RSC Advances

Li, Deke; Guo, Zhiguang

doi: 10.1039/d3ra90079gpmid: 37614789

Correction for ‘Robust superhydrophobic and self-lubricating PTES-TiO2@UHMWPE fabric and its tribological properties’ by Deke Li et al., RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 9169–9175, https://doi.org/10.1039/C6RA28255E.

Vinayagamoorthy, Raji; Rani, Muthurakku Usha; Kalainathan, Sivaperuman; Anand, Sekar

doi: 10.1039/d3ra04322cpmid: 37614792

A novel third-order stilbazolium derivative single crystal, 4-[2-(4-dimethyl amino-phenyl)-vinyl]-1-methyl-pyridinium bromide (DMSB), was fruitfully harvested using methanol as a medium, through a slow evaporation technique. The solubility of the prepared DMSB powder was experimentally tested at different temperatures (30 °C to 50 °C) with a methanol solvent. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis (SCXRD) implied that the DMSB crystal crystallized in a centrosymmetric fashion (space group P21/c) with the monoclinic crystal system. The molecular weight of the element present in DMSB was confirmed by CHN elemental analysis. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic study confirmed the molecular structure of the DMSB crystal. All the functional group vibrations raised from the title compound were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). From the UV-visible spectrum, the absorbance nature and band gap of the grown DMSB crystal were determined. The photoluminescence study of the grown crystal exhibited an emission peak at 660 nm, which is attributed to the red light emission in the EM spectrum. The morphological characteristics of the crystal were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hirshfeld surface analysis was employed to quantitatively explore the non-covalent interactions that are accountable for the crystal packing. The third-order nonlinear susceptibility was determined experimentally and it was found to be 1.6 × 10−8 esu. These favourable Z-scan analysis results indicate that the DMSB crystal is a good candidate for different applications, such as photonics devices, optical computing, optical switches, and optical limiting.

Li, Depeng; Guan, Qingqing; Hu, Xiaoyun; Su, Yuhong; Su, Zhen

doi: 10.1039/d3ra03554apmid: 37614796

A new simple Pt(ii) terpyridyl salt that shows reversible response towards acetonitrile and irreversible response towards methanol has been reported, accompanied with the colorimetric/luminescent changing from red to yellow. Experimentally and theoretically, the spectroscopic change derives from the hydrogen bonds between crystal water in the Pt(ii) terpyridyl salt and external organic molecules, and the different strength of hydrogen bond leads either reversible or irreversible stimuli-response. Furthermore, this Pt(ii) terpyridyl salt has been on one hand applied as a probe for sensing acetonitrile in water solution, with high selectivity, good reversibility, proper sensitivity and fast response rate, and on the other hand as advanced anticounterfeiting materials. The current study provides a new approach to acquire and design either reversible or irreversible stimuli-responsive luminescent materials.

Zayed, Ahmed M.; Metwally, Bahaa S.; Masoud, Mostafa A.; Mubarak, Mahmoud F.; Shendy, Hussain; Abdelsatar, Mahmoud M.; Petrounias, Petros; Ragab, Ahmed H.; Hassan, Abeer A.; Abdel Wahed, Mahmoud S. M.

doi: 10.1039/d3ra03105epmid: 37614786

Sugar beet crown (SBC) waste was employed to produce sustainable activated carbon (AC) by a thermo-chemical activation procedure using a fixed ratio of H3PO4/SBC (1 : 1 w/w ratio) at 550 °C/2 h. An activated carbon/polyamide nano-composite (AC/PA) was also prepared through the polymerization of the fabricated AC (90%) with polyamide (PA, 10%) synthetic textile waste using a proper dissolving agent at a specified w/w ratio with the employed polymer (formic acid/PA = 82/18%). Both AC and its derivative AC/PA were employed in the remediation of dyes from industrial wastewater in column systems, and their efficiencies were compared at various applied experimental conditions. The adsorption of the industrial dye waste (IDW) was a pH-, flow rate-, and bed thickness-controlled process by the regarded adsorbents. Kinetic studies confirmed the suitability of the Thomas equation over the Yoon and Nelson model in predicting the dynamic adsorption process of IDW by AC and AC/PA as was assured by the close agreement among the calculated and experimental uptake capacities of both adsorbents at the same applied flow rates, suggesting the chemisorption nature of IDW adsorption. Additionally, electrostatic attraction was the leading mechanism of IDW adsorption by AC and AC/PA composite with some advantages of the former over the latter.

