An eco-friendly approach was used to fabricate zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using thyme, Thymus vulgaris L., leaf extract. The produced ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by XRD and SEM analysis. The ZnO NPs showed remarkable adsorption efficiency for tetracycline (TC) from water systems, with a maximum removal rate of 95% under optimal conditions (10 ppm, 0.10 g of ZnO NPs, pH 8.5, and 30 min at 25 °C). The adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-2nd-order model, and the adsorption process fitted the Temkin isotherm model. The process was spontaneous, endothermic, and primarily chemisorptive. Quantum chemistry calculations, utilizing electrostatic potential maps and HOMO-LUMO gap analysis, have confirmed the stability of the TC clusters. This study suggests that green synthesis using plant extracts presents an opportunity to generate nanoparticles with properties suitable for real-world applications.

In this study, tin dioxide nanoparticles (SnO₂ NPs) were successfully synthesized through an eco-friendly method using basil leaves extract. The fabricated SnO₂ NPs demonstrated significant adsorption capabilities for phenol (PHE), p-nitrophenol (P-NP), and p-methoxyphenol (P-MP) from water matrices. Optimal conditions for maximum removal efficiency was determined for each phenolic compound, with PHE showing a remarkable 95% removal at a 3 ppm, 0.20 g of SnO₂ NPs, pH 8, and 30 min of agitation at 35 °C. Molecular docking studies unveiled a potential anticancer mechanism, indicating the ability of SnO₂ NPs to interact with the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase domain and inhibit its activity. The adsorption processes followed pseudo-second order kinetics and Temkin isotherm model, revealing spontaneous, exothermic, and chemisorption-controlled mechanisms. This eco-friendly approach utilizing plant extracts was considered as a valuable tool for nano-sorbent production. The SnO₂ NPs not only exhibit promise in water treatment and also demonstrate potential applications in cancer therapy. Characterization techniques including scanning electron microscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) provided comprehensive insights into the results.

Solar cells are fabricated based on two new dyes. Dye acts as an additive to thin layer interface. The effect of the $\pi$-conjugated rigidity of the thiophene rings on the photovoltaic characteristics has been investigated. The structures of the dye 1 was based on dithieno [3,2-b:2′,3′-d] thiophene-2-cyanoacrylic acid, while dye 2 was based on [2,2':5′,2″-terthiophene]-5-cyanoacrylic acid and were confirmed by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectral data. The P3HT/dye 1/nc-TiO₂ solar cell produced the highest efficiency of 0.3 % with an open circuit voltage of 0.7 V compared to dye 2 solar cell. This has been attributed to the difference in energy levels of the dyes and location of their HOMO relative to conduction and valence bands of nc-TiO₂. The dye 1 has rigid fused thiophene rings and its HOMO is located between valence band of TiO₂ and HOMO of P3HT which leads to improve the charge carrier separation and increase the current density to reach 1.2 mA/cm².

This study aims to investigate the adsorption characteristics of tetracycline from polluted waters using C-4-hydroxyphenylcalix[4]resorcinarene as an adsorbent. The adsorptive efficiency of C-4-hydroxyphenylcalix[4]resorcinarene is optimized by adjusting various operational parameters such as the adsorbent dosage, the pH, the contact time, the temperature, and the initial adsorbate concentration. The most efficient remediation is 96% at 10.0 mg/L tetracycline as the initial concentration, 0.05 mg/L C-4-hydroxyphenylcalix[4]resorcinarene, a contact time of 30 min, pH 5.6, and ambient temperature. The adsorption ability of C-4-hydroxyphenylcalix[4]resorcinarene toward tetracycline is also investigated in water with different characteristics, including solutions with and without the addition of background salts. The results show that C-4-hydroxyphenylcalix[4]resorcinarene can effectively remove tetracycline from aqueous solutions with an adsorption capacity of ca. 36.9 mg/g. The study also finds that the removal process followed pseudo-second order kinetics and Freundlich isotherm models. Moreover, the adsorption is spontaneous and exothermic, suggesting a thermodynamically favorable chemisorption process. In addition, the optimized method is successfully applied to remove tetracycline from various real natural water systems.