Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2015 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 5 Articles
Ag nanoparticles were synthesized by using Ficus altissima Blume leaf extract\nas a reducing agent at room temperature. The resulting Ag nanoparticles/PVA mixture was\nemployed to create Ag nanoparticles/PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) hybrid nanofibers via an\nelectrospinning technique. The obtained nanofibers were confirmed by means of UV-Vis\nspectroscopy, The X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy,\nscanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and then\ntested to catalyze KBH4 reduction of methylene blue (MB). The catalytic results\ndemonstrate that the MB can be reduced completely within 15 min. In addition, the Ag\nnanoparticles/PVA hybrid nanofibers show reusability for three cycles with no obvious\nlosses in degradation ratio of the MB....
The poor cycling stability of polyaniline (PANI) limits its practical application\nas a pseudocapacitive material due to the volume change during the charge-discharge\nprocedure. Herein, crosslinked carbon nanotubes/polyaniline (C-CNTs/PANI) composites\nhad been designed by the in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline in the\npresence of cross linked carbon nanotubes (C-CNTs), which were obtained by coupling of\nthe functionalized carbon nanotubes with 1,4-benzoquinone. The composite showed a\nspecific capacitance of 294 F/g at the scan rate of 10 mV/s, and could retain 95% of its\ninitial specific capacitance after 1000 CV cycles. Such high electrochemical cycling\nstability resulting from the crosslinked skeleton of the C-CNTs makes them potential\nelectrode materials for a supercapacitor....
In this study, the effect of nanoparticle concentration was tested for both CuO\nand TiO2 in eutectic mixture of sodium and potassium nitrate. Results showed an\nenhancement in specific heat capacity (Cp) for both types of nanoparticles (+10.48% at\n440 �°C for 0.1 wt % CuO and +4.95% at 440 �°C for 0.5 wt % TiO2) but the behavior\ntoward a rise in concentration was different with CuO displaying its highest enhancement\nat the lowest concentration whilst TiO2 showed no concentration dependence for three of\nthe four different concentrations tested. The production of cluster of nanoparticles was\nvisible in CuO but not in TiO2. This formation of nanostructure in molten salt might promote\nthe enhancement in Cp. However, the size and shape of these structures will most likely\nimpact the energy density of the molten salt....
The aims of our present study were to establish a novel olfactory-based spatial\nlearning test and to examine the effects of exposure to nano-sized diesel exhaust-origin\nsecondary organic aerosol (SOA), a model environmental pollutant, on the learning performance\nin preweaning mice. Pregnant BALB/c mice were exposed to clean air, diesel exhaust (DE),\nor DE-origin SOA (DE-SOA) from gestational day 14 to postnatal day (PND) 10 in exposure\nchambers. On PND 11, the preweaning mice were examined by the olfactory-based spatial\nlearning test. After completion of the spatial learning test, the hippocampus from each mouse\nwas removed and examined for the expressions of neurological and immunological markers\nusing real-time RT-PCR. In the test phase of the study, the mice exposed to DE or DE-SOA\ntook a longer time to reach the target as compared to the control mice. The expression levels\nof neurological markers such as the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunits NR1 and NR2B, and of immunological markers such as TNF-, COX2, and Iba1 were significantly\nincreased in the hippocampi of the DE-SOA-exposed preweaning mice as compared to the\ncontrol mice. Our results indicate that DE-SOA exposure in utero and in the neonatal period\nmay affect the olfactory-based spatial learning behavior in preweaning mice by modulating\nthe expressions of memory functionââ?¬â??related pathway genes and inflammatory markers in\nthe hippocampus....
The presence of nondegradable organic compounds and xenobiotic chemicals in water is a great concern for the general public\nbecause of their polar properties and toxicity. For instance, trichloroethylene (TCE) is a widely used solvent in the chemical\nindustry, and it is also a contaminant of soil, surface water, and groundwater. Recent studies on new treatment technologies have\nshown that photocatalyst-based advanced oxidation processes are appropriate for removing these polar and toxic compounds from\nwater. The objective of this study was to remove TCE from water using novel nano-ZnO-laponite porous balls prepared from\nphotocatalyst ZnO with nanoscale laponite. These nano-ZnO-laponite porous balls have a porosity of approximately 20%. A lower\ninitial concentration of TCE resulted in high removal efficiency. Moreover, the removal efficiency increased with increasing pH\nin the photocatalytic degradation experiments employing UVC light with nano-ZnO-laponite. The optimal dosage of nano-ZnOlaponite\nwas 30 g and the use of UVC light resulted in a higher removal efficiency than that achieved with UVA light. In addition,\nthe removal efficiency of TCE significantly increased with increasing light intensity.We think that TCE�s removal in water by using\nporous ball of nano-ZnO and nanoclay composite is a result of degradation from hydroxide by photons of nano-ZnO and physical\nabsorption in nanoclay....
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