Gradwohl, Andreas; Windisch, Jakob; Weissensteiner, Matthias; Keppler, Bernhard K.; Kandioller, Wolfgang; Jirsa, Franz

doi: 10.1039/d3ra03967fpmid: 37608797

The task-specific ionic liquid trihexyltetradecylphosphonium 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoate has been described as a suitable extraction agent for numerous metals from aqueous phases, while additionally providing reduced leaching into the used matrices. Here, we investigate the extraction properties of this extractant towards rare earth elements. Of these, La, Ce, Nd, Ho und Lu were chosen as a representative mix of light and heavy elements. Single- as well as double-element extractions were carried out under varying conditions regarding pH, temperature and extraction time. The highest extraction efficacies and minimalized precipitation of the respective metals were recorded at a pH of 2.5. Satisfactory extraction efficacies (>80%) were achieved already after 6 hours for the elements Ce, Nd and Lu in single-element extraction experiments at room temperature. Increased temperatures improved the extraction efficacy for Nd from 36% at 20 °C to 80% at 30 °C after only 2 hours. Surprisingly, this effect was not observed for Ce in single-element experiments. In double-element feed solutions containing both Ce and Nd, however, the time-dependant extraction efficacy of Ce mirrored that of Nd. The pH in the aqueous extraction matrix changed during the extraction, showing a positive correlation with the extraction efficacy and revealing the extraction mechanism to be via anion exchange. The leaching was in good agreement with literature values, showed a positive correlation with extraction efficacies, and ranged for all extractions between 0.8 and 1.2%. Remarkably, increasing the temperature from 20 °C to 30 °C had no significant influence on leaching.

Marangoni-Ghoreyshi, Yasmin Garcia; Franca, Thiago; Esteves, José; Maranni, Ana; Pereira Portes, Karine Dorneles; Cena, Cicero; Leal, Cassia R. B.

doi: 10.1039/d3ra03518bpmid: 37608796

The identification of multidrug-resistant strains from E. coli species responsible for diarrhea in calves still faces many laboratory limitations and is necessary for adequately monitoring the microorganism spread and control. Then, there is a need to develop a screening tool for bacterial strain identification in microbiology laboratories, which must show easy implementation, fast response, and accurate results. The use of FTIR spectroscopy to identify microorganisms has been successfully demonstrated in the literature, including many bacterial strains; here, we explored the FTIR potential for multi-resistant E. coli identification. First, we applied principal component analysis to observe the group formation tendency; the first results showed no clustering tendency with a messy sample score distribution; then, we improved these results by adequately selecting the main principal components which most contribute to group separation. Finally, using machine learning algorithms, a predicting model showed 75% overall accuracy, demonstrating the method's viability as a screaming test for microorganism identification.

Tashiro, Keigo; Kobayashi, Shogo; Inoue, Hinako; Yanagita, Akihide; Shimoda, Shuhei; Satokawa, Shigeo

doi: 10.1039/d3ra03254jpmid: 37614783

One-pot synthesis of niobium carbabide (NbC) nanoparticles with ca. 30–50 nm was achieved via a rationally designed novel alkali-molten salt method using niobium oxide (Nb2O5), potassium carbonate (K2CO3), and mesoporous carbon (MPC). In this reaction, potassium niobate (KNbO3) was produced as an intermediate and carbonization of KNbO3 proceeds at a spatially limited external surface encompassed by the mesopores of MPC due to the repulsive characteristics of ionic KNbO3 toward hydrophobic MPC, which affords the size-controlled NbC nanoparticles with a narrow particle distribution. The particle sizes tended to become smaller as the pore sizes of MPCs or the temperature on the calcination under the nitrogen stream decreased. Elemental reactions along the one-pot synthesis of NbC nanoparticles were clarified by X-ray spectroscopic, thermogravimetric, and mass spectrometric measurements.

