Recent advances and developments in advanced green porous nanomaterial for sustainable energy storage application

Journal of Porous Materials - Compared with traditional battery and super capacitor materials, nanomaterials can significantly improve ion transport and electron conductivity. There are many...     

Effect of Pd sensitization on gas-sensing performance of vanadium pentoxide-reduced graphene oxide composite

Current work clearly demonstrates Pd sensitization on hydrothermally prepared vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) and on its composite with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by a simple dip and dry method for NO₂ gas sensing. Orthorhombic crystal structure of prepared sample was confirmed with the help of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) technique. The presence of palladium (Pd) was confirmed by energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), while fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy for functional group detection. Porous nano-structure morphology was confirmed with the help of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technique confirms presence of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) with an average diameter of?~?20 nm. The photoluminescence (PL) peak arising at 641.75 nm gives the confirmation to the mid-gap states generated by oxygen vacancies. Finally, the gas-sensing performance of the prepared sensing material was measured with the help of a RIGOL digital multimeter. The result shows that 33.68% gas response towards 100 ppm NO₂ gas at relatively low-working temperature (150 °C) along with considerable 47 and 592 s response/recovery time, respectively. The sensing material shows good reproducibility and high stability (Gas Response?~?29%) even after 63 days. Hence Pd sensitized V₂O₅- rGO is a promising candidate for gas sensors working at relatively low working temperatures.

     

Electropolymerization of polyaniline on titanium oxide nanotubes for supercapacitor application

Vertically aligned polyaniline (PANI) nanotubes have great potential application in supercapacitor electrode material. In this paper we have investigated facile growth of PANI nanotubes on a titanium nanotube template (TNT) using electrochemical polymerization. The morphology of PANI nanostructures grown over TNT is strongly influenced by the scan rate in the electrochemical polymerization. The growth morphology of PANI nanotubes has been carefully analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The detailed growth mechanism of PANI nanotubes has been put forward. Specific capacitance value of 740 F g⁻¹ was obtained for PANI nanotube structures (measured at charge–discharge rate of 3 A g⁻¹).     

Optimization of gas chromatography–single quadrupole mass spectrometry conditions for multiresidue analysis of pesticides in grapes in compliance to EU-MRLs

A single quadrupole GC–MS method was optimized for multiresidue determination of 47 pesticides in grapes with limit of quantifications of each compound in compliance with the EU-MRL requirements. Sample preparation involved extraction of 10 g sample with 10 ml ethyl acetate (+10 g sodium sulphate) by homogenization at 15,000 rpm followed by centrifugation at 3000 rpm. The supernatant was cleaned by dispersive solid phase extraction with primary secondary amine and acidified with 0.1% formic acid. Residues were estimated in selected ion monitoring mode with programmable temperature vaporizer-large volume injection (8 μl). All the GC and MS parameters were thoroughly optimized to achieve satisfactory linearity (R² > 0.99) within 0.01–0.25 mg kg⁻¹ with minimum matrix interferences. Recoveries at 0.01 and 0.02 mg kg⁻¹ were within 67–120% with associated precision RSD below 19%. The method was successfully applied for analysis of the real world samples for incurred residues.     

Electrodeposited zinc oxide thin films: Nucleation and growth mechanism

The nucleation and growth mechanism of the electrodeposited zinc oxide thin films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated (10–20 Ω/cm²) glass substrates from acetate solution, without and with ex situ oxygen bubbling, has been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) was used as a complexing agent. The cyclic voltammograms exhibit crossover, a characteristic of nucleation process on FTO-coated conducting glass substrates for all the baths bubbled with oxygen. The current transients were analyzed by fitting chronoamperometric data into the Scharifker–Hills nucleation model. The plausible nucleation and growth mechanism is proposed. For mother bath and lower oxygen bubbling time, the nucleation and growth mechanism follows 3D progressive nucleation and growth, which became instantaneous in case of baths for higher oxygen bubbling time. The SEM study showed that the films become compact when the oxygen bubbling time was increased. The thin films were further characterized by X-ray diffraction technique for structural studies and the ZnO film formation was confirmed. With the increase in oxygen bubbling time, the shift in band gap energies from 3.2 to 3.3 eV is observed.     

