Synergistic Remediation of Organic Dye by Titanium Dioxide/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite.

In this work, nanocomposites based on titanium dioxide and reduced graphene oxide (TiO@rGO) with different weight percentages of rGO (4, 8, and 16 wt%) were prepared by the hydrothermal/solvothermal synthesis method and thermally treated at 300 °C. The prepared nanocomposites were explored for the removal of methylene blue dye (MB) in the presence of simulated solar illumination as well as natural sunlight. The structural, morphological, chemical, and optical properties of the as-synthesized TiO@rGO nanocomposites were characterized.

Dissecting giant hailstones: A glimpse into the troposphere with its diverse bacterial communities and fibrous microplastics.

The formation of giant hailstones is a rare weather event that has devastating consequences in inhabited areas. This hazard has been occurring more frequently and with greater size of hailstones in recent years, and thus needs to be better understood. While the generally accepted mechanism is thought to be a process similar to the formation of smaller hailstones but with exceptional duration and stronger updrafts, recent evidence suggests that biotic and abiotic factors also influence the growth of these unusually large ice chunks.