Magnetic Aerogels for Room-Temperature Catalytic Production of Bis(indolyl)methane Derivatives.

The potential of aerogels as catalysts for the synthesis of a relevant class of bis-heterocyclic compounds such as bis(indolyl)methanes was investigated. In particular, the studied catalyst was a nanocomposite aerogel based on nanocrystalline nickel ferrite (NiFeO) dispersed on amorphous porous silica aerogel obtained by two-step sol-gel synthesis followed by gel drying under supercritical conditions and calcination treatments. It was found that the NiFeO/SiO aerogel is an active catalyst for the selected reaction, enabling high conversions at room temperature, and it proved to be active for three repeated runs.

Comparative Evaluation of Graphene Nanostructures in GERS Platforms for Pesticide Detection.

Graphene-enhanced Raman scattering (GERS) produces enhancement of the Raman signal, which is based on chemical rather than electromagnetic mechanism such as in the surface-enhanced Raman scattering. Graphene oxide, amino- and guanidine-functionalized graphene oxide, exfoliated graphene, and commercial graphene nanoplatelets have been used to investigate the GERS response with the change of graphene properties. Different graphene nanostructures have been embedded into organic-inorganic microporous films to build a platform for the fast and sensitive detection of pesticides in water.

Silica-graphene porous nanocomposites for environmental remediation: A critical review.

With the increase of industrialization, there is an urgent need for developing technologies to detect and remove toxic pollutants from water bodies. The pollutants are often released to the environment due to the consumption of raw materials that are necessary for the production of technological goods (such as chemical and pharmaceutical compounds, metals, and alloys or foods). Amongst all the remediation techniques, adsorption is considered as one of the preferred techniques, due to its fast and efficient removal of contaminants.