Abstract: Gallic acid (GA) is a polyphenols compound commonly present in wastewater that immensely affects aquatic and human life. GA is also responsible for the inhibitory effects on the microbial activity in the soil, thereby decreasing the fertility of the soil. Therefore, the removal of GA from the wastewater is necessary to combat such issues. The present study focused on the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) incorporated bimetallic (Cu/Bi) based nanorods (r-GO-Cu/Bi-NRs) and their photocatalytic applications. Incorporating GO within the CuBi2O4-NRs might decrease the bandgap value, thereby increasing the interfacial charge transfer. Moreover, GO increased the reactive sites and oxygen defects onto the r-GO-Cu/Bi-NRs that led to the separation rate of the photo-induced charge carriers and migration, thereby enhancing the photodegradation ability of the synthesized r-GO-Cu/Bi-NRs. The synthesis process of the r-GO-Cu/Bi-NRs is facile, novel, and economically viable for the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants.

Abstract: In recent years, Two-Dimensional (2D) materials have gained significant attention for their distinctive physical and chemical properties, positioning them as promising contenders for the next generation of electronic technologies. One notable group within these materials is MXenes, which have exhibited remarkable breakthroughs across various technological domains, including catalysis, renewable energy, electronics, sensors, fuel cells, and supercapacitors. By making subtle modifications to the surface termination, introducing metal ions, precise etching timing, and applying surface functionalization, the characteristics of MXenes can be fine-tuned to achieve desired band structures, rendering them suitable for sensor design. This review focuses on the strategic development of gas sensors based on Field-Effect Transistors (FETs), thoroughly examining the latest progress in MXene-based material design and addressing associated challenges and future prospects. The review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of MXene, summarizing its current applications and advancements in FET-based gas sensing.

Abstract: In the present study, the phytochemicals and anti-oxidant ability rich marine mangrove plant Rhizophora mucronata (R. mucronata) was evaluated. The UV-bio spectrometer result of O.D value of phenolic content was shown 0.986 as well as flavonoid content were shown 0.994 at 100 itg/mL concentration. The high yields of phenol and flavonoid contents were observed compared with standard gallic acid and rutin. Concisely, the more phenols and flavonoids and some bioactive derivatives were clearly exhibited by LC-MS scanning report. In addition, the anti-oxidant activity result shown with 85 % and DPPH scaveng-ing assay result shown 66% in crude extract of R. mucronata were observed and it was very higher than the rate of standard gallic acid and ascorbic acid. Further, the liquid-liquid extraction of available bioac-tive compounds were purified and shown excellent anti-bacterial activity against multi drug resistant bacteria. The anti-microbial activity result indicated that the 250 itg/mL of R. mucronata extract was shown 24 and 26 mm zone of inhibition against K. pneumoniae and A. baumannii. Then, the concentration dependent inhibition of R. mucronata extract was shown against both the tested pathogens and 250 itg/m concentrations was fixed as a minimum inhibition concentration range. Finally, the induction of outer cellular layer morphology effect and damaged size and shapes of the R. mucronata extract was shown against K. pneumoniae and A. baumannii. Altogether, the present study results were deliberately recom-mended that the R. mucronata extract as potential anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial agent. Hence, the natural marine mangrove plant R. mucronata is the safe, eco-friendly, low cost source for discovery of potential drug against various infections.(c) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Abstract: Carbon-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have exhibited unprecedented progress in the past decades, however, the deficit of open-circuit voltage and non-radiative recombination losses are the dominating limiting factors in scaling up the devices in view of commercialization. The researchers and scientists recognize the dominating factors and propose different themes to overcome the limiting factors. Among the different solutions, interfacial engineering of PSCs between the interfaces of transporting layer (electron or hole) and perovskite influences the reduction of non-radiative recombination losses with improvement in device efficiency. In this work, one-dimensional (1D) graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is synthesized through simple pyrolysis using two different mediums (ethanol and ethylene glycol). 1D g-C3N4 is interfaced between electron transport layer and perovskite absorber influences effectively in fine-tuning the work function by aligning the energy level of the fabricated mixed halide PSCs. Nanoscale engineered 1D g-C3N4 interfacial layer supports boosting the power conversion efficiency of the PSCs to 5.20% and 7.14% for tube and layered tube structures at ambient conditions. Further, the interfacial layer aids in improving thermal (tube: similar to 59.80%; layered tube: similar to 74.50%) and photostability (tube: similar to 78.65%; layered tube: similar to 87.25%) characteristics of the fabricated devices for 100 h duration at ambient conditions.

