Facile and Highly Selective Deprotection of Aryl Propionates/Acetates Using a Supported Lewis Acid Catalyst (20% InCl/MCM-41).

The selective deprotection of substituted aryl esters like acetates and propionates in the presence of different electron-donating and -withdrawing functional groups to the corresponding phenols in good yields was reported using the Lewis acid supported solid acid catalyst 20 InCl/MCM-41 prepared by the wet impregnation method. The textural and microscopic properties of the catalyst were studied, which revealed a high degree of dispersion of InCl over MCM-41, promising quantification of Lewis acidity, and well-ordered honeycomb structure. The methodology was further explored for the selective deprotection of acetates and propionates in the presence of substituted amides that remain unaltered.

Fabrication of hafnium-based nanoparticles and nanostructures using picosecond laser ablation.

This work presents a unique and straightforward method to synthesise hafnium oxide (HfO) and hafnium carbide (HfC) nanoparticles (NPs) and to fabricate hafnium nanostructures (NSs) on a Hf surface. Ultrafast picosecond laser ablation of the Hf metal target was performed in three different liquid media, namely, deionised water (DW), toluene, and anisole, to fabricate HfO and HfC NPs along with Hf NSs. Spherical HfO NPs and nanofibres were formed when Hf was ablated in DW.

Assessing the dual toxicity of HfO nanoparticles and quinalphos on Pila virens.

Pila virens (P. virens) is an edible freshwater snail, widely distributed in Asia and Africa. P.

Simplistic approach to formulate an ionophore-based membrane and its study for nitrite ion sensing.

A polymeric membrane based on a ,'-bis(salicylidene)ethylenediaminocobalt(ii) complex as a cobalt ionophore (CI) was fabricated and optimized for nitrite ion sensing application. The membrane contained CI, 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether (2-NPOE) as a plasticizer and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB) as a cationic additive in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) matrix. The Nernstian slope (-0.

Nanostructured electroless Ni deposited SnO for solar hydrogen production.

Herein, Ni-decorated SnO (Ni@SnO) nanostructures have been synthesized using SnO as a matrix a simple electroless deposition method for the generation of hydrogen, a potent near-future fuel. XRD analysis confirmed the generation of rutile SnO in Ni@SnO. FESEM and FETEM imaging exhibited the formation of SnO nanoparticles with a size of 10-50 nm, which are deposited with Ni nanoparticles (5-7 nm) and intermittent films (thickness 1-2 nm).

Molten salt-shielded solid-state synthesis (MS) reaction-driven >99% pure TiAlC MAX phase: effect of MAX phase purity on the interlayer separation of MXenes and Na-ion storage.

TiC-X MXenes have attracted tremendous research interest because their 2D laminar morphology provides numerous functional applications. The application options rely on the purity and interlayer spacing of MXenes, which eventually depend on the purity of the MAX phase. This motivated us to synthesize pure MAX phases to produce MXenes at large scale using simpler and less expensive techniques.

Microstructure tuned NaV(PO)@C electrodes toward ultra-long-life sodium-ion batteries.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are emerging as the best replacement for Li-ion batteries. In this regard, research on developing a reliable cathode material for SIBs is burgeoning. Rhombohedral NaV(PO) (NVP), is a typical sodium super ionic conductor (NASICON) type material having prominent usage as a cathode material for SIBs.

Nanoprimers in sustainable seed treatment: Molecular insights into abiotic-biotic stress tolerance mechanisms for enhancing germination and improved crop productivity.

Abiotic and biotic stresses during seed germination are typically managed with conventional agrochemicals, known to harm the environment and reduce crop yields. Seeking sustainable alternatives, nanotechnology-based agrochemicals leverage unique physical and chemical properties to boost seed health and alleviate stress during germination. Nanoprimers in seed priming treatment are advanced nanoscale materials designed to enhance seed germination, growth, and stress tolerance by delivering bioactive compounds and nutrients directly to seeds.

La-Fe-O Perovskite Based Gas Sensors: Recent Advances and Future Challenges.

