Recently, CuZnO (CZO) films attracted more and more attention because of its great potential application in semiconductor devices. ZnO shows n-type conductivity and several elements have been tried to dope in ZnO to improve the electrical properties. This study focused on the transition of the electrical properties of CZO films, and find out at which concentration the conductivity of CZO films will from n-type to p-type. In this study, CZO films were fabricated by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis with copper acetate, zinc acetate, and ammonium acetate precursor solution. The concentration of Cu ions in the CZO films were changed by the concentration ratio between copper acetate and zinc acetate in precursor solutions. Additionally, these samples are measured by Hall Effect measurement, X-ray diffraction analysis, transmittance measurement and photoluminescence measurement. The result shows that when the concentration of copper ions in CZO films at 5%, the conductivity of the CZO films will turn from n-type to p-type.

Triptycene-based micorporous polymer was functionalized with thioamide moieties via post-polymerization using phosphorus pentasulfide as a thionating agent in the presence of sodium sulfite. Gas adsorption experiments indicate that the modification leads to a reduction in the BET surface area of the polymer, from 1640 m² g^-1 for the parent TMP to 207 m² g^-1 on 74% conversion of nitrile to thioamide, while the resulting micorporous polymer possesses high H₂ uptake capacity, reaching 101.1 cm³/g^-1 (0.9 wt%) at 1.0 bar and 77 K, especially along with high selectivity towards H₂ over CO₂, N₂ and CH₄. The micorporous polymer presents a promising potential as efficient adsorbents in clean energy applications.

Reduced graphene oxide wrapped TiO2 ball composites (RGO-TiO2) were synthesized via two step hydrothermal process. SEM analysis indicated the formation of TiO2 balls with average size of 2.8 μm and the RGO sheets were wrapped on the surface. XRD characterization indicated the formation of anatase phased TiO2 after the annealing treatment while UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy confirmed that the graphene oxide in the resulting material was in the reduced form. The photocatalytic activity of as-prepared RGO-TiO2 composites were determined by the photodegradation of methylene blue under UV illumination. More specifically, the RGO-TiO2 composites can completely degrade methylene blue solution within 50 min. The degradation rate constant of using RGO-TiO2 composites were twice higher than pure TiO2 balls. The main reason of enhanced photocatalytic property might be the increased adsorption capacity, and the strong electron transfer ability of RGO sheets in the composites as well as the retarded charge recombination rate of the energy level of the two components. In addition, the RGO-TiO2 composites also exhibited an excellent reusability. We believe that this TiO2 based composite material can be effectively used as a highly active and stable photocatalyst to remove various pollutants.

As the population growth increases day by day building construction is also increasing. Most of the energy is consumed in buildings through various sources. One such source is the electricity. Finally it affects human health as well as wealth in lot of ways. The focus on the present paper is using the energy efficient materials such as solar cells with super capacitors and efficient lighting materials in buildings. Therefore the approach of the sustainable development in building is attained.

There is a crucial need for the development of inexpensive technologies for water sterilization enabling access to safe drinking water for more than one billion people in the developing countries.  Water sterilization can be attained by chemical, electrochemical or electrical means. Electrical methods for water sterilization are considered environmental friendly because they use ''electrons'' as the nontoxic reaction mediator. This paper reports the preparation of electrically conductive composite membranes (ECCMs) for water sterilization. The composite membranes were prepared by two stages dip coating of the porous cotton fibers into conductive graphite and various conductive silver nanostructures. The prepared ECCMs were utilized as filter electrodes for fabrication of pathogen inactivation device, with an applied voltage in the range of -20 to +20 V.  The fabricated device inactivated > 99.99%       E. Coli bacteria in the infected water samples having nominal bacterial density in the range of 10⁷-10⁸ CFU/mL.

