Institute for Tropical Technology

Heavy metal pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems, and regulations are becoming stricter. Many efforts have been made to develop sensors for monitoring heavy metals in the environment. This review aims at presenting the different label-free strategies used to develop electrochemical sensors for the detection of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic etc. The first part of this review will be dedicated to stripping voltammetry techniques, on unmodified electrodes (mercury, bismuth or noble metals in the bulk form), or electrodes modified at their surface by nanoparticles, nanostructures (CNT, graphene) or other innovative materials such as boron-doped diamond. The second part will be dedicated to chemically modified electrodes especially those with conducting polymers. The last part of this review will focus on bio-modified electrodes. Special attention will be paid to strategies using biomolecules (DNA, peptide or proteins), enzymes or whole cells.

Incorporation of nanofillers into the organic coatings might enhance their barrier performance, by decreasing the porosity and zigzagging the diffusion path for deleterious species. Thus, the coatings containing nanofillers are expected to have significant barrier properties for corrosion protection and reduce the trend for the coating to blister or delaminate. On the other hand, high hardness could be obtained for metallic coatings by producing the hard nanocrystalline phases within a metallic matrix. This article presents a review on recent development of nanocomposite coatings, providing an overview of nanocomposite coatings in various aspects dealing with the classification, preparative method, the nanocomposite coating properties, and characterization methods. It covers potential applications in areas such as the anticorrosion, antiwear, superhydrophobic area, self-cleaning, antifouling/antibacterial area, and electronics. Finally, conclusion and future trends will be also reported.

The rechargeable aqueous zinc–iodine (Zn–I2) battery has emerged as a promising electrochemical energy storage technology. However, poor cycling stability caused by the dissolution of iodine species into the electrolyte limited its practical application. Herein, we report a nitrogen-doped porous carbon (NPC) material in gram scales. Performed as an iodine host in the Zn–I2 battery, the NPC shows a high specific capacity (345.3 mAh g–1 at 0.2 C), superior rate capability (53.2% capacity retention at 10 C), and remarkable cycling stability (10 000 cycles at 10 C with a capacity retention of 80.9%). More importantly, DFT computations reveal that the graphitic-N (N-Q) exhibits the strongest adsorption of iodine; however, pyridinic-N (N-6) shows the weakest adsorption of iodine. Moreover, the N-6/N-Q ratio is an essential parameter that significantly determined the electrochemical performance of Zn–I2 batteries. Therefore, the improved long-term cycling stability and rate capability of the as-designed Zn–I2 battery are attributable to the decrease of the N-6/N-Q ratio. This work is of great significance for devolving highly reversible Zn–I2 batteries.

A strategy for defective/graphitic synergy in heteroatom-interlinked-triggered asphaltene (D/G-HASP) is presented. D/G-HASP reveals outstanding catalytic activities and durability in half-cell (ORR/OER) and full-cell (zinc–air) reactions.

In our present work, magnetic cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles have been successfully synthesised by thermal decomposition of Fe(III) and Co(II) acetylacetonate compounds in organic solvents in the presence of oleic acid (OA)/ oleylamine (OLA) as surfactants and 1,2-hexadecanediol (HDD) or octadecanol (OCD-ol) as an accelerating agent. As a result, CoFe2O4 nanoparticles of different shapes were tightly controlled in size (range of 4-30 nm) and monodispersity (standard deviation only at ca. 5%). Experimental parameters, such as reaction time, temperature, surfactant concentration, solvent, precursor ratio, and accelerating agent, in particular, the role of HDD, OCD-ol, and OA/OLA have been intensively investigated in detail to discover the best conditions for the synthesis of the above magnetic nanoparticles. The obtained nanoparticles have been successfully applied for producing oriented carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and they have potential to be used in biomedical applications.

