Monoclinic argentite Ag2S-based AgCoOS oxysulfide catalyst with high catalytic reduction performance in the dark with NaBH4 was prepared via a facial method. The co-doping of transition metal cations and anions was employed to effectively adjust the electron transfer property of the catalyst, with O used to modify the energy band structure and Co to provide extra active sites for the electrophilic and nucleophile reactions. The hybridization of O and S orbitals promoted the stability of the Ag2S-based catalyst. The optimized doping amount of 2.40% led to the highest catalytic reduction performance, as demonstrated by AgCoOS-3 catalyst, which achieved a complete reduction of 4-NP, MB, MO, and RhB (100 ml, 50 ppm) within 10 min, 6 min, 8 min, and 6 min, respectively, while maintaining good stability during the cycling tests. The response surface and contour plots were adopted to provide insights into the interactions between variables and their impact on the catalytic reduction reaction performance. The results suggest that the high-performance Co, O co-doped Ag2S catalyst synthesized by the green procedures has excellent potential for industrial wastewater treatment applications.

In this work, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) chains were grown on the surface of thiophene functionalized polypropylenimine tetramine (PPI-TH) and N-methylpyrrole functionalized polypropylenimine tetramine (PPI-PY) using chemical oxidation polymerization. After growing the P3HT chains on the surface of PPI-TH and PPI-PY, the properties of the resulting co-polymers were compared with those of linear P3HT as reference. P3HT, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)-co-thiophene functionalized polypropylenimine tetramine (P3HT-T), and poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)-co-N-methylpyrrole functionalized polypropylenimine tetramine (P3HT-P) were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), scanning electron microscope (SEM), photoluminescence and electrochemical methods. P3HT-T and P3HT-P showed new imine bands on FTIR spectra, change in morphology and optical bandgaps, Stokes shifts, decrease in LUMO energy gap values, and increase in conductivity compared to P3HT. In addition, organic solar cells (OSCs) based on P3HT, P3HT-T, and P3HT-P as donor materials are discussed in this work. In comparison with P3HT based OSC, the P3HT-T and P3HT-P based OSCs have improved performance due to an increase in VOC and FF. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel plots confirmed a reduction in charge recombination and increase in charge transport for P3HT-T and P3HT-P devices.

Magnetic vortices have been an interesting element in the past decades due to their flux-closure domain structures which can be stabilized at ground states in soft ferromagnetic microstructures. In this work, vortex states are shown to be nucleated and stabilized in Fe80Ga20 and Fe70Ga30 disks, which can be an upcoming candidate for applications in strain-induced electric field control of magnetic states owing to the high magnetostriction of the alloy. The magnetization reversal in the disks occurs by the formation of a vortex, double vortex or S-domain state. Micromagnetic simulations have been performed using the FeGa material parameters and the simulated magnetic states are in good agreement with the experimental results. The studies performed here can be essential for the use of FeGa alloy in low-power electronics.

Three kinds of Cu–Ag composite paste were fabricated. We used 10 μm Cu particles as the main component of the paste as they are significantly cheaper than Ag and Cu nanoparticles. To understand the bonding performance and mechanism, the flake-shape Cu–Ag pastes with a different solvent and a Cu spherical particle with a diameter of 10 μm were separately implemented for the bare Cu bonding. A detailed and systematic analysis of Cu–Ag paste sintering was performed. In addition, for the flake-shape Cu–Ag paste, the bonding strength and thermal conductivity were evaluated at different sintering temperatures between 180 and 350 °C. A robust bonding strength of 56.7 MPa was achieved for the SiC chip on bare Cu bonding under low-temperature and low-pressure (300 °C, 2 MPa) air conditions. In addition, a large area of the direct bonded copper substrate (30 mm × 30 mm) was bonded to the Cu baseplate using Cu–Ag paste. The thermal conductivity of 243.7 W/m·K was better than that of almost all the Pb-free solders and comparable with the Ag sinter paste. The results revealed that the reducing agent plays a significant role in anti-oxidation and necking growth. This study offers a deeply understand of Cu–Ag composite paste on bare Cu bonding in the air for SiC power devices for its high-temperature applications.

