Oxide-based traditional chemiresistive gas sensors majorly operate at high temperatures, which stems from the need for affordable, selective, and room-temperature-based sensors for different volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This investigation has explored the sensing capability of α-Fe2O3 nanocomposites where hematite is combined with noble metals (Au and Ag) and an active transition metal, Ni. The nanocomposites are found to be superior to pristine α-Fe2O3, and Ag-α-Fe2O3 has been proved to be the best for sensing IPA vapor with considerably low response and recovery times at a constant potential of 3 V. Most strikingly, it can work at room temperature, down to 2 ppm concentration, with a significantly enhanced response of 242
Photocatalytic degradation represents a highly efficient strategy for the removal of diverse organic pollutants and pathogenic microorganisms from wastewater. Nevertheless, conventional photocatalytic materials frequently fall short of practical application requirements owing to their wide bandgaps, insufficient surface active sites, and rapid recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. To construct indirect Z-scheme heterojunction BiVO4/CQDs/pg-C3N4 composite (CBCN) nanoparticles, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were initially synthesized via a hydrothermal process utilizing tea polyphenols as an environmentally friendly carbon precursor. Subsequently, various concentrations of the as-prepared CQDs were integrated into pg-C3N4, via ultrasonication and stirring. Ultimately, BiVO4 nanoparticles were in situ grown within the pore structure of the CQDs/pg-C3N4 hybrid through a secondary hydrothermal treatment. After 120 min of simulated sunshine exposure, CBCN-5 showed the greatest photocatalytic activity among them, achieving 99
Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) is a room-temperature multiferroic oxide with coupled ferroic, semiconducting, dielectric, and optoelectronic properties, making it relevant to several functional-material applications investigated within the selected literature corpus. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of 2532 Web of Science Core Collection articles published between 2014 and 2025 within a predefined, application-oriented search scope. CiteSpace was used to examine publication trends, collaboration networks, co-citation structures, keyword co-occurrence, and citation bursts. The results show sustained growth in publication activity, a geographically concentrated but internationally connected collaboration network, and an intellectual base that links classical multiferroic physics with more recent work on nanoscale modification, photocatalysis, heterojunction engineering, and energy-related applications. Keyword and burst analyses indicate a gradual shift in emphasis from structural characterization and intrinsic properties toward interfacial engineering and application-driven studies; however, these patterns should be interpreted as trends within the selected corpus rather than as a complete chronology of the entire BiFeO3 field. Heterojunction-related research remains prominent, while energy-storage and photoelectrocatalytic topics have gained recent attention. The analysis provides a quantitative map of an application-oriented segment of BiFeO3 research and identifies areas in which stronger links between fundamental multiferroic studies and functional applications may be particularly valuable.
Traditional chemotherapy remains a cornerstone of leukemia treatment. However, drug resistance and severe side effects heavily limit its clinical outcomes. Ferroptosis an iron-dependent, non-apoptotic form of regulated cell death characterized by lipid peroxide accumulation has emerged as a highly promising strategy to eradicate resistant leukemia cells. This study involved the design and production of a tumor-targeting nanoplatform for leukemia cancer therapy. FeCuS2 (FCS) was developed as a drug carrier and subsequently altered with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) and methoxy polyethylene glycol (mPEG)-functionalized hyaluronic acid (HA). Docetaxel (DT) was subsequently included to develop DT/FCS@APTS-mPEG-HA nanoparticles. The nanoplatform demonstrated superior photothermal efficacy under 980-nm near-infrared (NIR) laser exposure. Furthermore, DT/FCS@APTS-mPEG-HA proficiently produced toxic hydroxyl radical (•OH) by Fenton/Fenton-like reaction and augmented the reactive oxygen species-facilitated treatment efficacy. The DT/FCS@APTS-mPEG-HA nanoparticles demonstrated NIR- and GSH-triggered drug release that facilitated rapid, controlled DT delivery to the tumor site. This platform integrates chemotherapy, chemodynamic therapy, and photothermal therapy, and thereby overcomes the limitations of monotherapy to enhance systemic stability and facilitate leukemia cancer therapy.
Surface functionalization enables metal oxide nanoparticles to be engineered as chemically tunable interfaces for optical sensing. Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) enhance the refractive index sensitivity of fiber-optic surface plasmon resonance (FO-SPR) sensors and provide chemically active surfaces that readily support ligand functionalization. In this work, CuO NPs were surface-functionalized with trimesic acid (H3TMA) and integrated into a fiber-optic surface plasmon resonance (FO-SPR) platform for the detection of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). FTIR, TGA, TEM, SEM, DLS, and zeta potential analyses characterized the functionalized nanoparticles, supporting successful surface modification and indicating aggregation under aqueous conditions. Cryogenic-TEM revealed primary particle diameters of approximately 6 nm, whereas DLS measurements showed micron-scale hydrodynamic aggregates in aqueous suspension. The fabricated FO-SPR sensor exhibited a concentration-dependent response to both analytes, achieving maximum sensitivities of 3.59 and 2.76 nm/μM for PFOA and PFOS, respectively, with corresponding detection limits of 1.40 and 4.73 μM. The stronger response toward PFOA is consistent with its greater retention at the functionalized sensing interface, as supported by the XPS analysis, while the specific molecular interactions responsible for the differential response remain to be elucidated. These findings demonstrate that H3TMA functionalization of CuO NPs provides a simple and tunable sensing interface for FO-SPR detection of PFOA and PFOS.
