Polyhydroxy propionate-co-hydroxy dodecanoate-co-hydroxy octadecanoate for in vitro cell culture

This study is novel to report the utilization of molasses for the production of polyhydroxy propionate-co-hydroxy dodecanoate-co-hydroxy octadecanoate from Pseudomonas sp. LDC-5 as prospective biomaterial. Thermal analysis revealed its potential for thermal permanence and melt processing. 3T3 fibroblasts were cultured on these different scaffolds and their proliferation was compared. Giemsa and acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining revealed that there was no distinct change in morphology. Polyhydroxyalkanoate:poly ethylene glycol blend was found to be the most promising for extracellular matrix secretion, a key thrust function of 3D culture. Lactate dehydrogenase assay indicated the membrane integrity. DNA fragmentation analysis showed that the scaffold did not damage DNA. Thus the prepared scaffold can serve as a promising biomaterial.     

Influence of Equimolar Concentration on Structural and Optical Properties of Binary Selenides Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles of PbSe, Cu₂Se, and CdSe are prepared for two equimolar concentrations (0.05 M and 0.1 M) by precipitation method at 130°C. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-visible analysis to study the structural, morphological, and optical properties and are discussed in detail.     

Three-dimensional porous amorphous SnO2 thin films as anodes for Li-ion batteries

Three-dimensional (3D) porous amorphous SnO₂ thin films were deposited on Ni foam substrates by Electrostatic Spray Deposition (ESD) technique as anodes for Li-ion batteries. These films display good capacity retention of 94.8% after 100 cycles at 0.5 C and rate capability of 362 mAh/g at 10 C. The improved performance originates from the fact that the 3D porous structure offers a “buffer zone” to accommodate the large volume change during cycling, and the foam-like substrate maximizes the contact area between electrode and electrolyte. The facile ESD method can be potentially extended to prepare other 3D porous functional materials.     

Hybrid Swarm Intelligence Based QoS Aware Clustering with Routing Protocol for WSN

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) started gaining attention due to its wide application in the fields of data collection and information processing. The recent advancements in multimedia sensors demand the Quality of Service (QoS) be maintained up to certain standards. The restrictions and requirements in QoS management completely depend upon the nature of target application. Some of the major QoS parameters in WSN are energy efficiency, network lifetime, delay and throughput. In this scenario, clustering and routing are considered as the most effective techniques to meet the demands of QoS. Since they are treated as NP (Non-deterministic Polynomial-time) hard problem, Swarm Intelligence (SI) techniques can be implemented. The current research work introduces a new QoS aware Clustering and Routing-based technique using Swarm Intelligence (QoSCRSI) algorithm. The proposed QoSCRSI technique performs two-level clustering and proficient routing. Initially, the fuzzy is hybridized with Glowworm Swarm Optimization (GSO)-based clustering (HFGSOC) technique for optimal selection of Cluster Heads (CHs). Here, Quantum Salp Swarm optimization Algorithm (QSSA)-based routing technique (QSSAR) is utilized to select the possible routes in the network. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed QoSCRSI technique, the authors conducted extensive simulation analysis with varying node counts. The experimental outcomes, obtained from the proposed QoSCRSI technique, apparently proved that the technique is better compared to other state-of-the-art techniques in terms of energy efficiency, network lifetime, overhead, throughput, and delay.     

Pulse plated zinc sulphide films and their characteristics

Zinc sulphide thin films were deposited by the pulse plating technique using AR grade Zinc sulphate and sodium thiosulphate precursors. The pH of the deposition bath was adjusted to 2. The duty cycle was varied in the range of 20–60%. Total deposition time was kept constant as 60 min in all the cases. X-ray diffraction studies indicated the formation of single phase cubic zinc sulphide films. After heat treatment the crystal structure transformed to hexagonal structure. Optical absorption measurements indicated a band gap values in the range of 3.6–4.0 eV as the duty cycle decreased. EDAX studies yielded a composition of the films deposited at 50% duty cycle is Zn = 48%, S = 52%. XPS studies indicated the formation of ZnS. The Zn 2p and S 3p peaks are observed. AFM studies indicated a rms value of surface roughness of 55 nm for the films deposited at a duty cycle of 60%.     

