Low temperature hydrothermal methods have been utilized to synthesize Hematite/Zinc oxide alpha-Fe2O3/ZnO composite nano-heterojunction nanorods grown on FTO glass substrates while monitoring the effect of different concentrations of urea on the morphology of the composite nano-heterojunction. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used for the structural characterization of the alpha-Fe2O3/ZnO different samples. UV-visible spectroscopy was used for the characteristic absorbance versus wavelength of alpha-Fe2O3/ZnO composite nano-heterojunction which shows an absorption edge from 400 to 560 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique was applied to study of chemical composition of the alpha-Fe2O3/ZnO and the obtained information demonstrated a pure phase alpha-Fe2O3/ZnO has been achieved. The best efficiency among urea concentrations for the best composite nano-heterojunction sample was achieved when using 0.2 M of urea. The electrochemical properties of the composite nano-heterojunction were investigated using a three-electrode electrochemical cell. Estimation of the electrochemical area shows that both the composite nano-heterojunction and the bare alpha-Fe2O3 have similar values. This confirms that the enhanced electrochemical property of the composite nano-heterojunction is due to a synergetic effect as expected.

While world energy consumption is rising every year, the development of clean and renewable energy sources becomes very important for keeping the standard of living and preserving the environment. Solar driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting to produce hydrogen and oxygen is a promising method to contribute to the energy increasing demand. The development of the photoelectrode is a key factor for improving the PEC performance. A new morphology of 3D CdS-branched ZnO nanorod array nanocomposite has successfully been synthesized via solution routes as a photoanode. The present nanocomposite provides the highest photocurrent density of 2.5 mA/cm2 at a potential 1.23 V vs. RHE, which is about 83.3 times compared to a photocurrent density of about 0.03 mA/cm2 of the bare ZnO nanorod array photoelectrode. The boost of the PEC performance is improved due to the improvement of light absorption capacity, the enhanced energy band alignment (type-II heterostructure) promoting the charge transfer and separation, and the improvement of the electrode-electrolyte interface reaction kinetics. The result will be useful for further research on energy conversion and energy storage devices.

The Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and Chitosan (CS)/silver nitrate (AgNO3) thin films were prepared by utilizing the casting technique to enhance their optical, dielectric, and electrical properties. Their physicochemical characteristics were investigated using a variety of techniques. The FT-IR study demonstrates that the addition of AgNO3 NPs results in a discernible difference in the intensities and locations of vibrational peaks of all bands, supporting the incorporation of AgNO(3)NPs inside the PEG/CS. The XRD analysis indicates that the peak at 2 theta = 23.1(degrees) broadens and strengthens proportionally with the increase of AgNO3 NPs. This observation suggests that the incorporation of AgNO3 NPs into PEG/CS results in a greater degree of amorphous characteristics compared to the PEG/CS blend. Additionally, when the amount of AgNO3 NPs increases in the PEG/CS, the energy band gap decreases, resulting in the creation of localized states between the valence and conduction bands. These polymer nanocomposite films' electrical conductivity, dielectric constant, and dielectric loss all increased with frequency increased and showed variance for various composite concentrations. These AgNO(3)NPs/PEG/CS films can be promising options for frequency-tunable nanodielectrics, flexible dielectric substrates, and bandgap-regulated materials for upcoming microelectronic, capacitive energy storage, and optoelectronic technologies, according to the experimental results.

Environmental contaminants have become a major concern for human beings due to their adverse effects on drinking water quality. Heterogeneous photocatalysis has been extensively investigated as a potential strategy to minimize the consequences of as-related processes. Using a room-temperature ionic liquid-mediated co-precipitation method, Ag@AgCl nanoparticles were loaded onto tantalum pentoxide to make a plasmonic photocatalyst to remove Congo Red dye. The physicochemical properties of the photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction powder (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results indicate that 96% of the dye was degraded within 20 min with a rate constant of 0.14 min(-1). The key radicals involved in the photocatalysis, recognized as O-2(center dot-) species, were identified by electron spin resonance (ESR) in the presence of 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO), as the spin trapping agent. Our findings and quenching experiments elucidates the mechanism of the charge carrier migration. The cytotoxicity activity of the nanostructures was also examined against human brain glioblastoma tumor cells for the first time. A precise analysis of the cell death pathway was conducted using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and caspase activity assays in combination with fluorescence microscopy images. The prepared nanomaterials were found to be promising candidates for treating the organic pollutants and biomedical waste effluents from academic and industrial activities.