Abstract In this study, chitosan and alginate were selected to prepare alginate/chitosan nanoparticles to load the drug lovastatin by the ionic gelation method. The synthesized nanoparticles loaded with drug were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser scattering and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The FTIR spectrum of the alginate/chitosan/lovastatin nanoparticles showed that chitosan and alginate interacted with lovastatin through hydrogen bonding and dipolar-dipolar interactions between the C-O, C=O, and OH groups in lovastatin, the C-O, NH, and OH groups in chitosan and the C-O, C=O, and OH groups in alginate. The laser scattering results and SEM images indicated that the alginate/chitosan/lovastatin nanoparticles have a spherical shape with a particle size in the range of 50–80 nm. The DSC diagrams displayed that the melting temperature of the alginate/chitosan/lovastatin nanoparticles was higher than that of chitosan and lower than that of alginate. This result means that the alginate and chitosan interact together, so that the nanoparticles have a larger crystal degree when compared with alginate and chitosan individually. Investigations of the in vitro lovastatin release from the alginate/chitosan/lovastatin nanoparticles under different conditions, including different alginate/chitosan ratios, different solution pH values and different lovastatin contents, were carried out by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The rate of drug release from the nanoparticles is proportional to the increase in the solution pH and inversely proportional to the content of the loaded lovastatin. The drug release process is divided into two stages: a rapid stage over the first 10 hr, then the release becomes gradual and stable. The Korsmeyer-Peppas model is most suitable for the lovastatin release process from the alginate/chitosan/lovastatin nanoparticles in the first stage, and then the drug release complies with other models depending on solution pH in the slow release stage. In addition, the toxicity of alginate/chitosan/lovastatin (abbreviated ACL) nanoparticles was sufficiently low in mice in the acute toxicity test. The LD 50 of the drug was higher than 5000 mg/kg, while in the subchronic toxicity test with treatments of 100 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg ACL nanoparticles, there were no abnormal signs, mortality, or toxicity in general to the function or structure of the crucial organs. The results show that the ACL nanoparticles are safe in mice and that these composite nanoparticles might be useful as a new drug carrier.

We designed a cost-effective and novel strategy for the construction of hard carbon spheres enveloped with graphene networks as a high performance anode material for sodium-ion batteries.

Ibuprofen contamination from water sources has been increasingly alarming due to its environmentally accumulative retention; however, the strategies for ibuprofen-containing water treatment are still an enormous challenge. Herein, we described the utilization of metal-organic frameworks MIL-53(Fe) (MIL = Materials of Institute Lavoisier) for the adsorption of ibuprofen in synthetic solution. Firstly, the MIL-53(Fe) was solvothemally synthesized and then characterized using the X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. The optimization of ibuprofen adsorption over MIL-53(Fe) was performed with three independent variables including ibuprofen concentration (1.6–18.4 mg/L), adsorbent dosage (0.16–1.84 g/L), and pH (2.6–9.4) according to the experimental design from response surface methodology. Under the optimized conditions, more than 80% of ibuprofen could be eliminated from water, indicating the promising potential of the MIL-53(Fe) material for treatment of this drug. Kinetic and isotherm models also were used to elucidate the chemisorption and monolayer behavior mechanisms of ibuprofen over MIL-53(Fe).

This work emphasizes the use of the silver decorative method to enhance the antibacterial activity of TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles. These silver-decorated nanoparticles (hybrid nanoparticles) were synthesized using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent, with the weight ratio of Ag precursors/oxide nanoparticles = 1:30. The morphology and optical properties of these hybrid nanoparticles were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The agar-well diffusion method was used to evaluate their antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria, with or without light irradiation. The TEM images indicated clearly that silver nanoparticles (AgNPs, 5–10 nm) were well deposited on the surface of nano-TiO2 particles (30–60 nm). In addition to this, bigger AgNPs (<20 nm) were dispersed on the surface of nano-ZnO particles (30–50 nm). XRD patterns confirmed the presence of AgNPs in both Ag-decorated TiO2 and Ag-decorated ZnO nanoparticles. UV-Vis spectra confirmed that the hybridization of Ag and oxide nanoparticles led to a shift in the absorption edge of oxide nanoparticles to the lower energy region (visible region). The antibacterial tests indicated that both oxide pure nanoparticles did not exhibit inhibitory effects against bacteria, with or without light irradiation. However, the presence of AgNPs in their hybrids, even at low content (<40 mg/mL), leads to a good antibacterial activity, and higher inhibition zones under light irradiation as compared to those in dark were observed.

Collagen from fish scale waste is currently being studied as a promising biological material to replace collagen from animals because of advantages such as safe, fat-free, not suffering from communicable diseases, and easy absorption in human body solutions. Finding the suitable process of extracting fish scale collagen is necessary because extracting collagen from fish scales by chemical methods often requires a long time. Therefore, in this paper, some bases and acids at different concentrations were chosen to find the most suitable condition for extracting fish scale collagen from the wastage of different scale fishes belonging to the familiar Cyprinus genus. The characterizations of the extracted collagen including structure, morphology, element composition, relative molecular weight, amino acid composition, denaturation temperature, crystal structure, and thermal stability were investigated. In addition, the amino acid sequence of the extracted collagen was also determined and compared with the National Center for Biotechnology Information protein database.

