Carbon-Based Nanocomposite Membranes for Membrane Distillation: Progress, Problems and Future Prospects.

The development of an ideal membrane for membrane distillation (MD) is of the utmost importance. Enhancing the efficiency of MD by adding nanoparticles to or onto a membrane's surface has drawn considerable attention from the scientific community. It is crucial to thoroughly examine state-of-the-art nanomaterials-enabled MD membranes with desirable properties, as they greatly enhance the efficiency and reliability of the MD process.

Decoding Upconversion-Emitting Phase in Complex Composites Through Single-Particle-Level Upconversion Imaging and Density Functional Theory Calculations.

The crystal structure and phase stability of a host lattice plays an important role in efficient upconversion phenomena. In stable hosts, lanthanides doping should not generally change the crystal structure of the host itself. But when phase of a system drastically changes after lanthanide doping resulting in multiple phases, accurate identification of upconverting phase remains a challenge.

Ho-SiAlON Ceramics as Green Phosphors under Ultra-Violet Excitations.

In most inorganic phosphors, increasing the concentration of activators inevitably causes the concentration quenching effect, resulting in reduced emission intensity at a high level of activator doping and the conventional practice is to limit the activator concentration to avoid the quenching. In contrast, SiAlON ceramics preserve their chemical composition over a very wide range of doping of activator ions, which favors the adjustment and optimization of the luminescence properties avoiding concentration quenching. Here, we investigate the photoluminescence properties of Ho-doped SiAlON (Ho-SiAlON) ceramics phosphors prepared by the hot-press method.

Enhancement of Efficiency of a TiO-BiFeO Dye-Synthesized Solar Cell through Magnetization.

Enhancement in the efficiency of a TiO dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been demonstrated by introducing ferromagnetic perovskite BiFeO and controlling the magnetic field, which induces two-dimensional material-like properties in the bulk of the TiO-BiFeO DSSC (a 3-dimensional material). The effect of the concentration of BiFeO as well as the magnetization direction on the performance of the TiO-BiFeO DSSC has been investigated. After magnetization, it was confirmed that the current density, efficiency, and open circuit voltage of the TiO-BiFeO DSSC were increased.

A sustainable composite of rice-paper/BaMoO nanoparticles for the photocatalytic elimination of the recalcitrant 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) pesticide in drinking water and its mechanisms of degradation.

This research reports the use of biodegradable and flexible composites for the removal of the 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) pesticide from drinking water. Rice paper (a biodegradable substrate) and Ag/BaMoO (MOBA) nanoparticles were employed to fabricate these composites. The SEM images showed that the MOBA nanoparticles with sizes of 300-800 nm decorated the surface of the biodegradable substrate and formed porous agglomerates, which have sizes of 1-3 μm.

Current status on synthesis, properties and applications of CsPbX(X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite quantum dots/nanocrystals.

The quantum confinement effect and interesting optical properties of cesium lead halide (CsPbX; X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite quantum dots (QDs) and nanocrystals (NCs) have given a new horizon to lighting and photonic applications. Given the exponential rate at which scientific results on CsPbXNCs are published in the last few years, it can be expected that the research in CsPbXNCs will further receive increasing scientific interests in the near future and possibly lead to great commercial opportunities to realize these materials based practical applications. With the rapid progress in the single-photon emitting CsPbXQDs and NCs, practical applications of the quantum technologies such as single-photon emitting light-emitting diode, quantum lasers, quantum computing might soon be possible.

Electronic structure, thermodynamic stability and high-temperature sensing properties of Er-α-SiAlON ceramics.

α-SiAlON ceramics have been in use as engineering ceramics in the most arduous industrial environments such as molten metal handling, cutting tools, gas turbine engines, extrusion molds, thermocouple sheaths, protective cover for high-temperature sensors, etc., owing to their outstanding mechanical, thermal and chemical stability. Taking advantage of the intrinsic properties of α-SiAlONs, we investigate, in this paper, the possibility of using the Er-doped α-SiAlON (Er-α-SiAlON) ceramic as a high-temperature sensing material via its unique near-infrared to visible upconversion property.

Microwave hydrothermal synthesis and upconversion properties of BiVO nanoparticles.

Nanomaterials are the subject of extensive investigations due to their applications in medicine, multimodal imaging, volumetric displays, and photonics. Here, lanthanide-doped bismuth vanadate (BiVO) upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been reported. The nanoparticles have been synthesized by a microwave hydrothermal method.

Influence of SiC and TiC nanoparticles reinforcement on the microstructure, tribological, and scratch resistance behavior of electroless Ni-P coatings.

Two different ceramic carbide nanoparticles (SiC, and TiC) were separately incorporated into the Ni-P matrix via the electroless deposition method. As prepared Ni-P, Ni-P-SiC, and Ni-P-TiC coatings were subjected to heat treatment at 400 °C for 1 h. The surface morphology, microstructural transformation, Vicker's microhardness, tribological and scratch resistance properties were studied with reference to the different carbide reinforcements as well as heat treatment.

Upconversion luminescence properties of BaMoO: Yb, Ln (Ln = Er/Tm, Er/Tm/Ho) micro-octahedrons.

Yb, Ln (Ln = Er/Tm, Er/Tm/Ho) doped BaMoO micro-octahedrons were synthesized by a hydrothermal process. The as-prepared phosphors were characterized by x-ray powder diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, elemental mapping, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The upconversion luminescence properties of the samples were investigated under 980 nm near infrared excitation.

Understanding the multifunctionality in Cu-doped BiVO semiconductor photocatalyst.

A visible light-induced, Cu-doped BiVO photocatalyst was synthesized by a microwave hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic efficiency was investigated in the degradation of model water pollutants like Methylene Blue (dye) and ibuprofen (pharmaceuticals), as well as the inactivation of Escherichia coli (bacteria). The Cu-doped BiVO samples showed better efficiency than undoped BiVO, and the 1wt.

Microwave hydrothermal synthesis and upconversion properties of Yb/Er doped YVO nanoparticles.

Yb and Er doped YVO (Yb/Er:YVO) nanoparticles with highly efficient near-infrared to visible upconversion properties have been synthesized by microwave hydrothermal process. Uniform-sized Yb/Er:YVO nanoparticles were synthesized within 1 h at 140 °C which is relatively faster than the conventional hydrothermal process. Under 980 nm laser excitation, strong green and less strong red emissions are observed which are attributed to H, S to I and F to I transitions of Er respectively.