Surfactant-mediated growth of nanostructured zinc oxide thin films via electrodeposition and their photoelectrochemical performance

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were electrodeposited from an aqueous zinc acetate solution onto fluorine-doped thin oxide (FTO) coated conducting glass substrates. The effect of organic surfactants like polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), polyethylene glycol (PEG), ethylene glycol (EG) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) on their structural, morphological, optical and photoelectrochemical properties was studied. The x-ray diffraction patterns revealed the formation of phase-pure ZnO thin films. The films deposited using organic surfactants exhibit different surface morphologies. It was observed that the organic surfactants play important roles in modifying the surface morphology and size of the crystallites. A compact granular morphology was observed for the ZnO samples grown without organic surfactants. The films exhibit nanoparticles of size 100-150?nm for PVP, EG and PVA mediated growth. The vertically aligned thin and compact hexagonal crystallites stem from the SDS, whereas microporous corrugated morphology is observed for PEG-mediated growth. All the samples exhibit room temperature photoluminescence (PL). Oxygen vacancies contribute to the active luminescent centers for the emission of green light in ZnO thin films. PL gets quenched for the SDS surfactant. All the samples were post-treated with ethanol to remove stray surfactant molecules. FTIR study was used to confirm the removal of adsorbed surfactant molecules from the samples. Moreover the samples are photoelectrochemically (PEC) active and exhibit the highest photocurrent of 231?μA, a photovoltage of 492?mV and 0.42 fill factor for the ZnO:SDS films.     

Properties of spray deposited niobium oxide thin films

Niobium Oxide (Nb₂O₅) thin films were deposited on the glass substrates, using spray pyrolysis technique. During deposition the preparative parameters like nozzle to substrate distance, spray rate, concentration of the sprayed solution were kept constant at optimized values. The effect of substrate (deposition) temperature (varied between 250 to 450°C) and post annealing treatment (at temperature 500°C) on the structural, optical and electrical properties of thin films were studied. Using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction technique morphological and structural characterizations of the films were carried out. For optical and electrical properties of thin films, optical absorption and two probe electrical resistivity techniques were used. It has been observed that with increase in the substrate temperature films become micro or polycrystalline. Annealed films exhibit higher crystallinity. Other parameters like thickness, electrical resistivity and band gap energy value decrease with increase in substrate temperature.     

Adsorption of chromium (VI) on functionalized and non-functionalized carbon nanotubes

We did a comparative study on the adsorption capacity of Cr (VI) between functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and non-functionalized CNTs. The statistical analysis reveals that the optimum conditions for the highest removal of Cr (VI) are at pH 9, with dosage 0.1 gram, agitation speed and time of 120 rpm and 120 minutes, respectively. For the initial concentration of 1.0 mg/l, the removal efficiency of Cr (VI) using functionalized CNTs was 87.6% and 83% of non-functionalized CNTs. The maximum adsorption capacities of functionalized and non-functionalized CNTs were 2.517 and 2.49 mg/g, respectively. Langmuir and Freundlich models were adopted to study the adsorption isotherm, which provided a K _L and K _F value of 1.217 L/mg and 18.14 mg^1?n L ⁿ /g functionalized CNT, while 2.365 L/mg and 2.307 mg^1?n L ⁿ /g for non-functionalized CNTs. This result proves that functionalized CNTs are a better adsorbent with a higher adsorption capacity compared with the non-functionalized CNTs.     

Green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles: Characterization and applications for environmental and biomedical fields

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of plant-based nanoparticles due to their numerous benefits over conventional physio-chemical methods, including sustainability and environmental safety. Green synthesis, a process that produces safe and sustainable goods without the use of harsh chemicals or other harmful processes, is gaining popularity. The current study focuses on the green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles using Piper nigrum leaf extracts, their characterization, and applications. The synthesis of nanoparticles was confirmed by changes in colour, further endorsed by UV–visible spectroscopy. Copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). CuO nanoparticle sizes ranged between 58.23 and 69.89 nm and were spherical in shape. FTIR results indicated a functional group capped on the nanoparticle surface. The antibacterial activity of the copper oxide nanoparticles was tested, and they exhibited the significant decrease in bacterial concentration and the largest zone of inhibition, making them an efficient disinfectant. Antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli was observed. Furthermore, the synthesized CuO nanoparticles exhibited a high affinity for safranin dyes and demonstrated maximum removal efficiency. This makes them an effective agent for removing dyes in wastewater from industries such as clothing manufacturing. Safranin dye was successfully removed with an efficiency of 78% using nanoparticles. In conclusion, the green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles using plant extracts presents an eco-friendly and sustainable approach for producing nanoparticles with a wide range of potential applications.