Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using different surfactants such as SDS, CTAB, Triton X-100, PVP K-30 and ethylene glycol. ZnO NPs were tested for antibacterial activity before and after calcination against different micro-organisms like E. coli and P. aeruginosa (Gram negative) as well as S. aureus and B. subtilis (Gram positive). Antibacterial activity was observed in SDScapped ZnO NPs only against B. subtilis. Antibacterial activity of ZnO-capped SDS was tested in a concentration range 0.625–10 mg/mL. Increased antibacterial activity was observed before calcination as compared to after calcination. Minimum concentration at which uncalcinated as well as calcinated SDS-capped ZnO NPs show antibacterial activity is 2.5 mg/mL and 5 mg/mL respectively. Non-antibacterial nature of ZnO NPs highlights its further use in drug delivery due to its inert nature, enhanced efficacy in association with therapeutic drugs as well as easy disposal.

Supercapacitor with high specific capacity is desirable for various energy storage and high powerdensity applications. Though Graphene has been the preferred material for high current density, nanocomposites have been attempted to increase the specific capacitance. Hydrothermal synthesis of cadmium sulfide/graphene (CdS/G) nanocomposite with CdS nanoparticles anchored/decorated over the graphene sheets is reported. The structural studies reveal the hexagonal phase of the prepared materials. The specific surface area (BET) and porosity is found to increase upon nanocomposite formation. The electrochemical characteristics such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), GCD and EIS of the CdS/G nanocomposite have been investigated. The capacitance of CdS/G nanocomposite almost doubled to 248 Fg−1 indicating the enhanced performance of the nanocomposite system and in addition it also showed excellent cycling stability of 74.8 percent after 1000 cycles. The supercapacitor investigated retained the initial energy density after charge-discharge, at 0.5 A/g for 1000 cycles. The graphene nanosheets increased the specific surface area and interfacial electron transfer of the composite material. It enhances the specific capacitance and cyclic stability of the supercapacitor device.

Chitosan (CS), the only alkaline polysaccharose available in nature, has always been a promising candidate for drug delivery owing to its excellent biodegradability and biocompatibility. However, inherent solubility and polycationic properties of CS largely hinder electrospinning, which is an efficient method of fabricating nanofibers for drug carriers. To solve this problem and extend the applications of CS, polyamide/chitosan/tetraethyl orthosilicate (PA/CS/TEOS) composite nanofibers were successfully prepared as drug carriers in this study via electrospinning. The PA/CS/TEOS ratios significantly influenced the nanofiber morphology. As the content of each was increased, the beads among the membranes increased initially and then decreased, determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphology of the optimum membranes with the ratio of 1:0.13:0.67 was smoother with less beads and uniform fiber diameter. Finally, the membranes with optimum ratios were used as carriers of ofloxacin in the study of drug release performance to identify their future feasibility, which revealed an initial fast release followed by a relatively stable release.

Supported catalysts, consisting of PMo12 immobilized on silver nanomaterials at different recombination time and the silver nanomaterials with different template sodium citrate amount characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, UV-vis and other test methods. The results show that the AgNPs are relatively uniformed with sizes between 100–300 nm when the sodium citrate addition amount is 9.0 mL. As the reaction time of PMo12/AgNPs increases, the adhesion of AgNPs on the surface of PMo12 becomes more complete. Using PMo12 and PMo12/AgNPs composite materials as catalysts, methylene blue (MB) is photocatalytically degraded under simulated visible light conditions. The results show that PMo12 can catalyze MB effectively, and the decolorization rate reached 98.6% when the catalyst content is 2 g/L, the solution pH is 3 and the MB concentration is 5 mg/L. Under the same experimental conditions, photocatalytic performance of the PMo12/AgNPs system is better than that of the PMo12 further improved the photocatalytic degradation effect of the MB solution with a decolorization rate of 100%. The composite still keeps good photocatalytic activity and stability after three cycles of use. Finally, the catalytic mechanism of the POMs composite material is preliminarily discussed.

ScPO₄:Eu³⁺, Tb³⁺ phosphors with tuned emission color were prepared through high temperature solid-state reaction. The structure, morphology and photoluminescence properties of the title samples were collected by XRD, SEM and fluorescence spectrophotometer, respectively. Co-doping Eu³⁺ and Tb³⁺ in ScPO₄ does not change the body-centered tetragonal structure of the host. And the morphology remains essentially unchanged except for slight agglomeration. Changing the ratio of Tb³⁺/Eu³⁺, the tuned emission can be achieved, the color could be adjusted from green through yellow to orange-red. The ScPO₄:0.03Tb³⁺, 0.03Eu³⁺ phosphor with high thermal stability as the single matrix phosphor can be suitable for the NUV-pumped white LED. The white LED with a color rendering index of 86.5 and a correlated color temperature of 3470 K has been generated by packaging BAM:Eu²⁺ with ScPO₄:0.03Tb³⁺, 0.03Eu³⁺ on an NUV-InGaN chip.

