Cleaning wastewater has become one of the most serious issues for a number of scientists and researchers in recent years, as water is the most basic need for the daily life of humans. There has been a focus on the removal of noxious pollutants from wastewater effluents by using nanocatalysts owing to their unique physicochemical actions and stability. Herein we manufactured TiO₂ nanoparticles supported by activated carbon (AC-TiO₂) using a cost-effective sonochemical method. The band structures of the AC-TiO₂ and TiO₂ were modified from 3.2 to 3.1 eV, thus increasing the catalytic activity. The structural, optical and anatase crystal phase properties, with morphological confirmation, were studied by applying UV-DRS, PL, FESEM, XRD, along with HRTEM, respectively. The specific surface area, calculated by BET analysis, was found to be ~241 m²/gm and ~46 m²/gm for AC-TiO₂ and TiO₂. The degradation efficiency of the as-prepared nanocatalysts against the very toxic but rarely studied organic textile dye pollutant RO 84 was investigated and 97% efficiency were found for the AC-TiO₂ as compared to pure TiO₂, which is a highly appreciated finding in the catalytic dye degradation application domain. Such surface-modified nanocatalysts could be further implemented for the treatment of wastewaters/waste effluents released from chemical industries, laboratories and other sources.

The potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) is a popular nonlinear optical material. Optically good quality LiCl doped KDP crystals have been grown by slow solvent evaporation method at room temperature. The structural study of grown crystals reveled single phasic nature of grown crystals with slight variation in unit cell parameters. I had done the Rietveld refinement to study the influence of dopant in the structure of KDP. The linear optical properties of grown crystals such as optical transparency energy band gap, reflectance, extinction coefficient, refractive index, etc. were studies using the UV-Visible spectroscopy. The Kurtz and Perry powder NLO technique was employed to study the nonlinear optical improvement in KDP crystal due to doping. The AC electrical study of grown crystals was done using the complex impedance spectroscopy. The theoretical study of grown crystals has been done using the Generalized Gradient Approximation pseudopotential method. The results are discussed here.

At present, chemical Si/Al sources are mainly used as precursor materials for the manufacturing of zeolites. Such precursor materials are quite expensive for commercial synthesis. Here, we have reported the synthesis of Ca-based zeolite from incense stick ash waste by the alkali-treatment method for the first time. Incense stick ash (ISA) was used as a precursor material for the synthesis of low Si zeolites by the alkali-treatment method. The as-synthesized zeolites were characterized by various instruments like particle size analyzer (PSA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), electron diffraction spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). FTIR and XRD helped in the identification of the microstructure and crystalline nature of the zeolites and also confirmed the synthesis of Ca-based zeolite with two thetas at 25.7°. The microscopic analysis by FESEM and TEM exhibited that the size of synthesized Ca-rich zeolites varies from 200 to 700 nm and they are aggregated and cuboidal in shape. Additionally, structural, electronic, and density of states’ characteristics of gismondine (Ca₂Al₄Si₄O₁₆·₉H₂O) structures were evaluated by computational simulations (first principle, density functional theorem). The structural optimization of structures was carried out in the first stage under the lowest condition of total energy and forces acting on atoms for the lattice constant, as well as the available experimental and theoretical findings. The present research approach predicted the transformation of ISA waste into a value-added mineral, i.e., zeolite, which was further used for the removal of both heavy metals and alkali metals from fly ash-based wastewater using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES).

Numerous scholars in the scientific and management areas have been overly focused on contemporary breakthroughs in two-dimensional objects for multiple prospective applications. Photochemical and electrocatalytic functions of integrated circuits associated with multi-component tools have been enhanced by designing the macro- and microstructures of the building blocks. Therefore, the current research attempts to explore a larger spectrum of layered graphitic carbon nitrides (g-C₃N₄) and their derivatives as an efficient catalyst. By executing systematic manufacturing, optimization, and evaluation of its relevance towards astonishing energy storage devices, adsorption chemistry, and remediation, many researchers have focused on the coupling of such 2D carbon nitrides combined with suitable elementals. Hybrid carbon nitrides have been promoted as reliable 2D combinations for the enhanced electrophotocatalytic functionalities, proved by experimental observations and research outputs. By appreciating the modified structural, surface, and physicochemical characteristics of the carbon nitrides, we aim to report a systematic overview of the g-C₃N₄ materials for the application of energy storages and environments. It has altered energy band gap, thermal stability, remarkable dimensional texturing, and electrochemistry, and therefore detailed studies are highlighted by discussing the chemical architectures and atomic alternation of g-C₃N₄ (2D) structures.