Visible‐light active anatase/brookite/rutile (A/B/R) ternary N‐doped titania (N/TiO₂) crystals are successfully prepared by a facile sol‐gel method using titanium butoxide and benign N‐dopant source, guanidinium chloride. Systematically varying the aging time (1, 4, 8, and 12 d), its influence on physicochemical properties of as‐obtained spherical heterojunction nanomaterials is studied. Detailed characterizations confirm that a substantial amount of anatase (88% to 50%) is transformed to rutile (2% to 38%) via intermediate brookite phase (9% to 25%) as the function of aging time; not only the A/B/R phase content of the samples is tuned by sol‐gel aging time of the precursors solution but also their optical‐response and methylene blue photocatalytic properties are profoundly dictated. Notably under visible‐light irradiation, the photostable rutile rich mesoporous A/B/R triphasic N/TiO₂ (50% A, 12% B, 38% R) aged for 12 d demonstrates higher degradation activity (97%) with a faster degradation rate (0.033 min⁻¹) than both lesser aged N/TiO₂ and undoped titania. This enhancement is attributed to the synergistic effect of interstitial‐N‐doping and optimal A/B/R interfacial charge transfer that leads to higher light absorption, lower bandgap energy and well‐separated charge carriers. The current work provides a new perspective for designing highly active visible‐light heterostructure nanomaterials with controllable phase composition.

This paper is intended to prepare new antimicrobial complexes with proven efficiency. The Schiff base, through the condensation process of salicylaldehyde and p-toludine, and its Cu and Zn complexes were successfully synthesized. The Schiff base and its complexes were characterized using molar conductivity, Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques. Accordingly, these characterizations not only confirmed that the synthesized Schiff base acted as N,O bidentate ligand (through azomethine nitrogen and phenoxide oxygen) and chelated with Cu(II) and Zn(II) in the metal-to-ligand ratio of 1:2 but also revealed the characteristic electronic-transition of π→π*/n→π* of the ligand, and ligand-metal charge transfer and d-d of the metal complexes. Moreover, both Cu and Zn complexes recorded weak molar conductance of 54.12 and 51.41 S cm² mol^-1, respectively. Further, their antibacterial activities were evaluated by disc diffusion assay against Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive), Escherichia coli (gram-negative), and Bacillus cereus (gram-negative) bacteria. For all microbial, the metal complexes recorded higher activities than the parent ligand; such increased activity of the complexes may be due to the chelation of the metal ion in the complexes, which enhances the lipophylic character favoring its permeation through the lipid layer of the cell membrane. Such metal complexes can therefore be explored in the future as an option for decreasing the pathogenic potential of infecting bacteria.

In this work, ternary Mo–Ni–X (X = Al, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, W) thin films with nominal composition Mo₈₀Ni₁₀X₁₀ (at. %) were prepared by magnetron sputtering and evaluated as electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media. The influence of alloy composition, substrate type, and deposition temperature on catalytic performance was systematically investigated. Electrochemical screening revealed a strong dependence of HER activity on both substrate conductivity and ternary alloying, with Al-, Cr-, and W-containing systems showing the best performance on glassy carbon substrates. This highlights the importance of interfacial charge-transfer efficiency in determining catalytic behavior. The Mo₈₀Ni₁₀Cr₁₀/GC system was selected for detailed analysis. Deposition temperatures ≥ 500 °C resulted in enhanced HER activity, reaching an overpotential of η₁₀ = −222 mV at j = −10 mA cm⁻². The improved performance is attributed to temperature-induced microstructural optimization and electrochemically driven surface reconstruction, leading to the formation of a Ni-enriched active interface. AFM analysis confirmed surface restructuring during operation, with roughness increasing from ~1 to ~3 nm, indicating the formation of additional electrochemically accessible active sites. XPS results suggest partial depletion of Mo during cycling, while Cr mainly contributes to structural stabilization of the evolving thin film. Overall, the results demonstrate that HER performance is governed by the coupled effects of alloy composition, substrate-dependent charge transport, and in situ surface reconstruction. This work highlights magnetron sputtering as a scalable approach for designing homogeneous noble-metal-free thin-film electrocatalysts with tunable activity.