The activity of mesoporous Al-MCM-41 for deoxygenation of Reutealis trisperma oil (RTO) was enhanced via modification with NiO nanoparticles. Deoxygenation at atmospheric pressure and under H₂ free conditions required acid catalysts to ensure the removal of the oxygenated fragments in triglycerides to form liquid hydrocarbons. NiO at different weight loadings was impregnated onto Al-MCM-41 and the changes of Lewis/Brønsted acidity and mesoporosity of the catalysts were investigated. The activity of Al-MCM-41 was enhanced when impregnated with NiO due to the increase of Lewis acidity originating from NiO nanoparticles and the mesoporosity of Al-MCM-41. Increasing the NiO loading enhanced the Lewis acidity but not Brønsted acidity, leading to a higher conversion towards liquid hydrocarbon yield. Impregnation with 10% of NiO on Al-MCM-41 increased the conversion of RTO to hydrocarbons via the deoxygenation pathway and reduced the products from cracking reaction, consequently enhancing the green diesel (C11–C18) hydrocarbon products.

The synthesize of solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) based on polyethylene oxide (PEO), NaClO₄ and nano-SiO₂ was carried out by solution cast technique. Nano-SiO₂ was synthesized from sugarcane bagasse using sol-gel method. FTIR analysis was carried out to investigate the bonding between nano-SiO₂ and PEO/NaClO₄. The morphology of the SPE was characterized using SEM. XRD and DSC analysis showed that SPE crystallinity decreased as nano-SiO₂ concentration was increased. Mechanical analyses were conducted to characterize the SPE tensile strength and elongation at break. EIS analysis was conducted to measure SPE ionic conductivity. The PEO/NaClO₄ SPE with the addition of 5% nano-SiO₂ from sugarcane bagasse at 60 °C produced SPE with the highest ionic conductivity, 1.18 × 10⁻⁶ S/cm. It was concluded that the addition of nano-SiO₂ increased ionic conductivity and interface stability at the solid polymer electrolyte-PEO/NaClO₄.

Tautomerism alters the structure and properties of materials, which can be exploited to control their chemical and biological activities. The role of pH-induced tautomerism of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was determined by measuring the size, stability, and antioxidant and antibacterial properties of microwave synthesized-silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). TEM and XRD analyses confirmed the formation of face-centered cubic silver nanoparticles. PVP stabilized the AgNPs by interaction with the carbonyl or hydroxyl groups depending on the tautomerization under different pH conditions. At pH 4, PVP was stable in the keto tautomer, stabilizing Ag through electron donation of oxygen atoms in the carbonyl group, producing smaller AgNPs with a higher zeta potential. At pH 7 and 9, the enol tautomer PVP stabilized the AgNPs via oxygen atoms in the hydroxyl group, forming large nanoparticles. The keto form of PVP improved the stability and antioxidant and antibacterial properties of AgNPs compared with the enol form. This study also excluded the antioxidant contribution of PVP via hydrogen donation to free radicals. A facile method for controlling the size of AgNPs by adapting the pH-induced tautomerism of PVP that affects their stability and antioxidant and antibacterial activities is thus reported.

Alkalinity is one of the most important factors that influence the crystallization process of zeolite and the product properties. The influence of alkalinity on the synthesis of sodalite from kaolin without calcinations was reported in this research. The synthesis of sodalite using molar ratio of Na2O/Al2O3 = x, H2O/Na2O = 128/x and SiO2/Al2O3 = 2/x, where x was the variation of molar ratio of alkalinity: 10, 20, 30, and 40. The synthesis has done by stirring for 6 h, without aging, and the crystallization time was 24 h under hydrothermal method (100 °C). The products were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX). The X-ray diffraction pattern and infrared spectroscopy shown that pure sodalite was formed by using molar ratio of alkalinity 10, 20, and 30. The crystallinity and particle size increase along with increasing of alkalinity. Quartz was formed by using molar ratio of alkalinity 40.