Abstract: In recent years, new antibiotics have been discovered around the world in order to inhibit multi drug resistant (MDR) pathogens. To overcome this problem, marine actinomycetes are an alternative choice for producing new bioactive compounds that inhibit MDR bacteria. The typical endophytic actinomycete (EA) Nocardiopsis dassonvillei (N. dassonvillei) DMS 1 (MH900216) was isolated from marine Sea grasses by surface sterilization method. After surface sterilization, it was confirmed that the pure, dry, white-colored spore producing colonies emerged from the internal tissue of the Sea grasses. The crude extract of N. dassonvillei DMS 1 (MH900216) demonstrated 8 and 10-mm zones of inhibition against A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae, respectively. The composition of N. dassonvillei DMS 1 (MH900216) with potential anti-bacterial properties was studied by GC-MS analysis and exhibited 22 chemical compounds. Subsequently, the molecular identification and phylogenetic construction of the isolated EA strain was confirmed as N. dassonvillei DMS 1 (MH900216). The liquid-liquid extraction of the compound demonstrated 24-and 26-mm zones of inhibition against A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae, respectively. Furthermore, the purified crude compound demonstrated 92% and 94% cell death against A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae, respectively, at a minimum inhibitory concentration of 500 mu g/mL. Overall, the present study demonstrated the antibacterial properties of the EA N. dassonvillei DMS 1 (MH900216) isolated from Sea grasses and their importance as alternative sources for discovering new antibiotics to inhibit MDR bacteria.

Abstract: Chitosan (Cs) is highly useful for its 'tunable' function, hence allowing numerous optimizable applications in various fields, including the pharmaceutical industry. This has piqued the medicinal chemist's interest in developing innovative synthetic methodologies to produce a biologically optimistic pharmacophore. In order to design a highly environment-friendly artificial process for the production of Cs/Ni/NiO, hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs) were prepared by an inexpensive chemical synthesis method. The synthesized HNPs were characterized by XRD, DLS, and ATR-FTIR analyses. The morphology and elemental analyses of Cs/Ni/NiO HNPs were investigated using FESEM, TEM, and EDX procedures. Cs/Ni/NiO HNPs bactericidal activity was significant for inhibiting pathogenic bacterial strains, namely, S. aureus and E. coli. Furthermore, Cs/Ni/NiO HNPs exhibited potent cytotoxicity against MCF-7. The findings of the study on the biocompatibility of Cs/Ni/NiO HNPs on the L929 cell lines showed a non-cytotoxic tendency toward normal cells. As a result, the report demonstrated that the chemically engineered Cs/Ni/NiO HNPs have biological properties that are effective against MDR pathogenic bacteria and carcinoma cells. More research is, however, needed to ascertain whether improving the morphology of these Cs/Ni/NiO HNPs will enhance their antibacterial and anticancer properties.

Abstract: A promising sustainable energy storage characteristic is achieved in redox additive electrolyte by developing strict blend of one dimensional (1D) and two dimensional (2D) structures. Hydrothermal reaction is followed to obtain the desired morphology. Two dimensional (2D) reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is added into the redox reaction between potassium permanganate and sodium nitrite to obtain nanocomposite comprising 1D and 2D blended structures of MnO2/rGO. Their structures and morphologies are studied by XRD, Raman and HRTEM analyses, respectively. The pseudocapacitive behaviour is studied in a redox additive electrolyte comprising KOH and K3Fe(CN)(6). The effect of electrolytic concentration was studied by varying the concentration of K3Fe(CN)6. The specific capacity is considerably enhanced up to 1741 F/g, 8.75 A/g with increase in concentration of K3Fe (CN)6. The role of redox couple [Fe(CN)(6)](3)-/[Fe(CN)(6)](4)-played a key role in adding the charge movement across the electrode which tuned well with the manganese ions to obtain one of the most promising pseudo-capacitances from the developed 1D and 2D blended structures of MnO2/rGO. For in-depth analysis of Fe ions movement, a symmetric supercapacitor cell is constructed to achieve a commendable specific capacitance of 216 F/g at 3.75 A/g. Prolong cycling hinted decreasing electrolytic interfacial layers resulting in fast reversible ki-netics of Fe(III) -> Fe(II) ions to achieve astonishing capacity retention of 127% after 3000 cycles.