Basil plant is a common source for linalool and estragole. However, it has been showed that the chemical composition of basil varies considerably depending on many factors including method of extraction, cultivar of the plant or geographical location. In this study, we attempted to extract essential oil from Vietnamese basil and analyze the chemical composition of the obtained oil using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The extraction method of choice was microwave-assisted hydro-distillation (MAHD) and the process was optimized with Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with regard to four experimental parameters including raw material size, raw material to water ratio, extraction time and microwave power. The results showed that ground basil leaves, when extracted with optimal conditions of water-to-material ratio of 3.2:1, extraction time of 97 (min) and microwave power of 430 (W), gave the actual essential oil yield of 0.6%. Regarding ANOVA results of the quadratic model, high determination coefficient (R2 = 0.9077), significant F-value of 10.92 and the p-value of less than 0.05 indicate that this model is significant between experimental and predicted variables, and should be fixed. In addition, GC-MS analysis revealed that major components of Vietnamese Basil were Estragole (87.869%), α-Bergamotene (2.922%), τ-Cadinol (2.770%), and Linalool (1.347%).

In this report, a composite adsorbent in form of spherical beads generated from graphene oxide, chitosan, and magnetite (MGOCS) was developed and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, and vibrating sample magnetometer. The adsorption ability of MGOCS towards reactive blue 19 (RB19) and Ni(II) ions, and the effect of various experimental factors including pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, adsorbate concentration, temperature, and ionic strength were assessed in detail. The maximum adsorption capacities of MGOCS were 102.06 mg/g for RB19 and 80.48 mg/g for Ni(II). The adsorption process was thermodynamically favorable, spontaneous, exothermic, and best described by Langmuir (for Ni(II)) and Freundlich (for RB19) isotherms. The adsorption kinetics were well fitted with pseudo-first-order model for both adsorbates. The result indicated that the beads have feasibility as highly efficient and eco-friendly adsorbent to get rid of organic dyes and heavy metals from water due to their high adsorption capacity, easy recovery, and reusability.

Brackets are the load-bearing components in a satellite. The current age of satellites comprises specific brackets that set out as a link between the bodies of the satellite, reflector parts, and feeder facilities mounted at its upper end. Brackets are used to carry loads of the satellite body frame, supporting elements, batteries, and electronic goods. The article explicates the various brackets used in satellites and aircrafts. The strength of the bracket is of utmost importance since it is an important load supporting member in several assemblies of aircraft and satellites. In addition to the mechanical strength, the weight of the bracket is a major concern as it adds to the total weight of the aircraft and satellite. Thus, weight savings of brackets can be of paramount importance and Additive Manufacturing (AM) is found as an overall solution to achieve the same. Hence, in addition to various brackets used in satellites, the article presents an exhaustive review of the processing of various advanced functional materials using various AM techniques to make high strength-to-weight ratio satellite brackets. The use of DFAM by various satellite manufacturers globally for optimizing the structure of the brackets resulting in a significant weight saving of the brackets is also presented in the article.

Three different kinds of plastic bags HL, VHL, and VN1 with different chemical nature were degraded by a novel thermophilic bacterial strain isolated from composting agricultural residual in Vietnam in shaking liquid medium at 55 °C after 30 d. The new strain was classified in the Bacillus genus by morphological property and sequence of partial 16Sr RNA coding gene and named as Bacillus sp. BCBT21. This strain could produce extracellular hydrolase enzymes including lipase, CMCase, xylanase, chitinase, and protease with different level of activity in the same media. After a 30-d treatment at 55 °C with Bacillus sp. BCBT21, all characteristics including properties and morphology of treated plastic bags had been significantly changed. The weight loss, structure and surface morphology of these bags as well as the change in the average molecular weight of VHL bag were detected. Especially, the average molecular weight of VHL bag was significantly reduced from 205 000 to 116 760. New metabolites from the treated bags indicated biodegradation occurring with the different pathways. This finding suggests that there is high potential to develop an effective integrated method for plastic bags degradation by a combination of extracellular enzymes from bacteria and fungi existing in the composting process.

Mixed Ni/Fe-base metal-organic framework (Ni/Fe-MOF) with different molar ratios of Ni2+/Fe3+ have been successfully produced using an appropriate solvothermal router. Physicochemical properties of all samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, field emission scanning electron microscopes (FE-SEM), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N2 adsorption-desorption analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-Vis DRS), and photoluminescence spectra (PL). The photocatalytic degradation performances of the photocatalysts were evaluated in the decomposition of rhodamine B (RhB) under a compact fluorescent daylight lamp. From XRD, IR, XPS, and Raman results, with the presence of mixed ion Fe3+ and Ni2+, MIL-88B (MIL standing for Materials of Institut Lavoisier) crystals based on the mixed metal Fe2NiO cluster were formed, while MIL-53(Fe) was formed with the presence of single ion Fe3+. From UV-Vis DRS results, Ni/Fe-MOF samples exhibited the absorption spectrum up to the visible region, and then they showed the high photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. A Ni/Fe-MOF sample with a Ni2+/Fe3+ molar ratio of 0.3 showed the highest photocatalytic degradation capacity of RhB, superior to that of the MIL-53(Fe) sample. The obtained result could be explained as a consequence of the large surface area with large pore volumes and pore size by the Ni2+ incorporating into the MOF’s structure. In addition, a mixed metal Fe/Ni-based framework consisted of mixed-metal cluster Fe2NiO with an electron transfer effect and may enhance the photocatalytic performance.