In this work composite materials of improved properties based on styrene and methacrylate copolymers with differently functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNT) were prepared. In order to obtain a fine dispersion and to enhance the interfacial interaction of CNT with surrounding polimer matrix a chemical modification of the surface of carbon nanotubes was performed. Various types of functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes were used: oxidized (CNT-COOH) and their ester analogues (methyl, dodecyl and ethylbenzene). The reaction of covalent functionalization of CNT-COOH with NaOH and further with (2-bromethyl)-benzene and hexadecyl-trimethylammonium bromide into CNT-COOEtBz was successfully performed. Also, oxidized multiwall carbon nanotubes were reacted with thionyl chloride and further in esterification reaction with given alcohols transformed into corresponding methyl or n-dodecyl ester. Functionalization of CNTs was confirmed by FTIR, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as well as by thermogravimetric analysis. Dodecyl and ethylbenzene ester modified carbon nanotubes showed contact angle for water 150 and 141 degrees, while the oxidized and methyl ester modified carbon nanotubes displayed seepage. Dispersibility of all modified carbon nanotubes in methanol and toluene was quantified by UV-Vis spectroscopy and differs considerably in both solvents for all systems, due to the significant change in chemistry of surface of CNTs. Mixtures of styrene / methacrylate monomer with up to 1 wt. % of CNT in toluene were reacted in a radical in-situ polymerization reaction. The synthesized composites were characterized by the SEC, TGA, DSC, DMA, SEM and contact angle method. The improvement of the properties of polymer/CNT composite can be attributed to better interaction between nanotubes and the polymer matrix.

Geopolymer is a green and sustainable material synthesized by alkali activation of raw aluminosilicate rich materials. In this study class F-fly ash based sodium silicate free geopolymers were synthesized and used for coating application at 60OC. Setting time and adhesion strength analysis was performed using Vicat needle and Elcometer 108 according to ASTM C 807-08 and D 4541 respectively. Adhesion strength was found to enhance with increase in Na/Al ratio from 0.6 to 1.0 whereas no further increase was found for further increase in Na/Al molar ratio. A maximum of 3.8 MPa adhesion strength was produced by geopolymer with Na/Al=1 and water/solid = 0.33. Final setting time shown variation with varying Na/Al and water/solid ratios. It was found that geopolymers gained maximum strength within first 3 days and only partial changes has been noted in terms of adhesion strength in some samples. Infra Red spectroscopy was used as tool to understand the degree of geopolymerisation by observing the vibration frequency of -Si-O-T bonds around 1000 cm-1. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was used to determine composition of Fly ash, whereas x-rays diffractometery (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy of the final product revealed the formation of geopolymer occurred without addition of sodium silicate. It can be concluded that sodium silicate free geopolymer has the potential to be used as a sustainable and green coating material for metals protection.

Silver doped ZnO was prepared by the sol-gel and dip-coating technique, starting with zinc acetate and silver acetate as precursors, followed by its hydrolysis in ethanol. Acetic acid was incorporated to adjust pH, as well as acetylacetonate and TritonMR as stabilizers. The sol was later dipped 3 times in silica substrates. Structural, morphological and antimicrobial properties of the films were investigated for three silver contents (1.0, 2.5 and 5 mol %). X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the films have a hexagonal structure after been annealed at 500 °C. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) for films showed a homogeneous, crack free and smooth surface, composed of cross-linked particles. The synthetized films presented antibacterial activity against Escherichia Coli. It was observed that the higher Ag content (5 mol %) presents the higher antimicrobial ratio, 72%.

To improve the biocompatibility of implants, surface medication is a common practice. Depending on the surface medication process, the physical and/or chemical properties of the surface are altered, keeping the bulk properties same.  The flexibility and wide application potential of laser as a surface modification tool gives it certain advantages over the traditional physical and chemical processes. The biocompatibility of Ti6AlV, already having suitable bulk physical properties, can be enhanced using different laser surface modification (LSM) techniques, as shown by many researchers. In this paper, the different routes of laser surface modification have been critically studied to find out their respective advantages and disadvantages. The LSM processes have been categorized into five major groups, namely laser surface cladding, surface modification using laser irradiation, direct laser texturing, laser lithography and laser additive manufacturing.

Halloysite is aluminosilicate clay that has been used in controlled drug delivery, bone implants,nanocomposites and for the capture of flowing tumoral cells. In this study halloysite clay nanotubes (HNTs) were functionalized by two organosilanes, Trimethoxy(propyl)silane and Triethoxy(octyl)silane. Functionalization was carried out by heating HNTs and organosilanes at 55°C for 48 h. The suspension was vacuum filtered to obtain a solid phase. Untreated and modified samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Samples were added to different cell cultures for cytotoxicity evaluation. Biocompatibility and cytotoxicity of materials was determined using C6 rat glioblastoma and HEK (Human Embryonic Kidney) cells. These studies allow the identification ofpotential applications in biomedical areas.