Synthesis, Structural, Morphological and I-V Characteristics of Polyaniline-MgCl Composite

Composite of polyaniline-MgCl has been synthesized using oxidative polymerization method. Synthesized samples were characterized for structural analysis using FTIR and XRD. Morphological studies were carried by SEM micrographs. Current-Voltage (I-V) properties are obtained through Kiethly source meter. FTIR spectrum of polyaniline-MgCl composite indicates all the characteristic peaks of polyaniline. X-ray diffraction patterns represented the amorphous nature of polyaniline-MgCl composite. SEM micrographs confirmed the presence of MgCl particles in polyaniline matrix. I-V characteristics have shown the ohmic type behavior of polyaniline and polyaniline-MgCl composite.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial studies of nanochitosan, carboxymethyl cellulose and graphene oxide binary and ternary composites

The present study aimed to prepare binary and ternary composites of nanochitosan (NCS), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and graphene oxide (GO) for the biological and biomedical application. The prepared NCS/CMC, CMC/GO and NCS/CMC/GO composites were characterized using FTIR, XRD and SEM studies. The results revealed the suitability of the material for biological application with increased amorphous nature for cell adhesion. Antimicrobial studies were carried out against selected bacterial and fungal species. DPPH scavenging activity was done for the prepared biocomposites. NCS/CMC/GO ternary composite have the highest action against Bacillus sp (21 mm) followed by Klebsilla sp. (19 mm) and Proteus sp. (16 mm). For selected fungal species of Candida, Rhizopus and Aspergillus niger the ternary composites shows 28 mm, 26 mm and 24 mm inhibitory zone. The overall results exhibit the potential antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the prepared composites.

PREPARATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND DISSOLUTION STUDY OF SPRAY DRIED SOLID DISPERSIONS OF SIMVASTATIN WITH PVP K25 AND AEROSIL 200

BCS class II is well-known for the drugs, having poor aqueous solubility and high permeability. Simvastatin is also categorized as BCS class II, suffering from poor aqueous solubility, affecting its bioavailability. In an attempt to resolve this problem, solid dispersions of simvastatin were prepared by spray-drying method. Solid dispersions of simvastatin with PVP K25 and aerosol in ratio (1:1:1 to 1:5:1) and without aerosil 200 (1:1 to 1:5) were prepared by spray drying method. The dissolution test showed the enhancement of dissolution as compared to the pure drug and nearly equal to marketed formulation “SIMVOTIN 20mg” in both types of formulation, but formulations with aerosil 200 showed faster drug release as compared to the simple formulations without aerosil. The formulation containing the 1:3:1 (simvastatin: PVP K25: Aerosil 200) showed the faster drug release as compared to other formulation that do not contain the Aerosil 200. Other characterization studies were also performed such as FTIR, differential scanning colorimetry and powdered X-ray crystallographic studies. These studies showed the increased amorphous nature of the drug in the formulation, which explain the enhanced dissolution rate of the drug for these formulations.

Combining accountability forms: transparency and “intelligent” accountability in a public service organization

PurposeThe paper's purpose is to consider the challenges, a public sector organization faces combining both transparency and “intelligent” forms of accountability (cf. Roberts, 2009).Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a case study of StatePol, a police service in an Australian state.FindingsThe data analysis revealed three themes. First, prior to 2013, transparency forms of accountability dominated, emphasizing crime statistics with the effect of reinforcing internal partitions and inhibiting collective action. Second, post-2013, a greater emphasis was placed on “intelligent” accountability with conversations around process and collective accountability at the operational level. Crime statistics were used less for operational-level accountability and more for attention-directing. Third, changing the emphasis from transparency to its combined use with “intelligent” accountability required strong leadership, clearly communicated strategy and middle-level managers with appropriate skills.Originality/valueThe authors identify a number of important factors in combining transparency and “intelligent” forms of accountability. The authors note the difficulties that fragmentation between forms of accountability and the somewhat amorphous nature of the accountability concept itself can cause. In doing so, the authors provide empirical evidence of the challenges changing from an emphasis on transparency, to combined use with an “intelligent” form of accountability.

Investigation and comparison of pulsed laser deposited binary ZnO/MoO3 and ZnO/TiO2 thin films as gate dielectric sensing membranes for pH-ISFET application

The research work aims to investigate and compare the pulsed laser deposited binary ZnO/MoO3 and ZnO/TiO2 thin films as gate dielectric insulator sensing membranes for pH-ISFET application. The thin films were deposited using pulsed laser deposition as deposited temperature and deposited at 923 K. The films were characterized using SEM, XRD and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. For the statistical analysis, the sample sizes were calculated with a pretest power of 80% and an error rate of 0.05. The capacitance of the pulsed laser deposited thin films of the binary ZnO/MoO3 and ZnO/TiO2 as gate dielectric insulator sensing membranes were compared with a total sample size of 122. The SEM results shows the uniform arrangement of the nanostructures. The XRD reveals the amorphous nature of both the thin films. The experimental results obtained for the binary ZnO/MoO3 and ZnO/TiO2 provided stack capacitance with a significance value of 0.0001 (p less than 0.05). Pulsed laser deposited binary ZnO/TiO2 thin films as gate dielectric insulator sensing membranes for pH-ISFET application shows significantly better than binary ZnO/MoO3.

