparticle size (8-55 nm) on the nature of aggregation as well as the variation in the optical response due to variable degree of interparticle coupling effects among the gold particles have been critically examined.

Interaction of DNA bases with silver nanoparticles: assembly quantified through SPRS and SERS.

Colloidal silver nanoparticles were prepared by reducing silver nitrate with sodium borohydride. The synthesized silver particles show an intense surface plasmon band in the visible region. The work reported here describes the interaction between nanoscale silver particles and various DNA bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine), which are used as molecular linkers because of their biological significance.

Biomolecule induced nanoparticle aggregation: effect of particle size on interparticle coupling.

Gold nanoparticles of variable sizes have been prepared by reducing HAuCl(4) with trisodium citrate by Frens' method. It has been found that the gold particles under consideration produce well-ordered aggregates upon interaction with a biomolecule, glutathione in variable acidic pH condition and exhibit pronounced changes in their optical properties arising due to electromagnetic interaction in the close-packed assembly. The effect of nanoparticle size on the nature of aggregation as well as the variation in the optical response due to variable degree of interparticle coupling effects amongst the gold particles have been investigated.

Light-induced hydrolysis of nitriles by photoproduced alpha-MnO2 nanorods on polystyrene beads.

A green chemistry approach has been furnished for photochemical deposition of alpha-MnO2 nanorods onto the surface of functionalized polystyrene beads through immobilization of MnO4- in alkaline condition under visible light. Then the composite material was exploited as a fruitful and novel solid-phase catalyst for the one-step and facile synthesis of amide compounds from nitriles under visible light in weakly basic medium.

Solvent effect on the electronic spectra of azine dyes under alkaline condition.

Thiazine dye, methylene blue (MB), oxazine dye, nile blue (NB), and phenazine-based dye, neutral red (NR), bear a similar basic dye skeleton with a distinctively different central heteroatom. All of them are extracted into nonpolar organic solvent from alkaline solution. The role of the heteroatom on the respective dye skeletons and redox potentials of the dyes has been examined to signature the stability of the species in organic solvent and the results have been substantiated through geometry optimization and wave function analysis at the density functional theory level.

Room temperature synthesis of coinage metal (Ag, Cu) chalcogenides.

Coinage metal chalcogenides in their nanoregime have been synthesized in aqueous medium at room temperature by mixing the nanoparticles of silver or copper with selenium nanoparticles which are authenticated by UV-vis, XRD and TEM analyses.

Exploitation of electrostatic field force for immobilization and catalytic reduction of o-nitrobenzoic acid to anthranilic acid on resin-bound silver nanocomposites.

A new solid-phase catalyst has been designed and reported here for the catalytic reduction of o-nitrobenzoic acid to anthranilic acid. Electrostatic field force helps immobilization, in turn deposition of silver nanoparticles onto solid resin surfaces and reduction of o-nitrobenzoic acid through effective catalysis. While characterization of catalyst particles has been performed by different physical methods (XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, and EDX) in a worthwhile fashion, selective reduction of o-nitrobenzoic acid has also been achieved conveniently (approximately 95%).