Abstract: Production of “green hydrogen” through water electrolysis is attracting considerable attention in recent years, due to the high demand for green energy technologies. The efficiency of water electrolysis depends on the electrocatalytic activity of anodic and cathodic electrocatalysts. Currently, utilizing Pt and RuO2-based elec-trocatalysts is expensive in terms of commercial aspects. Therefore, growing research for inventing efficient and cheap electrocatalysts is undergoing rigorously. In this work, we have synthesized, biomass-derived electro-catalysts with intrinsically implanted heteroatoms as hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions in alkaline electrolytes. The biomass carbon catalyst is derived from the carbonation of the Acorus Calamus plant “root”. The derived carbon is activated by KOH treatment (C-750). The resultant carbon powder is characterized by various physiochemical and electrochemical characterization techniques. The C-750 catalyst is found to have excellent morphology, surface area (3488 m2/g), pore size (4.08 nm), pore volume (1.10 cc/g), and intrinsically doped N. The HRTEM analysis of C-750 reveals well-distributed microporous and graphitic surfaces. When used as an electrocatalyst for HER and OER analysis, the C-750 exhibited appreciable electrocatalytic activity with an overpotential of-0.330 V and 0.563 V vs. RHE, respectively at the current density of-10.0 mA/cm2. In addition, the C-750 catalyst also showed excellent stability with almost zero degradation in a chronoamperometric measurement carried out for 10 hrs.

Abstract: Integrating the concept of magnetoelectric in the mechanical energy harvesters through the magneto-mechanoelectrical (MME) nanogenerators has been explored to realize the self-powered devices. The magnetoelectric interaction enabled the output performance of the MME nanogenerator under magnetic stimulus of the active components of the energy harvesters. In this perspective, we fabricated a flexible biomechanical and MME nanogenerator using PVDF/CoFe2O4 fibers composite films. CoFe2O4 fibers were synthesized by the electrospinning technique and the process parameters were optimized to achieve uniform and bead-free fibers. The structural and morphological properties were investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The structural and morphology revealed the fibers calcined at 800 degrees C with a heating rate of 2 degrees C/min produced bead-free continuous fibers with a fiber diameter of 210 nm with cubic spinel crystalline structure with a crystallite size of 34 nm. These highly crystalline fibers were used to fabricate PVDF/CoFe2O4 fibers composite films. The magnetoelectric behaviour of the films verified through polarization vs. electric field (P-E) loops under magnetic field. The leakage current density and mechanism of the composite films were investigated, and it was discovered that the mechanism was due to Schottky emission. Further the energy harvesting performance of the composite films were estimated where the nanogenerator achieved an output voltage of 13 V under biomechanical tapping force while the MME nanogenerator produced 3.5 V under a low frequency stray magnetic field of 6 Oe with a power density of 28 & mu;W/m2.

Abstract: Transparent conducting materials (TCMs) are the heart of modern optoelectronic industries and the properties of TCMs could be improved by the introduction of 2D carbon materials. In this report, the influence of order layering on microstructural, transparency and emission characteristics of ZnO:rGO:ZnO:rGO:ZnO and rGO:ZnO: rGO:ZnO:rGO sandwich structures has been investigated. The layer-by-layer approach has been adopted for the fabrication of sandwich structured materials ZnO:rGO:ZnO:rGO:ZnO and rGO:ZnO:rGO:ZnO:rGO through the spin coating technique. The sandwich structures of ZnO and rGO exhibited hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO without any impurities were identified through XRD. The ordering of layer's influenced the microstructural parameters and were significantly altered. The spherical nature of the particles and the formation of the sand-wich structures were confirmed by using SEM micrograph. The reduction in an optical transparency and nar-rowing bandgap of the ZnO upon the order of layering were identified through transmission spectra. The lower energy shift of near band edge (NBE) emission and reduction in the emission intensity with respect to pure ZnO nanostructures was observed. The present work provides a simple layer-by-layer approach to fabricating sand-wich structures and improving the optical properties which have potential applications in various optoelectronic devices.