The high capacity electrode material design with rapid charging/discharging and long life capability has become a critical issue and main concern in recent years. Nickel oxide (NiO) has received much attention in the field of energy storage as a cathode electrode material owing to its layered structure with large spacing, crystal structure, and high specific surface area. In this study, the chitosan derived carbon–nickel oxide (CDC@NiO) nanocomposite was synthesized from a NiO nanoparticle precursor using a precipitation approach, and chitosan (a renewable biopolymer) was used as a carbon resource. The formation mechanism, structural behavior, and morphological properties were examined using various types of microscopic and spectroscopic characterization techniques. The design material was tested further as electrode material in an electrochemical half-cell and full cell symmetric assembly. In a three electrode system, the CDC@NiO nanocomposite exhibited satisfactory electrochemical performance with a high specific capacitance of around 1011.10 Fg−1 and better cyclic stability of 94.20% after 3000 cycles. In a two electrode symmetric supercapacitive system, the fabricated CDC@NiO delivered maximum Cs 88.30 Fg−1, stability with a higher power density of 7.84 Whkg−1 at an energy density of 133.05 Wkg−1. The fabricated CDC@NiO electrode material retains the cyclic stability of around 90% after 3500 consecutive charge/discharge cycles.

The development of highly efficient and cost-effective multifunctional photocatalysts is of current global interest because these photocatalysts have the potential to address the energy and water crisis. Herein, an efficient calixarene-based Calix@Nb2CTx/g-C3N4 (Cx–Nb–CN) photocatalyst was prepared through the formation of covalent bonds between the calixarene (Cx–COCl), g-C3N4 (CN), and Nb2CTx MXene. Enhanced optoelectronic and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties were observed upon introducing Cx–COCl calixarene and Nb2CTx complexes to the g-C3N4 (CN) photocatalyst. The XPS valence band measurements demonstrated the narrowing of the energy band gap for the composites due to the downshifting and upshifting of the CB and VB, correspondingly. Due to the sensitization effect, the Cx–CN presented superior photocatalytic properties relative to the pristine CN. Moreover, reduced charge transfer resistance (Rct = 110.7 Ω cm2) and the highest photocurrent density (Jp = 7.95 mA/cm2) were observed for the Cx–Nb–CN–5 heterostructure. The Schottky-heterostructures Cx–Nb–CN–1, Cx–Nb–CN–3, and Cx–Nb–CN–5 presented high linear sweep current densities (JLSV) of 8.61, 12.39, 14.04 mA/cm2 signifying excellent light utilization and efficient separation of charge carriers, respectively. The fabricated photocatalyst exhibits excellent physicochemical and photocatalytic properties with the potential to facilitate host-guest complexation towards environmental detoxification and energy conversions.

Rapid chemical detection of drugs of abuse in biological fluids such as blood and saliva is a concern within medicine and law enforcement. As an outcome, a label-free detection platform takes biological fluid samples with concentrations ranging from extremely high to very low. We obtained experimentally the limit of detection (LOD) of glycerol concentration, corresponding to a minimum resolvable refractive index of 3.4 × 10−7 RIU (refractive index unit). We applied the microfluidic device sensors to the quantitating concentration dopamine solutions. The experiment was recorded in real-time as the concentration of analyte injected exposed to the fiber core surface resulted in a sensitive change in optical power transmission. The presented sensors also exhibited reasonably good reproducibility and higher sensitivity, providing the LOD as 1.02 × 10−11 M. A relatively simple scheme procedure is proposed for the simultaneous detection and quantitative assessment of rhodamine B using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with a limit of detection of 10−12 M and a relative standard deviation of 5.78% across a detection concentration range mainly from 10−5 M to 10−12 M. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of nano-metal–organic framework materials as large-area, label-free optical fiber sensors and SERS-based platforms for biomedical sensing and environmental applications.

