Current Innovations in Chemical and Materials Sciences Vol. 3

The purpose of this research is to look into the production of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using an efficient and surfactant-free hydrothermal process for use as a photocatalytic agent in the purification of organic polluted water. The structural characteristics, optical properties, and photocatalytic performance of ZnO NPs have all been studied. The contamination of water sources with organic pollutants poses a significant threat to both the environment and public health. Organic pollutants are compounds derived from human activities, such as industrial processes, agriculture, and domestic waste, and they can have detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems and the quality of drinking water. X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy were used as analytical and characterization techniques. The ZnO NPs with hexagonal structure and intriguing applicable properties were generated by changing the processing duration at a low treatment temperature of 75 °C. The broadening of the XRD peaks were decreased by increasing the reaction time; indicating a crystallinity enhancement of ZnO NPs. Meanwhile, the crystallite size and energy band gap are reaction time-dependent, which in turn affects the photocatalytic performance. Under UV irradiation, ZnO NPs have a photocatalytic breakdown efficiency of 93% for methyl orange (MO) dye. The bandgap of ZnO NPs (3.38 eV) is excellent for UV light absorption and rapid production of charge carriers, resulting in photooxidation processes that degrade the organic dye.

As a sustainable energy source, solar cells are essential for addressing and reducing the consequences of climate change by limiting the consumption of fossil fuels. Based on this purpose, solar cells based on organic compounds have piqued the interest of researchers due to their low cost, exceptional performance, and sustainability. Variable quantities of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) inside the PAni matrix were employed to increase the performance of organic cells by modifying the properties of the photoactivated polyaniline-titanium dioxide (PAni-TiO2) nanocomposite layer. Polymer solar cells were created in this study employing the FTO/(PAni-TiO2)/Ag combination. The structural evolution, surface properties, optical and electrical properties of PAni-TiO2 films have all been investigated. The XRD patterns revealed that the crystallite size decreases gradually with TiO2 NPs concentration in the PAni matrix, from 18.7 to 12.8 nm. Furthermore, the surface of the extremely concentrated films was rougher and more porous than it was for the pristine film. The efficiency of PAni-TiO2 based composite cells increased from 0.33 to 0.85% when different amounts of TiO2 NPs were added into the PAni framework. This conclusion is primarily attributable to a structural shift accompanied by a significant rise in roughness scales, which resulted in a decrease in reflected photons and, as a result, an increase in free carrier formation.

Solid solutions of NdFeO₃, Nd_0.5Pb_0.5FeO₃ and NdFe_0.5Ti_0.5O₃were prepared using traditional solid-state reaction method. The fabricated solid solutions were study for their structural, morphological, electrical and dielectric properties. XRD information demonstrates that orthorhombic crystal structures were present in all of the samples. Since no contaminant phases were discovered, Pb²⁺and Ti⁺⁴ were clearly well within the range of their solid solubility. SEM micrographs clearly showed the distribution of tiny, homogeneous, randomly orientated, well-connected, and irregularly shaped grains in the samples. It was discovered that the dielectric constant (\(\varepsilon\)´) and dielectric loss (\(\varepsilon\)´´) exhibited Cole-Cole relaxation behavior and decreased as the frequency of the applied electric field increased. It has been discovered that the electrical conductivity obeys the universal power law and grows with the frequency of the applied field.

Natural polysaccharide arabinogalactan (AG), contained in Siberian larch in the form of aqua-complex in a liquid state, plays the role of a eutectic plasticizer over a wide temperature range, due to which larch survives at low temperatures. At present time AG is used in different fields including food industry, veterinary, medicine at al. One of the promising areas of its application is also the creation of biodegradable polymer composites with synthetic and nature polymers. Compositions of AG with polymers of different classes (low-density polyethelene and biodegradable polyester polylactide) were obtained in the solid state under conditions of shear deformations and their mechanical characteristics were measured. It was shown that PLA-based materials are more rigid and have lower elongation at break than LDPE-AG composites. Hydrogels based on AG crosslinked by ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether and glutaric aldehyde were also obtained. The study of their behavior suggested that the use of AG in the form of concentrated solutions with low viscosity is more preferable.

