Glass has been used in widespread applications within several sectors since ancient times and it has been systematically studied under different perspectives. However, its thermodynamic properties and the variety of its compositions, several aspects related to its durability and its alteration mechanisms remain still open to debate. This literature review presents an overview of the most relevant studies on glass corrosion and the interaction between glass and the environment. The review aims to achieve two objectives. On one hand, it aims to highlight how far research on glass corrosion has come by studying model systems created in the laboratory to simulate different alteration conditions and glass compositions. On the other, it seeks to point out what are the critical aspects that still need to be investigated and how the study of ancient, altered glass can add to the results obtained in laboratory models. The review intends also to demonstrate how advanced analytical techniques commonly used to study modern and technical glass can be applied to investigate corrosion marks on ancient samples.

The formation of core–shell (CS) nanoparticles (NPS) often requires complex procedures. Due to minimization of interface energy, we show that colloidal Fe–Au CS NPs are obtained in one step, by laser ablation of bimetallic thin films in liquid.

Water splitting is considered one of the most promising approaches to power the globe without the risk of environmental pollution. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is even more challenging because the generation of only one oxygen molecule involves the transfer of four e^– and removal of four H⁺ ions from water. Thus, developing highly efficient catalysts to meet industrial requirements remains a focus of attention. Herein, the prominent role of Sn in accelerating the electron transfer kinetics of Ni₅P₄ nanosheets in OER is reported. The post catalytic survey elucidates that the electrochemically induced Ni–Sn oxides at the vicinity of phosphides are responsible for the observed catalytic activity, delivering current densities of 10, 30, and 100 mA cm^–2 at overpotentials of only 173 ± 5.2, 200 ±7.4, and 310 ± 5.5 mV, respectively. The density functional theory calculation also supports the experimental findings from the basis of the difference observed in density of states at the Fermi level in the presence/absence of Sn. This work underscores the role of Sn in OER and opens a promising avenue toward practical implementation of hydrogen production through water splitting and other catalytic reactions.

We report a facile two-furnace APCVD synthesis of 2H-WSe₂. A systematic study of the process parameters is performed to show the formation of the phase-pure material. Extensive characterization of the bulk and exfoliated material confirm that 2H-WSe₂ is layered (i.e., 2D). X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms the phase, while high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) clarify the morphology of the material. Focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) estimates the depth of the 2H-WSe₂ formed on W foil to be around 5–8 μm, and Raman/UV–vis measurements prove the quality of the exfoliated 2H-WSe₂. Studies on the redox processes of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) show an increase in capacity up to 500 cycles. On prolonged cycling, the discharge capacity up to the 50th cycle at 250 mA/g of the material shows a stable value of 550 mAh/g. These observations indicate that exfoliated 2H-WSe₂ has promising applications as an LiB electrode material.

The synthesis, characterization and photoreduction ability of a new class of carbon dots made from fish scales is here described. Fish scales are a waste material that contains mainly chitin, one of the most abundant natural biopolymers, and collagen. These components make the scales rich, not only in carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but also in nitrogen. These self-nitrogen-doped carbonaceous nanostructured photocatalyst were synthesized from fish scales by a hydrothermal method in the absence of any other reagents. The morphology, structure and optical properties of these materials were investigated. Their photocatalytic activity was compared with the one of conventional nitrogen-doped carbon dots made from citric acid and diethylenetriamine in the photoreduction reaction of methyl viologen.