Regulating microwave absorption and energy bandgap using cauliflower-like polyaniline coated on La0.8Sr0.2FeO3 nanoparticles

In this research, La_0.8Sr_0.2FeO₃/cauliflower-like polyaniline (PANi) nanocomposite was architected based on a novel complementary method using dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid as a doping agent. The prepared nanocomposite was characterized using Fourier transform infrared, X-ray powder diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer diffuse reflection spectroscopy, and vector network analyzer analyses. All of the used analyses attested that the pure structure of materials has been synthesized. Polarizability, energy bandgap, magnetic property, and microwave absorbing features were tailored by loading the various mass fraction of PANi. Exclusive interactions between the nanoparticles with alkaline property and aniline monomers along the experimental route led to the preparation of nanocomposite with unique morphology. Inserting PANi augmented softness and isotropic magnetic property of the prepared nanocomposite, desirable for microwave absorption. Moreover, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was applied as a novel microwave absorbing matrix. The maximum reflection loss (RL) of La_0.8Sr_0.2FeO₃/PANi_10%/PAN was ??69.24 dB at 12.62 GHz with an efficient bandwidth of 6.47 GHz (RL?<???10 dB) meanwhile the efficient bandwidth was enhanced to 6.97 GHz (RL?<???10 dB) for La_0.8Sr_0.2FeO₃/PANi_30%/PAN nanocomposite.

     

Not Waving,Drowning: Can Local Government Policies on Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Resilience Make a Difference?

Climate change will increase the intensity, duration and/or frequency of some climate-related hazards. Responsibility for adapting to such impacts of climate change in Australia has, in the main, fallen on local governments which have paid varying degrees of attention to the issue. This paper takes an integrated approach to compare the climate adaptation and disaster resilience policies and plans of local governments of two low-lying coastal cities in Australia to understand whether (and how) local governments can make a difference. The findings indicate that local governments can significantly contribute to building resilience and adapting to climate-related hazards, however a number of factors such as the attitudes of local governments on climate change, environmental activism, and the recent experiences of climate-related disasters are instrumental for shaping a better local response. Local action also needs to be supported by a more integrated approach by all levels of government.     

Nucleotide-Driven Molecular Sensing of Monkeypox Virus Through Hierarchical Self-Assembly of 2D Hafnium Disulfide Nanoplatelets and Gold Nanospheres

Liquid interfaces facilitate the organization of nanometer-scale biomaterials with plasmonic properties suitable for molecular diagnostics. Using hierarchical assemblage of 2D hafnium disulfide nanoplatelets and zero-dimensional spherical gold nanoparticles, the design of a multifunctional material is reported. When the target analyte is present, the nanocomposites’ self-assembling pattern changes, altering their plasmonic response. Using monkeypox virus (MPXV) as an example, the findings reveal that adding genomic DNA to the nanocomposite surface increases the agglomeration between gold nanoparticles and decreases the π-stacking distance between hafnium disulfide nanoplatelets. Further, this self-assembled nanomaterial is found to have minimal cross-reactivity toward other pathogens and a limit of detection of 7.6 pg µL⁻¹ (i.e., 3.57 × 10⁴ copies µL⁻¹) toward MPXV. Overall, this study helped to gain a better understanding of the genomic organization of MPXV to chemically design and develop targeted nucleotides. The study has been validated by UV–vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning transmission electron microscopy, surface-enhanced Raman microscopy and electromagnetic simulation studies. To the best knowledge, this is the first study in literature reporting selective molecular detection of MPXV within a few minutes and without the use of any high-end instrumental techniques like polymerase chain reactions.     

Detection of Escherichia coli K12 in Water Using Slot Waveguide in Cascaded Ring Resonator

Silicon - Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria can cause serious fatal health problems in human, thus early and quick pathogen detection of these bacteria is a crucial issue in hospitals, food...     

Design of Zn1−xCuxO Nanocomposite Ag-Doped as an Efficient Antimicrobial Agent

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - This study aims at the preparation of antimicrobial nanoparticles hybrid based on silver (Ag) doped Zn1?xCuxO. Zn1?xCuxO...