Publications

Poly(o-anisidine) molybdophosphate was expediently obtained by sol-gel mixing of Poly(o-anisidine) into the inorganic matrices of molybdophosphate, which was allowed to react with silver nitrate to the formation of poly(o-anisidine) molybdophosphate embedded silver nano composite. The composite was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, UV-Vis Spectrophotometry, Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy and Thermogravimertic Analysis. Ion exchange capacity and distribution studies were carried out to understand the ion-exchange capabilities of the nano composite. On the basis of highest distribution studies, this nano composite cation exchanger was used as preparation of heavy metal ion selective membrane. Membrane was characterized for its performance as porosity and swelling later on was used for the preparation of membrane electrode for Hg(II), having better linear range, wide working pH range (2-4.5) with fast response in the real environment.

The present communication demonstrates the proof of concept of using CoFe layered double hydroxide (CoFe-LDHs) nanoplates as an effective peroxidase mimetic to catalyze the oxidation of peroxidase substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine in the presence of H2O2 to produce a blue solution. We further demonstrate successfully CoFe-LDHs nanoplate-based colorimetric assay to detect H2O2 and glucose.

The development of an analytical method for selective and sensitive detection of chlortetracycline (CTC), an often overused broad spectrum antibiotic, is important and challenging in environmental and health monitoring. This paper reports a zinc based metal-organic framework of pyromellitic acid (Zn-BTEC), which has been found to greatly enhance the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) of chlortetracycline. The unique emission response of CTC on Zn-BTEC has been extensively examined and applied for the sensitive detection of CTC on the basis of fluorescence intensity of AIE, and a limit of detection (LOD) was estimated to be 28 nM. A rational mechanism has been proposed based on the porous structure of Zn-BTEC, and the CTC molecules would defuse into the rigid MOF structure and assemble or aggregate, leading to fluorescence enhancement of CTC. Interestingly, the Zn-BTEC materials could discriminate CTC from other TC antibiotics with high selectivity. We have further demonstrated that the Zn-BTEC materials are successfully applied for the sensitive and selective determination of CTC in real samples of fish and urine.

The pyrolysis of methyl alkyl esters I to III and dithioesters IV to VI were theoretically calculated. All possible pyrolysis paths were considered. Both esters and dithioesters presented three potential paths via six-, four- and five-membered ring transition states, respectively. The calculation processes were calculated using MP2/6-31G(d) set. In-depth theoretical analyses were also presented, including NBO related analyses, synchronicities, and charge distributions, to reveal the detailed pyrolysis process.

The development of efficient bifunctional catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of extreme importance for future renewable energy systems. This Communication reports the recent finding that room-temperature treatment of CoO nanowire array on Ti mesh by NaBH₄ in alkaline media leads to in situ development of CoB nanoparticles on nanowire surface. The resulting self-supported CoB@CoO nanoarray behaves as a 3D bifunctional electrocatalyst with high activity and durability for both HER (<17% current density degradation after 20 h electrolysis) and OER (<14% current density degradation after 20 h electrolysis) with the need of the overpotentials of 102 and 290 mV to drive 50 mA cm^-2 in 1.0 m KOH, respectively. Moreover, its two-electrode alkaline water electrolyzer also shows remarkably high durability and only demands a cell voltage of 1.67 V to deliver 50 mA cm^-2 water-splitting current with a current density retention of 81% after 20 h electrolysis. This work provides a promising methodology for the designing and fabricating of metal-boride based nanoarray as a high-active water-splitting catalyst electrode for applications.

Composite nanoparticles were synthesized by eco-friendly hydrothermal process and characterized by different spectroscopic techniques. All the spectroscopic techniques suggested the synthesis of well crystalline optically active composite nanoparticles with average diameter of ∼ 30 nm. The synthesized nanoparticles were applied for the development of chemical sensor which was fabricated by coating the nanoparticles on silver electrode for the recognition of phthalimide using simple I-V technique. The developed sensor exhibited high sensitivity (1.7361 µA.mM(-1).cm(-2)), lower detection limit (8.0 µM) and long range of detection (77.0 µM to 0.38 M). Further the resistances of composite nanoparticles based sensor was found to be 2.7 MΩ which change from 2.7 to 1.7 with change in phthalimide concentration. The major advantages of the designed sensor over existing sensors are its simple technique, low cost, lower detection limit, high sensitivity and long range of detection. It can detect phthalimide even at trace level and sense over wide range of concentrations. Therefore the composite nanoparticals would be a better choice for the fabrication of phthalimide chemical sensor and would be time and cost substituted implement for environmental safety.

Molecular imprinting technology is based on incorporating template molecules in the polymer matrix, followed by their extraction to leave specific cavities similar in shape and size to the incorporated template molecules. The resultant molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) then show antibody-like and enzyme-like behavior. MIPs are used as selective adsorbents, stationary phases, sensors, drug delivery agents, ultrafiltration systems, catalysts, etc. To achieve a specific function, MIPs are synthesized in various forms like beads, particles, membranes, fibers and composites. MIP beads and particles have prime importance due to their use in multiple applications. In this article, we present a survey of various polymerization techniques used for the synthesis of MIP beads and particles, along with a special focus on the studies presenting their use in separation and purification.