An Approach to Prevent Air Pollution and Generate Electricity Using Nanostructured Carbon Materials

Pollution is one of the major threats for the environment as well as society. It causes severe problems for the living organisms and can gives birth of various unknown issues. Different sources like cars, industrial belts, fossil fuels etc. are the major causes of air pollution. Different researchers are working to develop new methods to combat air pollution. In this work, a new solution is proposed to fight against air pollution. The proposed solution is based on nanotechnology which not only fight against the air pollution but, it can generate electricity using the nanostructured carbon materials. The proposed solution can be deployed in real life scenario to reduce the air pollution and produce electricity in a large scale to provide an alternate energy resource to the society.

Study of the Structure and Properties of Nanoparticles Cynara scolymus L. Encapsulated With Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose Polysaccharide

In recent years, the interests of researchers are increased towards nanodrugs based on nanoparticles. The main direction of this work was to study the physicochemical, structural properties and stability of encapsulated nanoparticles, with the components from medicinal plants. Nanoparticles were obtained from the extract of the medicinal plant Сynara scolymus L. using a metal salt. Initial experimental data have shown that the originally obtained nanoparticles were not stable. Therefore, the nanoparticles were then stabilized with added sodium carboxymethylcellulose polysaccharide. It was found that new nanoencasulated nanoparticles with compounds from medicinal plants are very stable and can be a source of effective nanodrugs based on them.

Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Dichloromethane Extract of Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium and Its Bioactivity

Common methods of synthesizing metallic nanoparticles are chemical and physical. However, they are expensive and use toxic chemicals. Green synthesis is less costly and safer hence a potential alternative. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were synthesized using dichloromethane extract of Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium and colour change from pale green to dark brown was observed. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images were faceted and others formed clusters. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images were spherical with an average size of 22.8± 17.5 nm. EDX analysis showed the nanoparticles had percentage abundance of 67.26%. Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed absorption bands at 3489.59 cm-1, 3217.80 cm-1, 2384.74 cm-1 , 1633.05 cm-1, 1405.08 cm-1, 1109.32 cm-1 and 505.93 cm-1. The UV-Vis analysis showed Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) peak at 434 nm. The nanoparticles were more active on P. aeruginosa with an MIC of 15 µg/ml while the cytotoxicity assay showed Ag NPs had an MIC of 33.33 µg/ml hence were noncytotoxic against Vero cells.

Defect Dynamics in Graphene

The experimental and theoretical study of graphene, two-dimensional (2D) graphite, is an extremely rapidly growing field of today's condensed matter research. Different types of disorder in graphene modify the Dirac equation leading to unusual spectroscopic and transport properties. The authors studied one of the disorders (i.e., grain boundaries) and formulated a theoretical model of graphene grain boundary by generalizing the two-dimensional graphene Dirac Hamiltonian model. In this model only, the authors considered the long-wavelength limit of the particle transport, which provides the main contribution to the graphene conductance. In this work, they derived the Hamiltonian in a rotated side dependent reference frame describing crystallographic axes mismatching at a grain boundary junction and showed that properties like energy spectrum are an independent reference frame. Also, they showed one of the topological property of graphene.

Possibilities of the Quantitative Comparison of Catalytic Capacity in Autocatalytic Processes of Palladium-Containing Nanocatalysts

When studying the nanocrystalline state, in some cases, an increase in functional activity is observed with an increase in the size of nanoparticles. In this case, the most active atoms are situated on the faces and have a higher coordination in comparison with the atoms on the tops and the edges. One of the explanations for this phenomenon is the formation of hypercycles due to the occurrence of autocatalytic processes. For oscillatory processes inherent in autocatalysis, when the parameters of a nonequilibrium process change over time, it is difficult to apply traditional methods of processing the results of analytical studies. In this regard, it is necessary to develop a methodology for a comparative study of short-term parameters of processes on the same scale, highlighting the main ones and eliminating insignificant and random ones, such as the phase shift at the beginning of self-oscillations or time-localized deviations from activity. This paper presents the results of such a study on the example of palladium-containing nanosystems in the reaction of low-temperature oxidation of CO. It is shown that the study of the behavior of nanocatalysts during the formation of hypercycles is informative using the calculated generalized parameters of the process

