Asian Journal of Nanoscience and Materials
Volume:6 Issue: 1, Mar 2023

There is a growing demand for use of alternative clean energy as against fossil fuel. In trying to meet these demands, researchers are investigating various approaches towards delivering affordable clean energy from the abundant biomass in our environment, including biodiesel. Esterification of oils is one of the advanced methods of oil technology, which changes the main structure of glycerides without causing chemical changes in the fatty acid that forms the structure of triglycerides. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that is renewable and produces less harmful gases than fossil fuels. Among the sources of biodiesel are vegetable oils and animal fat. The use of free solar light sources is significant for producing clean energy and reducing the economic costs of photocatalysts. In the present work, these issues have been addressed and the work done has been reviewed. The focus of this research is to examine the studies conducted to investigate the efficiency of biofuel production from edible and non-edible oils using photocatalysts. Studies have shown the production of biodiesel with high efficiency. High efficiency for biodiesel production from this method shows the future use of this fuel.

One of the main challenges in preparing ceramic-reinforced polymer nanocomposites is the agglomeration of nanoparticles. This problem has been solved by surface modification of nanoparticles. In this study, silica nanoparticles were modified with low-cost and environmentally-friendly stearic acid instead of high-cost silanes or hazardous fluorinated hydrocarbons. RTV 2 silicone rubber/SiO2 nanocomposite films containing 1wt% and 3wt% silica modified with stearic acid:silica ratios of 2:1 and 1:1 were prepared, and the effects of different concentrations of stearic acid and silica on microstructure, hydrophobicity, mechanical and electrical properties were investigated. The microstructure of the samples was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy. Spray and contact angle tests were also done to study the hydrophobicity. Increased hydrophobicity was observed with the incorporation of modified silica into RTV-2. Results of mechanical properties tests revealed that increased stearic acid concentration caused a deterioration in mechanical properties. Among all the composite and pure samples, the sample containing 3wt% silica modified with a lower amount of stearic acid exhibited the highest hardness, elongation at break, and tensile modulus. Results of electrical tests indicated that all composite samples had lower dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor and higher surface resistance compared to the pure sample.

AuNP/TiO2 nanocomposite is promising for developing visible-light-induced plasmonic photocatalysis. The effective hot electron generation and inhabitation of electron-hole recombination are the paradigms for the efficiency of plasmonic photocatalysis. The photon-energy alteration in AuNP/TiO2 depends upon the shape, size, TiO2 phase, and crystallinity, irradiation wavelength, etc. For its movement, there are different suggestions, such as electron-phonon interaction, direct electron transfer, PRET, PIRET, remote activity mechanism, charge transfer mechanism, plasmon heating, Forster resonance energy transfer, etc.  Here, such different parameters and various physical mechanisms for its generation and role in the plasmon-induced photocatalysis by AuNP/TiO2 are being reviewed.

Sustainable synthesis of metallic nanoparticles has ensnared the world from the chemical and physical slants owing to its rapid, harmless, and pecuniary trait of production mechanism.  The present study demonstrates green synthesis of CoONPs using petal extract of temple wastes of pink rose (ROR), red rose (RER), yellow rose (YOR), and orange roses (ORR).  To date, there is no reporton the synthesis of CoONPs utilizing an aqueous flower extract of these four rose petals.  In this research work, four rose flowers petal extract in a concentrated solution of cobalt nitrate hexahydrate in CoONPs. Cobalt nitrate hexa hydrate was reserved as the metal precursor, whereas flower extract act as a reducing and stabilizing agent.  The phytochemicals present in the extract act as reducing agents, which include saponins, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids.  Phyto-constituents and CoONPs stretching and bending vibration are measured by FTIR spectroscopy, FL spectrum was also done to study the fluorescence activity of cobalt nanoparticles with four different rose petal extracts, Morphology of the cobalt nanoparticles were designed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the particle size are measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. Finally, the electrochemical properties of CoONPs were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) with impedance spectrum.

In recent years, metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) have been considered as a category of new advanced nanomaterials receiving remarkable attention and attaining great importance due to their superior properties such as ultrahigh porosity, remarkable surface-specific area for specific applications like adsorption and gas separation, hydrogen and CO2 absorption, catalysis, photocatalysis, and biocompatibility. The structure of MOFs plays a key role in their special properties and the employment of an appropriate synthesis technique to achieve the desired properties. Furthermore, the post-synthesis modification (PSM) process is essential for pore modification, forming a functionalized network, and finally improving the pre-formed synthesized structure to achieve desired properties. Finally, the purification, activation, and characterization of MOF are also regarded as essential steps after the synthesis process.

Nanotechnology is a branch of science that that has opened new research horizons, particularly in the field of ofmedicine and cancer treatment.In the present paper, magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) were produced by the co-precipitating of two and three valent iron chloride salts in an alkaline medium. The surface of the nanoparticles was functionalized with (3-Aminopropyl)-trimethoxysilane(APTS), and finally the cisplatinanticancer drug was loaded onto the modified nanoparticles. Properties, structure and morphology of the nanoparticles obtained were evaluated and analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) for measuring magnetic properties. Results showed that cisplatinwas attached to the surface of the nanoparticles confirmed by FT-IR analysis. Magnetic properties using VSM results showed that the nanocomposite is the result of superparamagnetism. Findings showed that magnetic cisplatin magnetic nanocomposites are promising for targeted magnetic drug delivery and can be used as a targeted nanoparticle suitable for delivering anticancer drugs.