Ionic liquids are an interesting class of materials that have recently been utilized as chemotherapeutic agents in cancer therapy. Aniline blue, a commonly used biological staining agent, was used as a counter ion to trihexyltetradecylphosphonium, a known cytotoxic cation. A facile, single step ion exchange reaction was performed to synthesize a fluorescent ionic liquid, trihexyltetradecylphosphonium aniline blue. Aqueous nanoparticles of this hydrophobic ionic liquid were prepared using reprecipitationmethod. The newly synthesized ionic liquid and subsequent nanoparticles were characterized using various spectroscopic techniques. Transmission electron microscopy and zeta potential measurements were performed to characterize the nanoparticles’ morphology and surface charge. The photophysical properties of the nanoparticles and the parent aniline blue compound were studied using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Cell viability studies were conducted to investigate the cytotoxicity of the newly developed trihexyltetradecylphosphonium aniline blue nanoparticles in human breast epithelial cancer cell line (MCF-7) and its corresponding normal epithelial cell line (MCF-10A) in vitro. The results revealed that the synthesized ionic nanomedicines were more cytotoxic (lower IC50) than the parent chemotherapeutic compound in MCF-7 cells. Nanoparticles of the synthesized ionic liquid were also shown to be more stable in both aqueous and cellular media and more selective than parent compounds towards cancer cells.

The usefulness of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a matrix material in enhancing the controlled release formulations of bispyribac (BP) herbicide from the interlayer gallery of zinc hydroxide nitratesodium dodecylsulphate–bispyribac (ZHN–SDS–BP) nanocomposite was investigated. The CMC coated nanocomposite, ZHN–SDS–BP–CMC was characterised using several instruments for the determination of its physicochemical properties. The release rates of the BP were measured using a UV spectrophotometer, and the aqueous solutions containing PO3− 4 , SO2− 4 and Cl− were selected as release media in the release studies so as to mimic the real conditions of environmental soil. Significant release time delays, triggered by the gelation forming ability and hygroscopic nature of CMC, were observed in all release media, and the release processes were found to behave in a concentration-dependent manner in all release media. Fitting the release data into several kinetic models demonstrated that release in aqueous solutions of Na3PO4 and Na2SO4 was governed by pseudo second order processes, whereas the release in an aqueous NaCl solution was governed by the parabolic diffusion kinetic model. The potential of CMC in prolonging the release of BP from ZHN–SDS–BP–CMC can potentially help in reducing the pollution resulting from the overuse of pesticides.

The significant role of Tris(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) phosphite (TTFP) as an efficient additive during cycling of the layered nanostructured LiNi0.1Mg0.1Co0.8O2 and olivine LiFePO4 cathode materials in EC/DMC and 1M LiPF6 electrolyte for Li-ion battery are extensively investigated in this work. The electrochemical characterization techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy show that TTFP improves cycling stability and reduces the irreversible capacity of LiNi0.1Mg0.1Co0.8O2 and LiFePO4 electrodes. Also, the presence of TTFP in electrolyte solution reduces the impedance in LiNi0.1Mg0.1Co0.8O2 and LiFePO4 cathode materials at room temperature. A family of Nyquist plots was obtained from LiNi0.1Mg0.1Co0.8O2 and LiFePO4 electrodes for various potentials during the course of charging. The addition of TTFP in the electrolyte reduces the surface impedance of lithiated LiNi0.1Mg0.1Co0.8O2 and LiFePO4 which can be attributed to the reaction of the additive on the electrode’s surface. Also, the presence of the additive TTFP in LiNi0.1Mg0.1Co0.8O2 and LiFePO4 cell enhances the lithium diffusion rate and improves the electronic conductivity of the cathode material.

The application of electrochemical catalytic oxidation in wastewater treatment with powerful Cldoped graphene as an anode has been discussed as a novel approach to degrade acetaminophen effectively. The characteristics of Cl-doped graphene that were related to Cl loading content and microscopic morphology were analyzed by using several instruments, and the defects created by Cl doping were identified. Quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance detection were proposed to clarify the mechanism underlying the production of active free radicals by Cldopedgraphene. The degradation results indicated that efficiency increased with the percentage of Cl atoms doped into the graphene. The best degradation efficiency of acetaminophen could reach 98% when Cl-GN-12 was used. In the process of electrocatalytic oxidation, O•− 2, and active chlorine, as the main active species, persistently attacked acetaminophen into open-ring intermediates, such as 4-chlororesorcinol, and finally into CO2 and H2O.

Recently, flexible electronic device technology has evolved beyond curved devices with the development of flexible/stretchable devices that can be crumpled or stretched. Both elasticity and durability are essential for these devices, which should have high-conductivity for antennas and repeatability for sensors. In addition, electronic-skins, which can have a direct impact on the human-body, should be harmless to the human-body and should not be deformed by contact with sweat or organic matter. In this study, PDMS substrates were used to satisfy the above conditions. PDMS is used to fabricate human-friendly, flexible/stretchable substrates, and it has excellent repeat durability characteristics. To improve the adhesion of these PDMS films and electrodes, conductive paste was produced based on PDMS resins of the same properties. In addition, two types of Ag particles were selected as conductive fillers because the electrode characteristics of the antenna application requires excellent conductivity, and conductive paste were produced using flake Ag, which could affect conductivity, and Ag nanoparticles that affect stretchability and repeatability. The paste was applied using a high-efficiency printing technique. The printed electrodes were cured in a thermal oven. For higher conductivity, photonic-sintering was carried out during post-processing. As a result, 1.1117×106 (S/m) had excellent conductivity, performed well in repeated tensile-durability experiments of 30% to 100 times, and produced a bow-tie antenna for the above electrodes. As a result of tensing up to 35% through a Network-Analyzer, there was no performance change in the resonance-frequency or return-loss values, and excellent electrodes were developed that would achieve excellent performance even if they are applied in the sub-frequency area of 5G-antennas in the future.