Perumal, Karuppaiah; Lee, Jiseong; Annes, Sesuraj Babiola; Ramesh, Subburethinam; Rangarajan, T. M.; Mathew, Bijo; Kim, Hoon

doi: 10.1039/d3ra03641cpmid: 37614797

A simple, metal-free approach was developed to obtain novel pseudoindoxyl derivatives. The reaction was mediated by tBuOK on tetrahydrocarbazole 8 in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at room temperature through the hydroxylation of the indole double bond and a subsequent pinacol-type rearrangement. Spiro pseudoindoxyl compounds and their N-benzylated derivatives were assessed for their inhibitory activities against monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzymes. Based on half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values, 13 compounds were found to have higher inhibitory activity against MAO-B than against MAO-A. With regard to MAO-B inhibition, 11f showed the best inhibitory activity, with an IC50 value of 1.44 μM, followed by 11h (IC50 = 1.60 μM), 11j (IC50 = 2.78 μM), 11d (IC50 = 2.81 μM), and 11i (IC50 = 3.02 μM). Compound 11f was a competitive inhibitor with a Ki value of 0.51 ± 0.023 μM. In a reversibility experiment using dialysis, 11f showed effective recovery of MAO-B inhibition similar to that of safinamide. These experiments suggested that 11f was a potent, reversible, and competitive inhibitor of MAO-B activity.

Li, Wang; Guo, Yulin; Liu, Yan; Yang, Wen; Hu, Jifan; Ma, Jiangwei

doi: 10.1039/d3ra05135hpmid: 37614793

Here, we report a surface etching strategy for the controllable synthesis of metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived ZnCo2O4@ZnO/Co3O4 oxides. Different from previous studies, ZnCo-glycolate (ZnCo-gly) spheres acted as sacrificial templates to provide Zn2+ and Co2+ ions, which coordinated with 2-MeIm to form Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks (ZIFs) on the surface of ZnCo-gly. A series of characterizations were employed to clarify the evolution of the surface etching strategy. Interestingly, the ZIF thickness of the ZnCo-gly surface could be controlled by adjusting the reaction time. After calcination, p–n heterojunctions were formed between the MOF-derived ZnO and Co3O4, which made it show excellent selectivity to methanal gas.

Li, Lin; Zeng, Tao; Huang, Hongyu; Li, Jun; Kobayshi, Noriyuki; Yang, Xiaohu

doi: 10.1039/d3ra03835apmid: 37614790

In this study, the influences of nano γ-Al2O3 on the thermal storage performance of LiCl were experimentally investigated. The XRD results show that a complex of lithium aluminium oxychloride (LiAlOCl2) was formed through the LiCl·H2O and γ-Al2O3 composites preparation process. The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy measurement reveals that the addition of γ-Al2O3 accelerated the hydration rate of LiCl composites, concentrated the spectrum utilization range, and promoted the desorption rate of physical adsorbed H2O and low-frequency structural –OH in the materials. The highest specific surface area of the composite is 34.5 times higher than that of pure LiCl. The addition of γ-Al2O3 can increase the conversion rate of LiCl·H2O to approximately 100% at the hydration time of 1 h and the addition content of γ-Al2O3 at 15 wt%. A maximum heat storage density (HSD) for the LiCl·H2O-γ-Al2O3 composite can reach 714.7 kJ kgLiCl·H2O−1 in 1 h when the addition content of γ-Al2O3 was 15%wt and its water uptake can reach 0.26 g g−1 in 1 h. It also can be found that the addition of Al2O3 in LiCl resulted in a decrease of the activation energy from 90.89 kJ mol−1 to 79.76 kJ mol−1. However, the thermal conductivity of the LiCl·H2O-γ-Al2O3 composite slightly decreased with the increase of nano γ-Al2O3 content.