Photocatalytic degradation of dyes is an important issue in environmental science and pollution research. The dyes present in water are highly toxic, carcinogenic, and xenobiotic towards living organisms. Herein, titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) were synthesized by a surfactant-templated hydrothermal technique at low temperature (75°C) for photocatalytic uses. TiO₂ NPs were investigated for their structural, optical, and photocatalytic capabilities using FT-IR, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). A nanocrystalline structure and nearly regular spherical form were confirmed by the structural investigation of a polycrystalline tetragonal anatase TiO₂ phase.  It was discovered that the produced TiO₂ NPs have an energy bandgap value between 4.42 and 4.46 eV, resulting in a photodegradation efficiency of 81% to 88% under UV visible light.

A twisted nematic (TN) liquid crystal displays (LCDs) with embedded Pd and Ag nanoparticles covered with a diffusion cloud exhibits peculiar frequency-dependent behavior. In particular, no TN response is observed below the frequency, f₂ (\(\sim\)2 Hz) that is far below the dielectric relaxation frequency, f_R, whereas above this frequency, revival of the TN response occurs, where LC of 5CB was used. This device is called frequency modulation (FM) TN-LCD and its behavior is attributed to the reduction of the dielectric anisotropy \(\Delta\varepsilon\) far below the relaxation frequency, f_R. However, above this frequency, the revival of the torque driving the TN-CD occurs, and the operation of the TN-LCD is revived with a quick response speed. The reduction of \(\Delta\varepsilon\) may be due to the prevailing of the amplified dielectric constant caused by the inclusions covering the entire region. However, above f_R, this amplification gradually vanishes and the normal TN-operation is revived due to the revival of the dielectric torque force. In this paper, an interpretation of the FM-LCD operation through dielectric spectroscopy and equivalent circuit analysis is presented. Interpretation of the dielectric constant amplification, whose factor, A_c, is equal to10 and 52 with the NPs of Pd and Ag, respectively, through a postulation of negative \(\varepsilon\)₂ for the inclusions (NPs and diffusion cloud) is also presented.

The interpretation of the strength of the composite materials under different external loads as well as the problems of the accumulation of defects in case of large deformations of the material in the solid and liquid states, which ultimately lead to the destruction of the material, are considered. It is proposed that the presence of liquid sap in the tree determines its high fatigue strength.

The present chapter employs a facile and environmentally cleaner plasma technology to induce adhesion between the cotton fabric and CuO nanoparticles. The oxygen plasma pre-treatment of cotton fabric was performed using DC glow discharge plasma for different plasma treatment times (5, 10 and 15 min) with constant pressure and power. The untreated and plasma treated cotton fabrics were analysed by contact angle, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM),X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Filed Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and elemental mapping analysis. The untreated cotton exhibits a flatter surface with an average surface roughness of 24 nm, whereas the roughness of plasma treated cotton fabric increases gradually with an increase in plasma treatment time. The AFM results show that when the plasma treatment time increases, the treated fabric's surface roughness increases as well. Cotton fabric's stickiness is caused by oxygen-rich functional groups that are introduced to the surface by the oxygen plasma treatment, according to XPS study. The 15 min oxygen plasma treated cotton fabric is optimised to coat the CuO nanoparticles based on the AFM and XPS analyses. Additionally, gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were shown to exhibit considerable antibacterial activity when the CuO nanoparticles covered plasma treated cotton fabric was subjected to an antibacterial test. It is concluded that the adoption of plasma technology is a possible alternative for imparting hydrophilic properties to textiles in a cleaner and environmentally friendly manner with- out any hazardous chemicals as pursued by traditional chemical processes.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

