Fabrication and characterization of a NiO-ZnO/PANI-CNTs composite for sensing of methanol in an aqueous environment.

In this study, we fabricated a composite of NiO-ZnO/PANI-CNTs on a fluorine tin oxide (FTO) electrode and examined the electrochemical sensing behavior of the modified electrode to detect methanol in aqueous solution. The structural, morphological, and electrochemical properties of the composite were characterized using various methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), EDS, FTIR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). The composite-based electrode showed excellent electrocatalytic activity and selectivity for methanol oxidation.

The epidermis coordinates thermoresponsive growth through the phyB-PIF4-auxin pathway.

In plants, an elevation in ambient temperature induces adaptive morphological changes including elongated hypocotyls, which is predominantly regulated by a bHLH transcription factor, PIF4. Although PIF4 is expressed in all aerial tissues including the epidermis, mesophyll, and vascular bundle, its tissue-specific functions in thermomorphogenesis are not known. Here, we show that epidermis-specific expression of PIF4 induces constitutive long hypocotyls, while vasculature-specific expression of PIF4 has no effect on hypocotyl growth.

Synthesis of Silica/Polypyrrole Nanocomposites and Application in Corrosion Protection of Carbon Steel.

Silica/polypyrrole nanocomposites without dopant (SiO2/PPy) and with oxalate dopant (SiO2/PPyOx) were synthesized using polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of nano SiO2. Synthesized SiO2/PPy and SiO2/PPyOx were characterized by FTIR, SEM, TEM and EDX and their electrical conductivities were determined by CV method through the two-point-electrode without electrolyte. The corrosion protection performance of polyvinylbutyral (PVB) coatings containing SiO2/PPyOx was evaluated and compared with that of pure PVB coatings and of PVB coatings containing SiO2/PPy by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and adhesion measurement.