We examine the photocatalytic activity (PCA) of ZnO/graphitic carbon nitride g-C₃N₄ (g-CN) composite material for methylene blue (MB) degradation under visible-light irradiation (VLI). The polymeric g-CN materials were fabricated by the pyrolysis of urea and thiourea. More importantly, ZnO/g-CN nanostructured composites were fabricated by adding the different mounts (60, 65, 70, and 75 wt.%) of g-CN into ZnO via the simple hydrothermal process. Among fabricated composites, the 75% ZnO/g-CN nanocomposites displayed a superior PCA for MB degradation, which were ~three-fold an enhancement over the pure ZnO nanoparticles. The fabricated materials have been evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. More importantly, the photodegradation of MB could get 98% in ZnO/g-CN could be credited to efficient separation of photo-induced charge carriers between ZnO and g-CN. Also, the recycling efficiency of the as-prepared composites was studied for multiple cycles, which shows that the photocatalysts are stable and suitable to carry out photocatalytic degradation in the logistic mode. Additionally, the probable photocatalytic mechanism has also discussed. The synthetic procedure of ZnO/g-CN based materials can be used in numerous fields such as environmental and in energy storage applications.

The rising significance of the field of biopolymers has driven the rapid progress of this distinctive class of polymeric materials in the past decades. Biodegradable polymers have acquired much attention because they play an essential role in humans’ lives due to their specific tunable electrical conductivity and biodegradability characteristics, making them fascinating in many applications. Herein, we debated the recent progress in developing biodegradable polymers and their applications. Initially, we introduce the basics of conducting and biodegradable polymers, trailed by debates about the effective strategies currently used to develop biopolymers. Special importance will focus on the uses of biodegradable polymers in drug delivery and tissue engineering, as well as wound healing, demonstrating the recent findings, and uses of several biodegradable polymers in modern biological uses. In this review, we have provided comprehensive viewpoints on the latest progress of the challenges and future prospects involving biodegradable polymers’ advancement and commercial applications.

Although ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) presents superior mechanical properties and durability compared to conventional concrete; its spalling resistance to elevated temperatures is much lower compared to conventional concrete due to the high compactness and absence of capillary pores. This paper investigated the influence of lightweight aggregate (LWA) on the strength properties and microstructure of UHPC to enhance its resistance to elevated temperatures. UHPC specimens prepared with LWA as a partial replacement of silica sand were produced. The study evaluated the compressive and flexural strengths, failure mode, mass loss, and microstructure of the specimens, using SEM. The results showed that the compressive strength of the UHPC specimen was reduced with increasing the content of LWA at ambient temperature, but the compressive strength of the UHPC specimens prepared with LWA improved when exposed to elevated temperatures. The replacement of 10% of the silica sand with LWA led to an increase in the compressive strength from 100 MPa to 110 MPa after exposure to 200 °C; however, the flexural strength decreased from 23.6 MPa to 18.3 MPa. On the contrary, the flexural strength of UHPC increased with the inclusion of LWA at an ambient temperature but reduced with high-temperature exposure. The failure mode of UHPC was not significantly affected by the variation in LWA content and temperature. In addition, the SEM result confirms that LWA is an effective internal curing material for enhancing the microstructure and compressive strength of UHPC

Desalination of water is a crucial step in the process of obtaining potable water. One of the main challenges for the researchers is its efficient application and affordable preparation. It was planned to prepare the flat sheet membranes using cellulose acetate as a base polymer, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as an additive with dosing of (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 wt%) from zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) nanoparticle. SEM, TEM, and XRD analyses were used to characterize the generated ZrO₂ nanoparticle in order to confirm its nano-size and crystal structure. The surface morphologies and existence of the dense layer, which is the typical property of the RO membrane capable of salt separation, were identified on the manufactured RO membranes by SEM. Membranes prepared by embedding 0.5 wt%ZrO₂ with PVA/CA proved efficient as RO membranes using 2000 ppm NaCl and exhibited high salt rejection of 97% and water permeability of 12.5 LMH. Also, there is a decrease in the NaCl removal tendency was observed with the excessive dosages of ZrO₂ with 0.7 wt%, which was due to the concentration polarization, which blocks the pores on the surfaces of the membranes. The antifouling behavior of the prepared membranes was tested using bovine serum albumin (BSA), the results indicate the low irreversible resistance, total fouling resistance, and high flux recovery ratio compared to the neat membrane. The prepared membranes have a stable salt rejection and water productivity even after demonstrating with chlorine (25–100 mg l⁻¹ of NaOCl for 120 min).

Spiny-like spherical copper metal–organic frameworks (SSC-MOFs) were prepared and characterized via SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD, FTIR and the BET surface area. The fabricated SSC-MOFs were applied to develop a procedure for the microextraction of trace arsenic(III) for preconcentration. The results show that a copper- and imidazole-derived metal–organic framework was formed in a sphere with a spiny surface and a surface area of 120.7 m²/g. The TEM confirmed the perforated network structures of the SSC-MOFs, which were prepared at room temperature. The surface functional groups were found to contain NH and C=N groups. The XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline structure of the prepared SSC-MOFs. The application for the process of microextracting the arsenic(III) for preconcentration was achieved with superior efficiency. The optimum conditions for the recovery of the arsenic(III) were a pH of 7 and the use of a sample volume up to 40 mL. The developed SSC-MOF-derived microextraction process has an LOD of 0.554 µg·L⁻¹ and an LOQ of 1.66 µg·L⁻¹⁰. The developed SSC-MOF-derived microextraction process was applied for the accurate preconcentration of arsenic(III) from real samples, including food and water, with the promised performance efficiency.

The present synthetic strategy involves the synthesis of indolyl-triazolo-thiadiazole heterocyclic ring systems 8–13 from the condensation of 4-amino-5-(1H-indol-2-yl)-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione 1 with the aromatic carboxylic acid derivatives 2–7 in presence of POCl₃ for 1 h. All compounds were obtained in very good yields and have been well-characterized using spectroscopic techniques. Exclusively, good quality crystals from the target organic hybrid 8-(1H-indol-2-yl)-5-(p-tolyl)-[1,2,4]triazolo [3,4-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole 9 were obtained and found suitable for X-ray single crystal diffraction measurement, which is used to confirm and analyze the molecular and supramolecular structure aspects of 9. The solid-state structure of the synthesized molecule 9 agrees very well with other characterizations. The packing of 9 is dominated by the N…H, S…H, C…C and S…C non-covalent interactions, which agree with the Hirshfeld surface analysis. The percentages of these contacts are calculated to be 20.3%, 5.4%, 9.4% and 4.3%, respectively.