Investigations on Structural and Optical Properties of Various Modifier Oxides (MO = ZnO, CdO, BaO, and PbO) Containing Bismuth Borate Lithium Glasses

Bismuth based quaternary glasses with compositions BiBLM: 50Bi2O3–20B2O3–15Li2O–15MO (where MO = ZnO, CdO, BaO, and PbO) were processed by conventional melt quenching. The effectiveness of various modifier oxides on the optical and structural properties of the developed glasses was studied systematically by XRD, DSC, FTIR, Raman, and optical absorption (OA) measurements. The synthesized glass specimens were characterized by XRD and the patterns demonstrated an amorphous nature. The physical characteristics such as molar mass, density, and OPD values were found to increase with an increase in the molar mass of the modifier oxides, while there was a decrement in oxygen molar volume, thus resulting in decrement of complete molar volume of the prepared glasses. From DSC analysis, incorrigible reduction and enhancement of Tg and thermal stability among various modifier oxides in the glass network was noticed. Optical absorption data for glass specimens have confirmed the decrease in both direct and indirect optical band gap values among various modifier oxides incorporation. These investigations support the obtained Urbach energy (UE) and metallization criteria of synthesized glasses. The ionic characteristic for the glass specimens were confirmed by the values of electronic polarizability and electronegativity. The Raman and FT-IR spectra of the glass specimens displayed the existence of BiO3, BiO6, ZnO4, CdO4, BaO4, BO3, PbO4, and BO4 structural units within the glass matrix. These structural results can support the applications of as-developed glasses in the area of photonics.

Carbon Microsphere From Postconsumer Soft Drink Bottles and Their Impact On Plant Growth Study of Cicer Arietinum

Present work is highlighted on the conversion of waste PET plastics to carbon nanosphere, their characterization by SEM-EDX, XRD and FTIR and finally their application in the field of germination of Cicer arietinum and biochemical analysis. SEM and XRD results revealed that PET plastic are comfortably converted to carbon microsphere with a diameter ranges between 2-8 µm with amorphous nature and FTIR study suggested that the existence of aromatic C-H and aromatic ring along with carbonyl groups. Root morphology suggested that both root length and seminal root number gradually decrease with increasing carbon microsphere dose. Biochemical results revealed that the level of proline, catalase and MDA levels significantly (p < 0.0001) increase with increasing the dose of carbon microsphere. Finally, it can be concluded that lower dose of carbon microsphere could be beneficial for both seed germination and seedling growth, but higher dose may have adverse effect on plant community.

Facile Synthesis of Silica Composites with Oil Sorption Efficiency from a Vital Agricultural Waste of Corn Stalk Cultivated in Bishoftu, Ethiopia

This study is attempted to extract the amorphous silica composites using the combined HNO3 leaching-calcination (600°C/6 h) method from corn stalk harvested in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, owning to its profuse dumping, less cost, and negative environmental implications. The resultant composite characteristics such as amorphous nature are connected via the grain boundary which produces an agglomerated structure that has a disordered morphology, and the presence of siloxane and silanol groups, as well as additional functional groups, is reported. The synthesized product is applied in the removal of oil from synthetic oily wastewater (SYOWW) using batch mode delivering a maximum oil removal of up to 99%. The outcome of the study features the potential acclimatization of the Ethiopian corn stalk as a substitute precursor for the production of silica composites which has a potential oil adsorption capacity that can be used for oil spill cleanup.

Role of Mg(NO3)2 as Defective Agent in Ameliorating the Electrical Conductivity, Structural and Electrochemical Properties of Agarose–Based Polymer Electrolytes

Polymer electrolytes based on agarose dissolved in DMSO solvent complexed with different weight percentages of Mg(NO3)2 ranging from 0 to 35 wt% were prepared using a solution casting method. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was applied to study the electrical properties of this polymer electrolyte, such as ionic conductivity at room and different temperatures, dielectric and modulus properties. The highest conducting film has been obtained at 1.48 × 10−5 S·cm−1 by doping 30 wt% of Mg(NO3)2 into the polymer matrix at room temperature. This high ionic conductivity value is achieved due to the increase in the amorphous nature of the polymer electrolyte, as proven by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), where broadening of the amorphous peak can be observed. The intermolecular interactions between agarose and Mg(NO3)2 are studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy by observing the presence of –OH, –CH, N–H, CH3, C–O–C, C–OH, C–C and 3,6-anhydrogalactose bridges in the FTIR spectra. The electrochemical properties for the highest conducting agarose–Mg(NO3)2 polymer electrolyte are stable up to 3.57 V, which is determined by using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and supported by cyclic voltammetry (CV) that proves the presence of Mg2+ conduction.

Effect of Heat treatment on the Chemical and Microstructural Properties of Wheat Straw Ash (WSA)

This study examines the effects of different burning temperature on the chemical and microstructure properties of WSA. In many parts of the world due to non-availability of proper technology, the farmers generally burn wheat straw after acquiring grains, which causing environmental pollution with fire hazards at farm level and loss valuable commodity. In this research, the influence of different temperature on locally available Wheat Straw in Province KP, Pakistan was study. This research aim to find optimum temperature and burning duration of WSA by examine chemical and microstructural properties of WSA at 550oC for 4 hr, 550oC for 8 hr and 800oC for 30 min. The tests results were categorized through X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The result showing the 550oC for 4 hr contains high amount of (SiO2+Al2O3+Fe2O3) and amorphous nature as compared to other samples.