Interest in the importance of gas sensing devices has increased significantly due to their critical function in monitoring the environment and controlling pollution, resulting in an increased market demand. The present review explores perovskite La-Fe-O based gas sensors with a special focus on LaFeO and evaluates their sensitivity to a diverse range of practical target gases that need to be monitored. An analysis has been conducted to assess different routes not only of synthesizing LaFeO material but also of characterization with the targeted use for their gas sensing abilities.

Carbon dots-cadmium sulfide quantum dots nanocomposite for 'on-off' fluorescence sensing of chromium(vi) ions.

This work involves fluorescent probe which is composed of carbon dots (CD) and cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QD) for the sensitive and selective fluorescence detection of chromium(vi) ions. The blue fluorescent carbon dots were synthesized by hydrothermal method from natural precursor apricot. The carbon dots-cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CD-CdS QD) nanocomposite was synthesized and all as-synthesized products were characterized using different characterization techniques.

Bismuth ferrite based acetone gas sensor: evaluation of graphene oxide loading.

We report a BiFeO/graphene oxide (BFO/GO) perovskite, synthesized using a CTAB-functionalized glycine combustion route, as a potential material for acetone gas sensing applications. The physicochemical properties of the developed perovskite were analysed using XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, HRTEM, EDAX and XPS. The gas sensing performance was analysed for various test gases, including ethanol, acetone, propanol, ammonia, nitric acid, hydrogen sulphide and trimethylamine at a concentration of 500 ppm.

synthesis of g-CN/TiCT nano-heterostructures for enhanced photocatalytic H generation water splitting.

Herein, we demonstrated the synthesis of g-CN/TiCT nano-heterostructures for hydrogen generation under UV visible light irradiation. The formation of the g-CN/TiCT nano-heterostructures was confirmed powder X-ray diffraction and supported by XPS. The FE-SEM images indicated the formation of layered structures of MXene and g-CN.

Synthesis of multiphase MoS heterostructures using temperature-controlled plasma-sulfurization for photodetector applications.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials exhibit outstanding performance in photodetectors because of their excellent optical and electronic properties. Specifically, 2D-MoS, a transition metal dichalcogenide, is a prominent candidate for flexible and portable photodetectors based on its inherent phase-dependent tunable optical band gap properties. This research focused on creating high-performance photodetectors by carefully arranging out-of-plane 2D heterostructures.

Current and future technologies for monitoring cultured meat: A review.

The high population growth rate, massive animal food consumption, fast economic progress, and limited food resources could lead to a food crisis in the future. There is a huge requirement for dietary proteins including cultured meat is being progressed to fulfill the need for meat-derived proteins in the diet. However, production of cultured meat requires monitoring numerous bioprocess parameters.

Layer interfacing strategy to derive free standing CoFe@PANI bifunctional electrocatalyst towards oxygen evolution reaction and methanol oxidation reaction.

Developing inexpensive, highly electrochemically active, and stable catalysts towards electrochemical studies remains challenge for researchers. In this regard, binder-free CoFe@PANI composite electrocatalyst is deposited on nickel foam (NF) substrate via successive electrodeposition of polyaniline (PANI) and CoFe-LDH at Room temperature (RT). As deposited binder-free CoFe@PANI electrocatalyst displays high electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in alkaline media.

Engineering of Solar Energy Harvesting Tb-Ion-Doped CdS Quantum Dot Glasses for Photodissociation of Hydrogen Sulfide.

The photocatalytic properties of CdS quantum dots (Q-dots) and Tb-doped CdS Q-dots dispersed in a borosilicate glass matrix were investigated for the photodissociation of hydrogen sulfide (HS) into hydrogen (H) gas and elemental sulfur (S). The Q-dot-containing glass samples were fabricated using the conventional melt-quench method and isothermal annealing between 550 and 600 °C for 6 h for controlling the growth of CdS and Tb-ion-doped CdS Q-dots. The structure, electronic band gap, and spectroscopic properties of the Q-dots formed in the glass matrix after annealing were analyzed using Raman and UV-visible spectroscopies, X-ray powder diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy.

Evaluation of Structural, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Properties of Co-Substituted NiCuZn Ferrites.

We report citrate gel-assisted autocombusted spinel-type Co-substituted NiCuZn ferrites and their electromagnetic properties. Several complementary techniques were used to investigate the influence of Co on structural and electromagnetic properties of NiCoCuZnFeO with = 0.00-0.

