In this article we report the production of metal oxide (TiFe₂O₄, ZnFe₂O₄) nanoparticles by pulsed laser ablation technique in a liquid environment. We used nanosecond Nd: YAG laser systems working at 532 nm and 1064 nm of wavelength and the energy of the laser beam was kept constant at 80 mJ. Absorbance spectra, surface plasmon resonance, optical band-gap, and nanoparticle morphology were investigated using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Changing the wavelength of the laser for growth, nanoparticles showed shift between the absorbance and surface plasmon resonance peaks in their UV-Vis spectra, which implies that the optical properties of the colloid nanoparticles depend on laser parameters. This was confirmed with the variation of the band gap energy. Furthermore, redshift for the absorbance peak was observed for samples as-grown at 532 nm around 150 nm as a function of time preparation. Conversely, for the samples as-grown at 1064 nm there was no shift in the absorbance spectra, which could be due to agglomeration and formation of larger particles. The characterization results showed appropriate plasmonic photo-catalysts properties of the particles, hence the photoactivation of the nanoparticles was examined on antibacterial effect using colonies of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

The heterometallic optical complexes [Cu₂Co(S,S(+)cpse)₃(H₂O)₃]·4H₂O (1) and [Cu₂Ni(S,S(+)cpse)₃(H₂O)₃]·10H₂O (2) were obtained from the mononuclear copper(II) compound by the addition of nickel(II) or cobalt(II) chlorides, where (H₂cpse) is the acetyl amino alcohol derivative N‐[2‐hydroxy‐1(R)‐methyl‐2(R)‐phenylethyl]‐N‐methylglycine. In comparison with the homotrinuclear copper(II) compound [Cu₃(S,S(+)cpse)₃(H₂O)₃]·8H₂O reported previously, the substitution of a copper(II) atom by one cobalt(II) ion gave place to a heterotrinuclear compound 1, which presents ferromagnetic‐antiferromagnetic behaviour. When substituting a copper(II) by a nickel(II) ion, the trinuclear compound 2 showed an antiferromagnetic coupling. The magnetic behaviour of the heterotrinuclear compounds is driven by the nature of the metal ion which was introduced in the copper(II) triangular array. The ligand and its coordination compounds were characterized by IR, UV‐Vis‐NIR. Their chemical was confirmed by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

In this work, the degradation of the pharmaceutical losartan, in simulated fresh urine (which was considered because urine is the main excretion route for this compound) by sonochemistry and UVC/H₂O₂ individually, was studied. Initially, special attention was paid to the degrading action of the processes. Then, theoretical analyses on Fukui function indices, to determine electron-rich regions on the pharmaceutical susceptible to attacks by the hydroxyl radical, were performed. Afterward, the ability of the processes to mineralize losartan and remove the phyto-toxicity was tested. It was found that in the sonochemical treatment, hydroxyl radicals played the main degrading role. In turn, in UVC/H₂O₂, both the light and hydroxyl radical eliminated the target contaminant. The sonochemical system showed the lowest interference for the elimination of losartan in the fresh urine. It was established that atoms in the imidazole of the contaminant were the moieties most prone to primary transformations by radicals. This was coincident with the initial degradation products coming from the processes action. Although both processes exhibited low mineralizing ability toward losartan, the sonochemical treatment converted losartan into nonphytotoxic products. This research presents relevant results on the elimination of a representative pharmaceutical in fresh urine by two advanced oxidation processes.

The modification of achira starch a thermoplastic biopolymer is shown. Glycerol and sorbitol, common plasticizers, were used in the molten state with organic acids such as oleic acid and lactic acid obtaining thermodynamically more stable products. The proportion of starch:plasticizer was 70:30, and the acid agent was added in portions from 3%, 6%, and 9% by weight. These mixtures were obtained in a torque rheometer for 10 min at 130 °C. The lactic acid managed to efficiently promote the gelatinization process by increasing the available polar sites towards the surface of the material; as a result, there were lower values in the contact angle, these results were corroborated with the analysis performed by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. The results derived from oscillatory rheological analysis had a viscous behavior in the thermoplastic starch samples and with the presence of acids; this behavior favors the transitions from viscous to elastic. The mixture of sorbitol or glycerol with lactic acid promoted lower values of the loss module, the storage module, and the complex viscosity, which means lower residual energy in the transition of the viscous state to the elastic state; this allows the compounds to be scaled to conventional polymer transformation processes.

• Three halogenated pharmaceuticals of different therapeutic groups were treated in urine. • Selectivity comparison for sono-treatment, UVC/H₂O₂ and electrochemical oxidation. • Kinetics depended on chemical properties of pollutants and degradation routes of processes. • Sono-treatment showed higher selectivity for pollutants degradation in urine. • Sono-treatment decreased biological activity associated with the pharmaceuticals.

Nanoparticles (NPs) of α-MnO₂ have high applicability in photoelectrochemical, heterogeneous photocatalysis, optical switching, and disinfection processes. To widen this panorama about MnO₂ NPs, the formation of this material by laser ablation and deposition by dip-coating on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), were considered in this study. The optical, spectroscopic, electrochemical characterization, and the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity, plus the photocatalytic response, were measured herein in colloidal media and deposited. For the deposition of NPs on FTO sheet, an anode is produced with a pseudocapacitive behavior, and 2.82 eV of band gap (GAP) in comparison with colloidal NPs for a value of 3.84 eV. Both colloidal suspension and deposited NPs have intrinsic antibacterial activity against two representative microorganisms (E. coli and S. aureus), and this biological activity was significantly enhanced in the presence of UVA light, indicating photocatalytic activity of the material. Thus, both the colloidal suspension and deposited NPs can act as disinfecting agents themselves or via light activation. However, an antibacterial behavior different for E. coli and S. aureus was observed, in function of the aggregation state, obtaining total E. coli disinfection at 30 min for deposited samples on FTO.