With the miniaturization of electronic components and higher density of electrical connections in the printed circuit boards, the properties of conventional solder masks are unfit for these ever-growing requirements, especially when subjected to extreme processing and application conditions. This has prompted the need for advanced solder mask studies. This article aims to review the structure and properties of conventional photoimageable solder masks as well as the fabrication and challenges that prompt the need for the synthesis of advanced solder mask materials. It covers an overview of the fundamentals and classification of solder masks, the topic of photoimageable solder masks and their challenges, and the related key processes that affect the solder mask properties. The synthesis of advanced solder masks with potential breakthroughs is also discussed.

Z-scheme Ag2WO4/BiOBr heterojunction with rich oxygen vacancies was successfully synthesized by the simplest hydrothermal method, which was systematically characterized in the structural, optical and electronic properties. The photocatalytic applications of Z-scheme Ag2WO4/BiOBr heterostructure with different weight percentages of Ag2WO4 were studied. The optimized Ag2WO4(20%)/BiOBr heterostructure exhibited superior photodegradation efficiencies (98%) towards Lanasol Red 5 B (LR5B), which was 4.67- and 3.38-fold higher than pristine BiOBr and Ag2WO4, respectively. The principal reason for the elevated photocatalytic property of Ag2WO4/BiOBr was ascribed to the formation of oxygen vacancies and intimate Z-scheme heterostructure between Ag2WO4 and BiOBr, improving the light trapping capability and facilitating separation of photo-induced charge. Moreover, the removal efficiencies of Ag2WO4/BiOBr heterostructure towards TC (tetracycline), CIP (ciprofloxacin) and RhB (rhodamine B) were 74%, 23%, and 13%, respectively. The simultaneous degradation experiment confirmed the competitiveness between LR5B and CIP for active species, leading to the inferior degradation efficiency for LR5B, along with the experimental factor towards LR5B was researched. The probable Z-scheme mechanism and the significant role of hydroxyl radical and superoxide radicals were demonstrated by the radical capture experiment and electron spin resonance (ESR). The Z-scheme mechanism has resulted in prominent improvement in charge separation, along with higher redox properties, which were responsible for the excellent photocatalytic activity.

The availability of rapid and low-cost instruments to detect magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) concentrations is vital in giant magnetoresistance (GMR)-based biosensors. This paper reports a new setup for a simple GMR sensor using the commercial chip AAL024 as a transducer. It was combined with a basic differential amplifier and microcontroller to acquire digital output voltages for the detection of green-synthesized (GS)-Fe3O4 MNPs as a label and streptavidin-coated MNPs in biosensor applications. As a characteristic feature of Fe3O4, the GS-Fe3O4 MNPs displayed a cubic inverse spinel structure. The average GS-Fe3O4 particle size was 11 nm and they exhibited soft ferromagnetic behavior with a saturation magnetization (MS) of 55.5 emu/g. Owing to the presence of phytochemical components in the Moringa oleifera (MO) extract, the MS of GS-Fe3O4 was lower than that of Fe3O4. To study sensor performance, the detection of the GS-Fe3O4 MNP labels and streptavidin-coated MNPs assay was investigated. Using the microcontroller as the supply voltage for the AAL024 and an analog-to-digital converter simplified data collection and made any additional measuring instruments unnecessary. The sensor showed promising performance with the GS-Fe3O4 MNP label and streptavidin assay owing to the linear correspondence between the signal and concentration of the MNP label. A small limit-of-detection of 4 mg/mL was achieved for GS-Fe3O4. The sensitivity of GS-Fe3O4 and streptavidin were 2.79 and 1.80 mV/(mg/mL), respectively. Moreover, the excellent stability and reproducibility of the sensor were confirmed by the stable signal for over 30 s with relative signal deviation (RSD) ranges of 2–20% and 2–10% for MNPs and streptavidin, respectively.