Highly Stable MWCNT@NVP Composite as a Cathode Material for Na-Ion Batteries.

A 3D framework with Nasicon structured polyanionic NaV(PO) (NVP) has been emphasized as a leading cathode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to its high working voltage plateau, structural stability, and good rate performance. Herein, pristine NVP and MWCNT@NVP composite synthesized via a facile solid-state method are examined and compared as cathode materials for Na-ion batteries. The morphological study confirms the uniform distribution of MWCNTs in the pristine NVP structure.

The synthesis and super capacitive characterization of microwave-assisted highly crystalline α-FeO/FeO nanoheterostructures.

A facile microwave-assisted solvothermal process for the synthesis of narrow-size distributed α-FeO, α-FeO/FeO, and FeO nanostructures was demonstrated using PVP as a surfactant. During the reaction, the influence of the reaction media, such as the mixture of ethylene glycol and water on the formation of α-FeO, α-FeO/FeO, and FeO was systematically studied. Interestingly, pure aqueous medicated solvothermal reaction conferred phase pure rhombohedral FeO (hematite) and linearly upsurging the formation of cubic FeO (magnetite) with the increasing concentration of EG and further, in pure EG, it deliberated cubic FeO.

Electroless Ni plated nanostructured TiO as a photocatalyst for solar hydrogen production.

Herein, we have demonstrated a facile electroless Ni coated nanostructured TiO photocatalyst for the first time. More significantly the photocatalytic water splitting shows excellent performance for hydrogen production which is hitherto unattempted. The structural study exhibits majorly the anatase phase along with the minor rutile phase of TiO.

Flexible Paper-Based Room-Temperature Acetone Sensors with Ultrafast Regeneration.

Paper-based lightweight, degradable, low-cost, and eco-friendly substrates are extensively used in wearable biosensor applications, albeit to a lesser extent in sensing acetone and other gas-phase analytes. Generally, rigid substrates with heaters have been employed to develop acetone sensors due to the high operating/recovery temperature (typically above 200 °C), limiting the use of papers as substrates in such sensing applications. In this work, we proposed fabricating the paper-based, room-temperature-operatable acetone sensor using ZnO-polyaniline-based acetone-sensing inks by a facile fabrication method.

Controlled synthesis of monodispersed ZnSe microspheres for enhanced photo-catalytic application and its corroboration using density functional theory.

The present work reports enhanced photocatalytic performance of highly crystalline, monodisperse ZnSe microspheres, synthesized by the size-selective, ETDA-assisted hydrothermal method. Systematic studies on time-dependent reaction kinetics and growth parameters indicate dependency of morphology and crystal structure on the volume % of EDTA and dependency of size on the volume % of hydrazine hydrate for ZnSe microspheres. X-ray diffraction studies confirm highly crystalline cubic zinc blende crystal structure with crystallite size in the range of 10-15 nm.

Ni loaded SnS hexagonal nanosheets for photocatalytic hydrogen generation water splitting.

Herein we have prepared the Ni-decorated SnS nanosheets with varying concentrations of Ni from 1 to 10 mol% (1, 2.5, 5, and 10 mol%) and studied their various physicochemical and photocatalytic properties. The chemical reduction technique was utilized to load the Ni nanoparticles on SnS nanosheets.

A nanostructured SnO/Ni/CNT composite as an anode for Li ion batteries.

A SnO/Ni/CNT nanocomposite was synthesized using a simple one-step hydrothermal method followed by calcination. A structural study XRD shows that the tetragonal rutile structure of SnO is maintained. Further, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman studies confirm the existence of SnO along with CNTs and Ni nanoparticles.

Highly sensitive, room temperature operated gold nanowire-based humidity sensor: adoptable for breath sensing.

A novel, highly sensitive gold nanowire (AuNW) resistive sensor is reported here for humidity sensing in the relative humidity range of 11% to 92% RH as well as for breath sensing. Both humidity and breath sensors are widely needed. Despite a lot of research on humidity and breath sensors, there is a need for simple, inexpensive, reliable, sensitive and selective sensors, which will operate at room temperature.