Synthesis and Characterization of Mullites From Silicoaluminous Fly Ash Waste

Fly ash is considered one of the major hazardous pollutants around the globe. Every year a million tonnes of fly ash is disposed of into the fly ash ponds which are major sites of pollution. The major fractions of fly ash are silicates, aluminates, and ferrous substances followed by minor traces element oxides. The aluminates and silicates comprise of 70% of the fly ash. The aluminates and silicates are present in fly ash in the form of crystalline mullites and sillimanites. Mullites being inert and crystalline are retractile to mineral acids. So, here the authors have reported a novel and simple step for the recovery of all the major elements of fly ash along with recovery of mullites by using hydrofluoric acid at room temperature. The method comprises of treatment of fly ash with diluted hydrofluoric acid for 12 hours under agitation. The recovered white color mullite powder, rod shaped of size 90-300 nm, was analyzed by the sophisticated instruments for the confirmation of the mullite particles.

Calculation of the Boundary Dimensions of Functionally Active Nanoparticles

Size is a key characteristic of nanoparticles that determines whether the objects belong to this category. Currently, there are not enough experiments on materials of the same chemical composition but of different dispersion in particle size, with equal size of the particles or grains of each sample of material investigated. In the present article, the authors show that the effect of the dispersion of the particle size determines whether the size dependence of a specific property can be calculated alternatively to the direct measurements. By finding the correlations between nano-properties and content of nanoparticles' fractions of different sizes, the boundary conditions can be calculated.

TiO2 Nanotubes Transformation Into 4nm Anatase Nanoparticles

The scope of this work shows novel experimental findings on preparing anatase TiO2 nanoparticles, first anodizing titanium into an organic media for obtaining TiO2 nanotubes, and using these as a photocatalytic active electrode in treating water polluted with organic contaminants. The substrates were grit blasted to obtain mechanical fixation of the generated nanotubular TiO2 structure. This was successfully achieved without diminishment of the nanotubes order and with a self-leveling of the outer surface. A new phenomenon has been investigated consisting of the process of oxidation of the nanotubes in water after anodizing. Along this process, methyl orange added to the aqueous solution was discolored as part of the redox reaction involved. The final state of the modified layer was composed of conglomerates of almost completely crystalline TiO2 nanoparticles, around 4 nm in size, consisting of anatase. SEM and TEM images show the transition of the amorphous nanotubes (atomic disorder/nanometric order) to crystalline disordered particles (atomic order/nanometric disorder).

Nanotechnology From Engineers to Toxicologists

There is growing public perception that nanotechnology products are flourishing without sufficient care for the risks they pose to life, global, and local environments. The transparency of safety issues and impact on environment should be the prime focus while engaging a particular field with nanotechnology. Testing of nano products needs to be enforced before they are released to the market. Whether nanotechnology is good or bad for the environment is totally based on the nature of its use and considerations made during its application. The use of nanotechnology in any field requires great care, and any sort of negligence is likely to bring negative effects for the environment and its habitats. Recent studies show that the lack of knowledge as regard risks is found even at the expert level. The present work highlights the risks associated with the use of nanoparticles and the necessary preventive measures for using the technology in a safe and sound way.

Design of Nano-Scale Devices Affecting Synapses

The research describes the nano scale devices, their general architecture, and how they affect the synapses. Such devices, based on the new approach in artificial intelligence, will play a significant role in many spheres. The research also describes the architecture of the programming neuron built on the basis of a biological one. Unlike existing technical devices for implementing a neuron based on classical nodes oriented to binary processing, the proposed path is based on bit-parallel processing of numerical data (synapses) for obtaining result. The proposed approach of implementing a neuron can serve as a new elementary basis for the construction of neuron-based computers with a higher processing speed of biological information and good survivability.