The processes of hydration and hardening of cement systems are still one of the urgent problems of modern building materials science. In particular, this concerns the role of the expansive phases of ettringite and thaumacite, especially in the late stages of structure formation. The difficulty lies in the fact that these two phases are isomorphic to each other and can transform into one another throughout the evolution of cement stone. Many attempts have been made by researchers from different countries to explain the nature and mechanism of action of these structural neoplasms. In the course of numerous studies, it has been found that under certain conditions in the presence of iron compounds and other polyvalent metals, ettringite does not cause destructive phenomena in cement stone even in the late stages of hardening. In the presence of plasticizers, sucrose and carbamide solutions play a positive role. However, special attention is paid to the processes of carbonation, sulfate and carbon dioxide corrosion and the introduction of carbonate additives, which even in the presence of two-water gypsum do not lead to the expansion of the products of hydration and hydrolysis of cement. Experiments on forced carbonation of cement stone have been carried out and the positive role of carbonate additives, especially dolomite, the formation of hardening structures and durability has been shown. The authors propose a technology for the care of concrete after thermal moisture treatment by holding products in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide. It is shown that even in the presence of two-water gypsum used as a cement setting retarder and plasticizer, carbonate additives in combination with sucrose and urea solutions prevent concrete corrosion and increase the durability of cement systems.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is gradually starting to attract interest in medical application due to its customization, cost effective production and faster delivery. The introduction of AM to a digital workflow, decreases the lead time by speeding the work flow of patient diagnostic information between the surgeon and the laboratory. The objective of this study is to illustrate the route to digitize the customized implants consisting of image acquisition, processing, implant design, fitting rehearsal and fabrication using fused deposition modeling (FDM) and electron beam melting (EBM) methodologies. AM of metal and plastic materials offers high levels of functional integration for industrial applications and design-driven integrated production solutions. The use of AM in medicine is growing quickly and is predicted to completely transform the health care industry. Given the inherent uniqueness of human anatomy, additive manufacturing (AM) plays a crucial role in the production of patient-specific implants. By using AM technology, these implants are designed to precisely match the individual's bone shapes, ensuring a flawless fit. The use of additive manufacturing (AM) enables the creation of intricate lattice structures with complicated geometries, which in turn greatly enhances the pace of healing subsequent to the implantation into the human body. Over the course of the last decade, a significant proportion of implants have been conventionally manufactured by processes such as casting, forging, machining, and powder metallurgy. The conventional implants need manual manipulation prior to surgery, including a trial and error process to get a customized fit with the patient's bone form. Any discrepancies in this process might lead to the failure of the implant. The customized implant produced using AM technique from the patients computed tomography or Magnetic resonance imaging (CT/MRI) scans can drastically reduce the implant failure and the number of revisions thus minimizing the psychological stress and pain to the patient.

This chapter investigate to treat municipal solid waste using an economical, environmentally acceptable manner with the aid of an efficient microbial solution (a consortium of microorganisms). Additionally, an effort was made to use an effective microbial solution to convert municipal solid waste into natural and effective manure. Compost is one of the most used and ancient fertilisers that promote soil biodiversity. Compost application is a beneficial practice for soil restoration. The human population indirectly creates industrial effluent and produces a vast volume of solid and liquid waste. The municipal solid waste generally includes household and commercial refuse, consisting of degradable (paper, food waste, straw and yard waste), partially degradable (wood, and sludge) and non-degradable materials (leather, plastics, metals, glass, electronics). Man damages the ecosystem deeply by using artificial fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural fields. Any unfavorable changes that take place in the air, water, or land are known as pollution. It has been noted that waste production rises yearly in direct proportion to population growth and urbanization. As more land is needed for the ultimate disposal of these solid wastes, issues related to disposal have become highly challenging. It is suggested that the Municipal Solid Waste can be used as manure after ruling out the existence of pathogenic microbes, since Municipality Solid Waste have been blamed for the transmission of Salmonella spp and other human diseases.

In this book chapter, we investigate the influence of supplementary materials on the flow behavior and strength properties of binary cementitious systems, focusing on silica fume, fly ash, metakaolin, and glass cullet powder. Our study aims to provide practical insights into the development of low-carbon concrete mixtures by exploring the unique characteristics of each material. We assess the effects of these supplementary materials on workability, heat of hydration, pore characteristics, and compressive strength, aiming to bridge knowledge gaps in binary cement compositions. The results indicate that silica fume and metakaolin reduce workability, while fly ash and glass cullet powder enhance it. Notably, introducing 5% glass cullet powder leads to improved rheological properties and a 10% reduction in heat of hydration. The study recommends further exploration of optimal ternary mixtures to enhance concrete properties.

The distinctive and versatile nature of activated carbon as an adsorbent lies in its extensive surface area and finely pored structure, leading to a remarkable adsorption capacity and reactivity. It can incorporate a variety of substances, with commonly utilized precursors for commercial production, including coconut shells and coal types like peat and lignite, each with its own structural and carbonic distinctions. Pinewood, owing to its abundant carbon content, is particularly prized as a source for generating highly porous activated carbon. Ongoing research into cost-effective and powerful adsorbents will contribute to environmental durability and offer advantageous outcomes for commercial interests in future scenarios. Through pyrolysis conducted under vacuum and without oxygen, the surface area is maximized, yielding an interlinked porosity. Waste biomass, being an economic resource, is effectively transformed into activated carbon with an impressive surface area of 969.075 m²/g.