Synthesis and Characterization of a Low Bandgap Conjugated Polymer for Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Cells

Low optical bandgap conjugated polymers may improve the efficiency of organic photovoltaic devices by increasing the absorption in the visible and near infrared region of the solar spectrum. Here we demonstrate that condensation polymerization of 2,5‐bis(5‐trimethylstannyl‐2‐thienyl)‐N‐dodecylpyrrole and 4,7‐dibromo‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole in the presence of Pd(PPh₃)₂Cl₂ as a catalyst affords a novel conjugated oligomeric material (PTPTB), which exhibits a low optical bandgap as a result of the alternation of electron‐rich and electron‐deficient units along the chain. By varying the molar ratio of the monomers in the reaction and fractionation of the reaction product, two different molecular weight fractions (PTPTB‐I and PTPTB‐II, see Experimental section) were isolated, containing 5–17 and 13–33 aromatic units respectively, as inferred from matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF‐MS). Thin films of PTPTB‐I and PTPTB‐II exhibit an optical bandgap of 1.60 and 1.46 eV, respectively. Photoinduced absorption (PIA) and photoluminescence spectroscopy of blends of PTPTB‐I and a methanofullerene (1‐(3‐methoxycarbonyl)‐propyl‐1‐phenyl‐[6,6]C₆₁, PCBM) gave direct spectral evidence of the photoinduced electron‐transfer reaction from PTPTB‐I as a donor to the fullerene derivative as an acceptor. Thin PTPTB‐I:PCBM composite films were sandwiched between indium tin oxide/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (ITO/PEDOT:PSS) and Al electrodes to prepare working photovoltaic devices, which show an open circuit voltage of 0.67 V under white‐light illumination. The spectral dependence of the device shows an onset of the photocurrent at 1.65 eV (750 nm).     

Enhanced electrochemical performance of porous NiO-Ni nanocomposite anode for lithium ion batteries

The nickel foam-supported porous NiO-Ni nanocomposite synthesized by electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) technique was investigated as anodes for lithium ion batteries. This anode was demonstrated to exhibit improved cycle performance as well as good rate capability. Ni particles in the composites provide a highly conductive medium for electron transfer during the conversion reaction of NiO with Li⁺ and facilitate a more complete decomposition of Li₂O during charge with increased reversibility of conversion reaction. Moreover, the obtained porous structure is benefical to buffering the volume expansion/constriction during the cycling.     

An approach to enhance the photocatalytic activity of ZnTiO3

ZnTiO₃ nanoparticles and Ag-Fe co-doped ZnTiO₃ nanoparticles were prepared using sol–gel method. The prepared samples were annealed at 700 °C and showed pure hexagonal ZnTiO₃. All the samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and UV analyses. The result showed that the hexagonal structure of Ag-Fe ZnTiO₃ is affected with the increase in Ag-Fe concentrations. The zinc titanate nanoparticles were used for determining the degradation of cationic dye. Photocatalytic activity of ZnTiO₃ nanoparticles was studied and compared with that of bare control. The results showed enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Ag-Fe co-doped ZnTiO₃ compared to pure ZnTiO₃, showing that the Ag-Fe co-doping deposition has a major function in enhancing the degradation capability of cationic dye.     

High‐Performance Photo‐Electrochemical Photodetector Based on Liquid‐Exfoliated Few‐Layered InSe Nanosheets with Enhanced Stability

The band gap of few‐layered 2D material is one of the significant issues for the application of practical devices. Due to the outstanding electrical transport property and excellent photoresponse, 2D InSe has recently attracted rising attention. Herein, few‐layered InSe nanosheets with direct band gap are delivered by a facile liquid‐phase exfoliation approach. We have synthesized a photoelectrochemical (PEC)‐type few‐layered InSe photodetector that exhibits high photocurrent density, responsivity, and stable cycling ability in KOH solution under the irradiation of sunlight. The detective ability of such PEC InSe photodetector can be conveniently tuned by varying the concentration of KOH and applied potential suggesting that the present device can be a fitting candidate as an excellent photodetector. Moreover, extendable optimization of the photodetection performance on InSe nanosheets would further enhance the potential of the prepared InSe in other PEC‐type devices such as dye‐sensitized solar cells, water splitting systems, and solar tracking equipment.     

Energy Efficient QoS Aware Cluster Based Multihop Routing Protocol for WSN

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) have become a hot research area owing to the unique characteristics and applicability in diverse application areas. Clustering and routing techniques can be considered as an NP hard optimization problem, which can be addressed by metaheuristic optimization algorithms. With this motivation, this study presents a chaotic sandpiper optimization algorithm based clustering with groundwater flow optimization based routing technique (CSPOC-GFLR). The goal of the CSOC-GFLR technique is to cluster the sensor nodes in WSN and elect an optimal set of routes with an intention of achieving energy efficiency and maximizing network lifetime. The CSPOC algorithm is derived by incorporating the concepts of chaos theory to boost the global optimization capability of the SPOC algorithm. The CSPOC technique elects an optimum set of cluster heads (CH) whereas the other sensors are allocated to the nearer CH. Extensive experimentation portrayed the promising performance of the CSPOC-GFLR technique by achieving reduced energy utilization, improved lifetime, and prolonged stability over the existing techniques.