Electro-blown spinning (EBS) is an emergent hybridized nanofibers formation technology. Recently, there has been a great interest in introducing this novel method for producing sub-micron, and nanofibers into several applications. For the first time, this comprehensive paper provides a detailed review for the EBS process, including working principle, operation parameters, nanofibers materials, setup modifications, and various applications. EBS is a hybridized nanofibers manufacturing process which combines between the solution-blown spinning (SBS) and electrospinning driving forces. The EBS process can produce outstanding spinning efficiency and superior nanofibers characteristics compared to the conventional spinning methods. Moreover, researchers have proved the efficient spinning capability of EBS with highly viscous polymers and its feasibility for large-scale production. Herein, we will show the potential of EBS to produce high-quality nanofibers and bring new insight into the process challenges and outcomes.

Polyphyllin I (PPI) is a naturally active steroidal saponin that has good therapeutic effects in various cancers, such as liver and lung cancers. However, owing to its non-selective distribution in various tissues, it is toxic and has side effects on normal human organs while taking effect. To solve this problem, a unique functionalized nanomaterial called metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) was prepared as a targeted nanoparticle for tumor therapy. MOFs are porous coordination polymers that can achieve precise structural and functional adjustability by regulating the organic ligands and metal ions. IRMOF-8 with a multidimensional network topology whose aperture matched the size of PPI was selected to load the PPI. In this study, PPI was loaded into IRMOF-8 via ex situ encapsulation. Drug-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) were coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) coupled to cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs). The obtained nanoplatform denoted as PEG-CPP44/PPI@IRMOF-8 NPs had a spherical shape, a rough and uneven surface, an average particle size of 202.97 nm, excellent drug loading (33.37%), and showed release behavior. In addition, the NPs showed remarkable targeting selectivity for cellular uptake and in vivo imaging. More importantly, it exhibited good antitumor activity in vivo and in vitro. It not only increased the therapeutic efficiency of PPI for liver cancer but also reduced the damage caused by PPI to normal organs. The preparation of the functional nanoplatform (PEG-CPP44/PPI@IRMOF-8) shows the advantages and highlights of MOF-based drug delivery systems and can help in the follow-up precise treatment of tumors.

Albumin is a water-soluble protein that has attracted attention due to its characteristics, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-immunogenicity, long half-life, minimal toxicity, good stability, and good reactivity. These good characteristics make albumin can be applied in various fields. Albumin can be used in medical and pharmacy as drug delivery and infusion therapy. In addition, albumin is an agent to accelerate wound healing and antioxidant therapy. Albumin is also applied as a supporting material, a corrosion inhibitor, and a biosensor for analytical measurement purposes. The applications of albumin are reviewed in this article. This paper is also designed to summarize the albumin sources. Albumin is found in human serum, animals (i.e., cow, chicken, salmon, etc.), and plants (i.e., peanuts, sunflower, passion fruit, etc.) sources. Each region has its unique source of albumin to be explored. Various studies have reported albumin preparation and separation methods, including chromatography, solvent extraction, electrophoresis, and adsorption methods. The determination of albumin using spectroscopy and electrochemical methods is also described in this article. In addition, the challenges and prospects of albumin are also discussed.