As the request for ready-made food grows, its more important than ever to develop effective antimicrobial food packaging materials to assure foods microbiological safety. The solvent casting method was used to create a chitosan (Cs)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blend based active food packaging material enhanced with Fe2O3/TiO2 (FeTiO2) nanoparticles. The prepared films were characterized by TEM, XRD, FTIR, and ac conductivity. The structural alterations occurring in the nanocomposites are indicated by FTIR spectra and XRD investigations. The AC conductivity and dielectric characteristics of nanocomposites were dramatically improved as the nanoparticle loading was raised. The mechanical properties of blend/FeTiO2 nanocomposites films were better than pure blend film. The nanocomposites films had good antibacterial activity and mechanical properties, suggesting that they could be a viable alternative to non-biodegradable packaging material.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) is an enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), which has been issued as a major threat to public health worldwide due to fatal contamination of water and food. Thus, its rapid and accurate detection has tremendous importance in environmental monitoring and human health. In this regard, we report a simple and sensitive electrochemical DNA biosensor by targeting Z3276 as a genetic marker in river water. The surface of the designed gold electrode was functionalized with gold nanostars and an aminated specific sensing probe of E. coli O157:H7 to fabricate the genosensor. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV) techniques were applied for electrochemical characterization and detection. The synthesized gold nanostars were characterized using different characterization techniques. The fabricated DNA-based sensor exhibited a high selective ability for one, two, and three-base mismatched sequences. Regeneration, stability, selectivity, and kinetics of the bioassay were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the fabricated genosensor exhibited a linear response range of 10(-5) to 10(-17) mu M in the standard sample and 7.3 to 1 x 10(-17) mu M in water samples with a low limit of quantification of 0.01 zM in water samples. The detection strategy based on silver plated gold nanostars and DNA hybridization improved the sensitivity and specificity of the assay for E. coli O157:H7 detection in real water samples without filtration. The detection assay has the advantages of high selectivity, sensitivity, low amounts of reagents, short analysis time, commercialization, and potential application for the determination of other pathogenic bacteria.

Different ZnO nanostructures can be grown using low-cost chemical bath deposition. Although this technique is cost-efficient and flexible, the final structures are usually randomly oriented and hardly controllable in terms of homogeneity and surface density. In this work, we use colloidal lithography to pattern (100) silicon substrates to fully control the nanorods' morphology and density. Moreover, a sol-gel prepared ZnO seed layer was employed to compensate for the lattice mismatch between the silicon substrate and ZnO nanorods. The results show a successful growth of vertically aligned ZnO nanorods with controllable diameter and density in the designated openings in the patterned resist mask deposited on the seed layer. Our method can be used to fabricate optimized devices where vertically ordered ZnO nanorods of high crystalline quality are crucial for the device performance.

Biodiesel is a sustainable alternative to petroleum diesel produced by transesterification of vegetable oils in the presence of a catalyst. The present study investigates heterogeneous transesterification of algal oil to biodiesel using novel calcium-doped zinc oxide nanocatalysts synthesized using a UV shaker. The developed catalyst was under different light sources, UV and non-UV; different calcium concentrations (0.01, 0.03, 0.05 M); and different calcination temperatures (600, 700, 800 degrees C). The catalyst has been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The effects of the different parameters used in catalyst preparation were studied for transesterification of algal oil. The catalyst of 0.05 M calcium loading and 700 degrees C calcination temperature synthesized in UV light is considered as the most suitable nanocatalyst, which achieved 99.18% yield of biodiesel. The catalyst was used three times effectively with 76% yield. The chemical properties of biodiesel have been investigated using gas chromatography (GC).

In this study, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods are doped with copper by low temperature aqueous chemical growth method using different concentrations of copper 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg and 20 mg and labeled as sample 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The morphology and phase purity of nanostructures was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction techniques. The optical characterization was carried out through UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The band gap of coper doped ZnO has brought reduction at 250-600 nm and it indicates the fewer time for the recombination of electron and hole pairs, thus enhanced photo degradation efficiency is found. ZnO exhibits nanorods like shape even after the doping of copper. The photo degradation efficiency for the two chronic dyes such as methyl orange MO and methylene blue MB was found to be 57.5% and 60% respectively for a time of 180 mints. This study suggests that the copper impurity in ZnO can tailor its photocatalytic activity at considerable rate. The proposed photo catalysts are promising and can be used for the waste water treatment and other environmental applications.

Doped semiconductors nanostructures (NSs) have shown great interest as a potential for green and efficient photocatalysis activities. Magnesium (Mg)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) has been synthesized by a one-step chemical low temperature (60 °C) co-precipitation method without further calcination and their photocatalytic performance for photodegradation of Methylene blue (MB) dye under the illumination of solar light is investigated. The crystal structure of the synthesized NPs is examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD data indicates a slight shift towards higher 2θ angle in Mg-doped samples as compared to the pure ZnO NPs which suggest the incorporation of Mg2+ into ZnO crystal lattice. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Vis spectrophotometer and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy, were used to study electronics, and optical properties, respectively. The XPS analysis confirms the substitution of the Zn2+ by the Mg2+ into the ZnO crystal lattice in agreement with the XRD data. The photocatalytic activities showed a significant enhancement of the Mg-doped ZnO NPs in comparison with pure ZnO NPs. Hole/radical scavengers were used to reveal the mechanism of the photodegradation. It was found that the addition of the Mg to the ZnO lattices increases the absorption of the hydroxyl ions at the surface of the NPs and hence acts as a trap site leading to decrease the electron-hole pair and consequently enhancing the photodegradation.