Plants employ a range of physiological, and biochemical strategies to lessen the effects of salt stress. Numerous methods, such as using nanoparticles (NPs), are being employed to improve plant resistance to stress. So, in the present study, cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs), ferric oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3 NPs), and CeO2/Fe2O3 nanocomposite (CeO2/Fe2O3 NCs) were synthesized using Psidium guajava leaf extract, and their effect on the morphology, photosynthetic performance, and antioxidant profiles of maize (Zea mays L.) under normal condition and salt stress, were evaluated. The successful formation of nanoparticles was confirmed by XRD, and average crystallite dimensions were calculated using the Debye–Scherrer equation (18.22 nm for CeO2, 19.20 nm for Fe2O3, and 19.13 nm for the composite NPs). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) also supported the involvement of natural compounds in the reaction, showing stretching frequencies at 524 cm−1 and 613 cm−1 for Ce–O and Fe–O bonds, respectively. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) revealed that the particles were polydisperse and had spherical and irregular geometries. The synthesized NPs were then foliar-applied to maize plants at a concentration of 10 mM. The findings showed that the applied nanoparticle treatment (10 mM metal-ion equivalent) concentration improved maize growth, photosynthetic efficiency, protein, carbohydrates, phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant enzymes. The CeO2/Fe2O3 nanocomposite produced the greatest overall improvement in a number of growth, photosynthetic, and biochemical properties, although it wasn’t always the optimum treatment for every parameter. While CeO2 nanoparticles produced the lowest malondialdehyde (MDA) level, indicating the largest reduction in lipid peroxidation, Fe2O3 nanoparticles produced the highest overall phenolic content under salt stress, exceeding that of the composite treatment.
Studies were carried out to recover lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese from used, waste NMC811 lithium-ion cells by hydrometallurgical leaching using phosphoric, sulfamic, and hydrochloric acids. Where applicable, leaching efficiencies were determined based on measurements made by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The proportions of the various metal salts dissolved in the leachate required for the subsequent sol-gel synthesis reflect these efficiencies. As a result, hydrochloric acid yielded the highest total cathode recovery efficiency at 97.30 %, with individual metal recoveries of Li:99.45 %, Ni:98.08 %, Co: 97.41 %, and Mn:95.98 %. The total cathode with phosphoric acid recovery was found to be 96.29 %. The recovery efficiencies of the individual metals in the cathode were determined as follows: Li:81.70 %, Ni:80.28 %, Co:77.60 %, and Mn:74.91 %. According to the conducted study, the total cathode recovery with sulfamic acid was 95.43 %. The recovery efficiencies of the individual metals in the cathode were determined as follows: Li:75.98 %, Ni:67.51 %, Co:67.40 %, and Mn:63.61 %. The originality of this work arises from the comparative study of chloride-, phosphate- and sulfamate-based leaching solutions for the recovery of metals and regeneration of the cathode material from waste NMC811 batteries.
Rosemary phenolics possess strong antioxidant potential. However, their sensitivity to heat, oxygen and environmental conditions limits their stability, shelf life and bioavailability in food and nutraceutical applications. Therefore, this study aimed to optimize the spray drying encapsulation of rosemary phenolic extract using a scalable and environmentally friendly processing approach. Different Arabic gum/maltodextrin carrier ratios and inlet air temperatures (130–190 °C) were evaluated using an I-optimal mixture-process design. Encapsulation efficiency (EE), encapsulation yield (EY) and antioxidant activity responses were simultaneously optimized. The selected quadratic mixture-quadratic process model was found to be significant for all responses. The interaction between mixture components and temperature, and quadratic terms were particularly decisive for EE and EY. The optimized formulation achieved high powder recovery (90.99 % EY) while maintaining phenolic retention and antioxidant functionality. Optimized powders exhibited favorable technological properties, including low water activity (0.34), high solubility (91.04 %) and good flowability (Carr’s Index = 12.08 %), showing improved storage stability and reconstitution behavior. The present work also evaluated in vitro gastrointestinal release behavior and oxidative stability of the encapsulated powders unlike previous studies mainly focused on physicochemical characterization. In vitro release studies demonstrated restricted gastric release (28.34 %) and increased intestinal release (41.41 %), suggesting improved controlled-release potential for oral applications.
The eco-friendly green synthesis of cadmium sulphide (CdS) and Ni-doped cadmium sulphide (Ni-CdS) nanoparticles was done through papaya peel extract mediator. The nanoparticles obtained were characterized well through X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Ultraviolet-Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-DRS) and zeta potential. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized samples for ciprofloxacin (CIP) was examined under visible-light irradiation. Different concentration of Ni was doped in CdS to obtain the maximum photocatalytic degradation. Ni-CdS 0.4 showed maximum degradation efficiency (∼96 %) in 180 min, which is superior to pure CdS (∼31 %). The activity of the degradation was highly sensitive to solution pH and the catalyst dosage, and the degradation was most active at a pH of 10 and catalyst loading of 0.010 g/L. The rate constant for CdS and Ni-CdS 0.4 were found 0.00641 min−1 and 0.05186 min−1 respectively. Experiments of reusability confirmed stability of the catalyst for several cycles. The results indicate that green-synthesized Ni-CdS can be a promising, stable and sustainable photocatalyst to degrade pharmaceutical pollutants like CIP in the aqueous solution in an efficient manner.
This study compares the removal of reactive dyes using natural lignocellulosic adsorbents obtained from spruce, birch, and rapeseed stems. Lignocellulosic sorbents are attractive due to their low cost, availability, and environmental compatibility. Experiments were conducted using Procion Blue H-5R, Reactive Blue 4, and Reactive Red 120 dyes under alkaline-acid treatment at temperatures of 25 °C and 90 °C. The sorption capacities (mg g−1) at 25 °C reached 26.96 ± 0.64 (rapeseed) for Procion Blue H-5R, 17.86 ± 0.57 (rapeseed) for Reactive Blue 4, and ∼16.8 ± 0.2 across materials for Reactive Red 120, although commercial activated carbon showed higher capacities. Only minor differences in adsorption capacity were observed between 25 °C and 90 °C under the studied conditions. The results suggest that lignocellulosic agricultural residues, particularly rapeseed biomass, may represent promising low-cost materials for preliminary dye removal applications. However, additional studies involving adsorption kinetics, equilibrium modelling, and advanced surface characterization are necessary for a more comprehensive evaluation of adsorption performance and mechanisms. In addition, the direct comparison of different lignocellulosic biomass under identical experimental conditions provides a useful preliminary perspective on their relative adsorption behaviour.