With the rapid development of 3D printing technology, products with improved performance are in demand. In this study, photosensitive bismaleimide resin (N,N′-(4,4′-diphenylmethane) bismaleimide–4,4′-diaminodiphenyl methane–glycidyl methacrylate; BDM-DDM-GMA) and acrylic liquid-crystal resin (ALCR) were used to obtain new 3D printing BDM/ALCR resins. The resultant 3D-printed products exhibited excellent heat resistance and mechanical properties, and only small amounts of both resins were required to achieve the optimal formulation of a single resin. When 10% of BDM-DDM-GMA and 5% of ALCR were used, their T-5% and Tmax were 329.2 and 459.1 °C, respectively, Tg was 117.4 °C, tensile strength was 81.7 MPa, elongation at break was 14.3%, flexural strength was 134.8 MPa, and impact strength was 5.2 kJ m−2. The use of BDM-DDM-GMA and ALCR fulfills the expectation that the two components can synergistically enhance the performance of 3D printing resins, the presence of the imide ring increases the overall rigidity at the molecular level, and the mesocrystalline domain formed by the stacking of liquid crystal molecules enhances its resistance when subjected to external forces. After the physical printing tests, all products exhibited good surface properties and excellent interlayer bonding. As a result, BDM/ALCR resins with excellent mechanical properties and heat resistance have great potential for applications in aerospace, automotive parts, and electronic components.

Two microchips, each with four identical microstructured sensors using SnO2 nanowires as sensing material (one chip decorated with Ag nanoparticles, the other with Pt nanoparticles), were used as a nano-electronic nose to distinguish five different gases and estimate their concentrations. This innovative approach uses identical sensors working at different operating temperatures thanks to the thermal gradient created by an integrated microheater. A system with in-house developed hardware and software was used to collect signals from the eight sensors and combine them into eight-dimensional data vectors. These vectors were processed with a support vector machine allowing for qualitative and quantitative discrimination of all gases after calibration. The system worked perfectly within the calibrated range (100% correct classification, 6.9% average error on concentration value). This work focuses on minimizing the number of points needed for calibration while maintaining good sensor performance, both for classification and error in estimating concentration. Therefore, the calibration range (in terms of gas concentration) was gradually reduced and further tests were performed with concentrations outside these new reduced limits. Although with only a few training points, down to just two per gas, the system performed well with 96% correct classifications and 31.7% average error for the gases at concentrations up to 25 times higher than its calibration range. At very low concentrations, down to 20 times lower than the calibration range, the system worked less well, with 93% correct classifications and 38.6% average error, probably due to proximity to the limit of detection of the sensors.

This study has effectively integrated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer and three-dimensional (3D) porous conductive foams (CFs) to fabricate functional (CF-PDMS) composites containing conductive networks via a low-cost, facile and simultaneous freeze-dry-covering method, which possess both broad stretching and sensing ranges, using as flexible and wearable sensors (CF-PDMS sensors) for detecting and monitoring human motions. Specifically, the 3D porous CF with cellular structures is prepared by combining low-cost polymers (gelatin/chitosan) and carbon-based fillers (graphene oxide-carbon nanotubes), which are then crosslinked with a cross-linker agent (glutaraldehyde) and simply freeze-dried to produce a promising foam with a cellular structure with conductive bridges. The effective incorporation of carbon-based fillers and the biopolymer matrix to fabricate a functional composite with a cellular structure, i.e., the 3D porous CF, is demonstrated in terms of its morphological, chemical, crystalline, and thermal properties. Afterward, the constructed networks of the 3D porous CF are well covered by an elastomeric mixture of PDMS liquid and curing agent (10:1) to produce CF-PDMS composites with good stretchability and sensing performance. The sensing performance results show that these composite sensors exhibit good resistance signals under various mechanical deformations, demonstrating their outstanding stability and repeatability. Because the monitoring of various movements of human joints using wearable electronics has wide-range applications in human motion detection, these findings are of great significance. Concomitantly, the composite sensors are also used for creating a portable device with motion detection wireless via a smartphone (i.e., an integration of a Bluetooth module and an Arduino assistant). These approaches can provide a promising strategy for developing wearable sensors regarding the connections of real objects to the Internet from the Internet of Things (IoT) in the future.