OA and OLA coated CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles encapsulated with PMAO through hydrophobic interactions were developed for hyperthermia applications.

Magnetic activated carbon/chitosan composite (MACCS) beads from spent coffee grounds and shrimp shells were synthesized using green tea extract as a crosslinker. The adsorbent was then applied for removal of Ni(II) ions from aqueous solution after carefully characterizing it by various techniques (XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM, EDX, VSM and BET). The adsorption kinetics, isotherms, thermodynamics, the effects of key adsorption factors such as the pH value, initial Ni(II) concentration, contact time, adsorbent dose and temperature were investigated in detail. A possible adsorption mechanism was proposed. The results indicated that the adsorption process was thermodynamically favourable, spontaneous, endothermic, and was best described by the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The MACCS beads with an optimum CS to MAC weight ratio estimated as 60:40 gave the maximum monolayer adsorption capacity for Ni(II) ions of 108.70 mg g−1 at 25°C, pH of 6, adsorbent dose of 1.0g L−1 and a contact time of 6 h. The recycling study confirmed that the adsorption ability of MACCS beads towards Ni(II) ions maintained well after five consecutive cycles with the removal efficiency greater than 86.25%. Eventually, the MACCS beads could be used as an environmentally-friendly and highly efficient adsorbent for removal of Ni(II) ions from wastewater due to the advantages of high efficiency, rapid separation and good reusability.

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Valorization of pineapple peel waste is an attractive research topic because of the huge quantities of this byproduct generated from pineapple processing industries. In this study, the extract from pineapple waste was collected to produce a hydrogel-like form containing bacterial cellulose fibers with a three-dimensional structure and nanoscale diameter by the Acetobacter xylinum fermentation process. The bacterial cellulose suspension was subsequently activated by freeze-drying, affording lightweight aerogels as potential adsorbents in wastewater treatment, in particular the adsorptive removal of organic dyes. Intensive tests were carried out with the adsorption of methylene blue, a typical cationic dye, to investigate the influence of adsorption conditions (temperature, pH, initial dye concentration, time, and experiment scale) and aerogel-preparation parameters (grinding time and bacterial cellulose concentration). The bacterial cellulose-based aerogels exhibited high adsorption capacity not only for methylene blue but also for other cationic dyes, including malachite green, rhodamine B, and crystal violet (28–49 mg/g). However, its activity was limited for most of the anionic dyes, such as methyl orange, sunset yellow, and quinoline yellow, due to the repulsion of these anionic dyes with the aerogel surface, except for the case of congo red. It is also an anionic dye but has two amine groups providing a strong interaction with the hydroxyl group of the aerogel via hydrogen bonding. Indeed, the aerogel has a substantially large congo red-trapping capacity of 101 mg/g. Notably, the adsorption process exhibited similar performances, upscaling the solution volume to 50 times. The utilization of abundant agricultural waste in the simple aerogel preparation to produce a highly efficient and biodegradable adsorbent is the highlight of this work.

This paper presents some characteristics, properties, and morphology of TiO2 nanoparticles (nano-TiO2) modified with various contents of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPM) coupling agent. The treatment process was carried out in ethanol solvent at 50oC using ammonia as a catalyst for hydrolysis reaction of silane to silanol. Infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction methods were used for determination of the characteristics, properties of nano-TiO2 before and after treatment. In addition, the contact angle and grafting efficiency of TMSPM on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles was also evaluated. The obtained results confirmed that TMSPM was grafted to the TiO2 nanoparticles, the agglomeration of nano-TiO2 was decreased, and surface of TiO2 nanoparticles became hydrophobic after modification by TMSPM.

Abstract In this work, a feasible one-pot approach to synthesize manganese oxide/graphene composites, the so-called plasma-enhanced electrochemical exfoliation process (PE 3 P), has been developed. Herein, a composite of graphene decorated with manganese oxide nanoparticles was prepared via PE 3 P from a KMnO 4 solution and graphite electrode under a voltage of 70 V in an ambient environment. By controlling the initial KMnO 4 concentration, we obtained distinct MnO 2 /graphene samples. The prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The electrochemical measurements of the MnO 2 /graphene composites revealed that the specific capacitance of the samples is approximately 320 F g –1 at a scan rate of 10 mV s –1 , which is comparably very high for manganese oxide/carbon-based supercapacitor electrode materials. Considering the simple, low-cost, one-step and environmentally friendly preparation, our approach has the potential to be used for the fabrication of MnO 2 /graphene composites as the electrode materials of supercapacitors.