The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of the country. It was later renamed after its benefactor Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the former ruler of Baroda State.The university offers undergraduate, post-graduate, and doctoral programs. It houses 89 departments spread over 6 campuses (2 rural and 4 urban) covering 275 acres of land.
Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets are extensively used in photocatalytic applications but are often decorated with noble-metal co-catalysts to yield relevant efficiencies. Herein, we report a dual-metal co-catalyst system comprising cobalt and molybdenum (CoMo) nanoclusters uniformly integrated into heptazine g-C3N4 nanosheets for enhanced visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The intimate contact between metals as well as with gC3N4 layer was verified through X-ray absorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. Mechanistic insights obtained through a combination of experimental and computational studies suggest that Co acts as primary catalytic center, while Mo plays a preliminary role in facilitating surface hydrogen coverage, collectively accelerating the redox rates and achieving 10 times higher performance compared to bare gC3N4. Post-HER analysis reveals disintegration of co-catalyst into Co single-atoms, which then takes the leading role in sustaining the HER. The role of co-catalyst was mainly limited to the surface, acting as electron trap, reducing charge recombination and as a HER catalytic center. The composite exhibits excellent photostability over 13 h of ON/OFF illumination cycles, highlighting its potential for intermittent operations under practical conditions. This study presents a co-catalyst design strategy leveraging dual-metal synergy as a non-noble, scalable alternative to conventional noble-metal-based HER co-catalysts for solar fuel generation.
The proliferation of consumer panicbuying behavior is unpredictable and sudden in situations such as wars, pandemics, and oil crises, indicating its multifarious nature. Despite global prevalence, understanding the phenomenon holistically remains a challenge. This study systematically reviews the literature on panic buying through bibliometric analysis combined with content analysis of 73 articles published between 1998 and 2022. To provide comprehensive understanding of panic-buying behavior during pandemics, the literature is divided into timeframes based on each pandemic's magnitude. The study examines the thematic evolution of PB research based on pandemics and utilizes co-citation network to identify the intellectual structure of scholarly work. The co-citation analysis identified four distinct clusters clarifying the conceptual structure of panic buying. Content analysis uncovered emerging and declining themes, revealing two additional hidden clusters that illustrate panic buying evolution over time. This study offers valuable insights into consumer behaviors associated with crises and scarcity events, and suggests directions for future research.
The paradigm shift toward sustainable synthesis procedures has significantly intensified the demand of heterogeneous catalysts. In light of this, the present work demonstrates synthesis of a novel catalyst, silicotungstic acid supported sugarcane bagasse. The acidic properties of catalyst were evaluated by potentiometric titration and NH3-TPD, while its physicochemical and structural characteristics were determined using various analytical techniques such as EDS, FTIR, UV-Vis-NIR, TGA, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, XRD and SEM. The catalytic activity was assessed in esterification of levulinic acid with ethanol and n-butanol to synthesize alkyl levulinates, a prominent bio-fuel additives as well as platform chemicals. Further, the detailed optimization of key reaction parameters affords 99
In this study, a chelating resin ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-functionalized polystyrene-g-dimethylaminopropylamine resin (PS-DMAPA-EDTA) was synthesized by functionalizing polystyrene-dimethylaminopropylamine (PS-DMAPA) resin with disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (Na2EDTA). The adsorption performance of both PS-DMAPA and its EDTA-modified derivative was examined for the removal of Cu(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) ions from simulated wastewater. Characterization through FTIR, SEM, EDX, and XPS confirmed successful modification and revealed important morphological and elemental features of the resin. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to investigate the effects of initial concentration, sorbent dosage, pH, temperature, and contact time. Adsorption efficiency was highly dependent on pH and solid-liquid ratio, with maximum uptake occurring under mildly acidic conditions. The equilibrium data fitted the Langmuir isotherm with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.996, indicating monolayer adsorption. At 298 K, PS-DMAPA-EDTA exhibited enhanced sorption capacities of 45.82 mg g-1 for Cu(II), 47.92 mg g-1 for Cd(II), and 49.62 mg g-1 for Pb(II), clearly surpassing unmodified PS-DMAPA. Kinetic analysis showed that adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order model, suggesting chemisorption as the rate-controlling mechanism. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that the process was spontaneous and endothermic. Desorption studies with HNO3 achieved efficient metal recovery, confirming the resin's recyclability. Overall, PS-DMAPA-EDTA demonstrates strong potential as a regenerable adsorbent for heavy metal remediation in aqueous systems.
Precise and up-to-date cross-sections with uncertainty propagation data of materials used in control rods are essential for the smooth functioning of nuclear reactors, since fast neutrons interact with control rods that regulate chain reactions by absorbing excess neutrons. The present study aims to measure the neutron-induced reaction cross-section values for the isotopes of silver (Ag) and indium (In). Deuterium–tritium (D–T) fusion neutrons with an energy of 14.96 ± 0.22 MeV were produced and used to irradiate natural samples of Ag and In targets, inducing measurable activation for the reactions 109Ag(n,2n)108Agg, 109Ag(n,p)109Pdm, 107Ag(n,2n)106Agm, 115In(n,p)115Cdg, and 115In(n,α)112Ag at the Neutron and Ion Irradiation Facility, Institute for Plasma Research (NIIF-IPR), Gujarat, India. The radioactive samples were subsequently taken for offline γ-ray counting in a high purity germanium detector (HPGe), with a fine resolution of 2.1 keV at 1.33 MeV γ-ray energy of 60Co connected with GENIE software. Two well-known standard reactions of Aluminium, 27Al(n,p)27 Mg and 27Al(n,α)24Na were employed for neutron flux measurements as per the irradiation period. Appropriate correction factors were applied in cross-section assessment, and uncertainties from all input parameters were rigorously propagated to the final values through covariance analysis. The experimental results were also validated by predictions from the nuclear code TALYS-2.0. Furthermore, prior reported studies from EXFOR and evaluated libraries from ENDF were compared with the presently measured results.