Radioluminescent isotope cells (RLICs) have the advantages of long lifetime and high stability due to the use of phosphor material with excellent radiation resistance. Current research efforts mainly focus on the improvement of energy conversion efficiency. This study presents a 63Ni-based RLIC with enhanced photon transport interfaces. The ZnS:Cu phosphor layer is spin-coated directly onto the surface of an AlGaInP-based photovoltaic cell (PC) to achieve efficient coupling of photons by optimizing the transmission interface, and a metal film is sputtered onto the ZnS:Cu layer to reflect radioluminescence towards the PC. Theoretical simulations and experiments are used to compare and validate the integration designs of the ZnS:Cu layer and metal reflective films (Ag, Al and Ni). It is demonstrated that the RLIC based on the spin-coated ZnS:Cu/PC structure with a 100 nm thick Ag film can increase output power by 52.6%, compared to conventional RLICs based on adhesive ZnS:Cu/BOPP/PC structure. A maximum efficiency of 0.92% is expected under beta radiation of 63Ni. The enhancement of photon transport is attributed to fluorescence backward reflection and refractive index matching at the interfaces.

Two copper phyllosilicates were prepared via co-precipitation accompanied by hydrothermal treatment at pH constant. The obtained materials were physically characterized by XRD, H2-TPR, TEM, BET and XPS techniques. The results indicated that Cu(II) ions were successfully intercalated into the phyllosilicate framework at a low Cu/Si molar ratio. The obtained solid possesses a layered structure, a high surface area, and a more reducibility. The synthesized materials were tested for the liquid oxidation of benzyl alcohol at mild conditions. It was found that the intra-lattice Cu2+ ions are more active than the extra-ones in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol. The oxidation proceeds through the radical mechanism, and the overall conversion of benzyl alcohol obtained approximately 45–50% with a major product of benzaldehyde.

Photocatalysis is considered to be one of the most promising strategies for reducing water pollution, a global issue that threatens the environment. The electro-spinning technique was used to synthesize Pt–Au/TiO2/BaFe12O19 nanofibers. The optical part of a Pt–Au/TiO2 nanocomposite was obtained by surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and the magnetic part was obtained by using BaFe12O19 nanoparticles synthesized through ultrasound waves and Ficus carica extracts. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Dispersive Spectra analysis (EDS), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), high-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) have been employed to assess products. The photocatalytic performance of Pt/TiO2, Au/TiO2, nanocomposites and Pt–Au/TiO2 BaFe12O19 nanofibers was investigated under visible light. In the presence of changing parameters, such as dye type (azo dyes with different numbers of azo groups), concentration and pH, the highest decolorization has been achieved 95.2%, with the reaction rate coefficient of 0.0247 min−1 for Acid Red 14 by Pt–Au/TiO2 nanofibers. The results of this study clearly demonstrate that noble metals may increase dye degradation through the electron sink effect of Pt and the SPR effect of Au.

This article describes a novel and simple method for fabricating reduced graphene oxide (rGO) 3D foams using a natural oil (canola)−graphene oxide (GO) suspension emulsion templated technique. This method utilizes ultrasonic waves to arrange GO sheets in a stable position in an oil-water emulsion, thus enabling the economical and environmentally friendly fabrication of rGO 3D foams with controllable spherical pore sizes ranging from 5 to 200 μm through a hydrothermal technique. The pore size can be controlled using an emulsion mixing technique and the size of the GO sheet, where using a larger GO sheet results in a larger pore size. Compared to a smaller GO sheet, a larger GO sheet can also result in a final rGO foam with a more stable emulsion and greater structural stability than. The 3D foams made in this way exhibit interconnected micro-sized voids, thus resulting in better permeability, which made the fabricated material highly suitable for waste liquid absorption. The synthesized materials exhibited maximum volume capacities of 96.1% for organic solvent (IPA) and 88.1% for oils (olive). Moreover, its organic solvent absorption exhibited no performance drop, even after 10 cycles. Its absorption capacity for oil also remained at 79%, even after 5 cycles.