ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) have synthesized by sol-gel with different calcination temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that the morphology of ZnO NPs has large aggregation. Then, X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique confirmed that the XRD pattern of ZnO NPs has polycrystalline wurtzite structure. The crystallite size in (002) plane at a calcination temperature of 200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C are 9.28 nm, 12.60 nm, 20.11 nm, respectively. The intensity of observed peaks increases when the calcination temperature is higher. The room temperature UV-Vis absorbance of ZnO NPs indicate that the higher calcination temperature cause absorption peak shifted to longer wavelength and the bandgap energy lower. Optical photoluminescence properties confirmed that the UV emission coincides with the green emissions which correspond to the electron transition from the bottom conduction band to Vo, Vzn, and Ozn level. As a result, all the samples of the ZnO NPs have single broad emission in the range of 330 nm-550 nm with the peak at the UV wavelength of 375 nm. Nevertheless, the PL pattern is not linearly with increasing calcination temperature.

In this study, multifunctional chitosan-pluronic F127 with magnetic reduced graphene oxide (MRGO) nanocomposites were developed through the immobilization of chitosan and an amphiphilic polymer (pluronic F127) onto the MRGO. Physicochemical characterizations and in-vitro cytotoxicity of nanocomposites were investigated through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, particle size analysis, vibrating sample magnetometer, Raman spectroscopy and resazurin-based in-vitro cytotoxicity assay. FESEM observation shows that the magnetic nanoparticles could tethered on the surface of MRGO, promoting the magnetic properties of the nanocomposites. FTIR identification analysis revealed that the chitosan/pluronic F127 were successfully immobilized on the surface of MRGO. Furthermore, α-mangosteen, as a model of natural drug compound, was successfully encapsulated onto the chitosan/pluronic F127@MRGO nanocomposites. According to in-vitro cytotoxicity assay, α-mangosteen-loaded chitosan/pluronic F127@MRGO nanocomposites could significantly reduce the proliferation of human breast cancer (MFC-7) cells. Eventually, it would be anticipated that the novel α-mangosteen-loaded chitosan/pluronic F127@MRGO nanocomposites could be promoted as a new potential material for magnetically targeting and killing cancer cells.

In this work, we report a flexible nanofibrous cellulose nanocomposite with great potential for lithium-ion battery (LiB) polymer electrolyte. Flexible and fibrous material is synthesized using a simple and easy technique by synergistically combining carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and glycerol (Gly). Flexible porous cellulose forms a three-dimensional network for the mobility of Li ions in the polymer electrolyte of LIB systems. We investigated the effect ionic liquid of flexible fibrous cellulose (BC-CMC-Gly) on the electrochemical properties. The surface interaction between Li ions and the porous network is a key parameter demonstrated by the Li-ion emission line at 610.37 nm using laser inductance breakdown spectroscopy (LiBS). The ionic conductivity of BC-CMC-Gly characterized by EIS measurement is about 1.1 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹. According to linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), BC-CMC-Gly, with a potential window of 4.3 V, shows a more expansive window voltage than pure BC (2.75 V) and BC-CMC (3.3 V). This indicates that the electrochemical stability is good, as wide as the range of voltages that the electrode reactions define. The specific capacity of BC-CMC-Gly containing IL is very high, about 27.6 mAh g⁻¹ compared to BC (7.4 mAh g⁻¹) and BC-CMC (11,5 mAh g⁻¹). All these findings clearly show that forming plasticized structures synergistically with CMC trapped in the BC structure results in the largest Li-ion adsorption capacity and electrochemical performance improvement. Thermal stability up to 200 °C and electrolyte uptake of approx. 189% are the beneficial properties of BC-CMC-Gly fibrous cellulose for LiB electrolyte polymer.

We experimentally demonstrate single-mode broadband THz propagation in hollow core waveguides fabricated with a 3D printer with metallic inclusions. The measurement data obtained from the Terahertz (THz) Time Domain spectroscopy experiments show low loss guidance and low dispersion characteristics, and these are in very good agreement with the results obtained from numerical simulations of the investigated waveguides.