We evaluated the efficiency of an air purifier using the single-chamber method for the effective removal of airborne Staphylococcus epidermidis, a nosocomial infection–causing bacterium. In this experiment, the bacterial strain S. epidermidis was injected using a nebulizer into the test chamber, which was similar to a consumer living space (60 m3). The microbial sampling was conducted via the air sampler method, and the reduction in S. epidermidis growth was monitored by performing three consecutive tests. Initially, a blank test was conducted to determine the natural decay rate and calibrate the experimental setup. After injecting the bacterial strain from 1240 to 11180 CFU per unit volume (m3), the natural decay rate showed a maximum deviation of 3.1% with a sampling error of 1.1% p at a confidence level of 95%. In addition, the particle size distribution in the test chamber was found to range from 0.3 to 5.0 μm, and a subsequent decrease in large-sized particles was observed with the operation of the air purifier, which is the size similar to that of suspended airborne bacteria. This can be used to assess the performance of the air purifier by calibrating the natural reduction value to the reduced operation value. Thus, the single-chamber technique is a promising approach for analyzing the removal efficacy of airborne bacteria from indoor air.

The biodegradable poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) polymer was synthesized via one pot synthesis technique using adipic acid and butanediol. The polymerization of synthesized sample was confirmed using FTIR, NMR, and TGA analysis. The PBAT/ATO films were fabricated via spray coating technique utilizing various concentrations of ATO nanoparticles in PBAT polymer solution and optimized the film quality through optical (NIR) and surface analysis. The polymer film having 7 wt % of ATO in PBAT showed good transparency in the UV, visible light and shown approximately 41% absorption in the near infrared region. Moreover, the 7 wt % ATO based polymer film exhibited low surface roughness and uniform coating over the substrate. In addition, near infrared absorbing efficiency of PBAT/ATO composite film in outdoor was demonstrated by constructing a PBAT/ATO (7 wt %)/vinyl greenhouse and the temperature differences were comparatively studied with a bare vinyl green house.

A polybisphenol A epichlorohydrin/antimony-doped tin oxide (PBAE/ATO) polymer composite solution was prepared by utilizing various weight percentages of ATO nanoparticles (~ 19 nm). The optical properties of the PBAE/ATO composites were analyzed by fabricating thin films on glass substrates. The polymeric film with 3 wt% ATO showed good transparency in the visible and UV regions and strong absorption in the NIR region. Moreover, under light illumination, the PBAE/ATO thin film displayed an ~ 24.4°C rise in temperature relative to the reference thin film. In addition, the outdoor NIR absorption efficiency was studied by spray coating a PBAE/ATO thin film over a vinyl greenhouse, and it was observed that the PBAE/ATO-coated greenhouse prevented snow deposition during the winter by melting the snowflakes through NIR absorption.

We report the fabrication and performance of zinc oxide core/manganese oxide shell (ZnO/MnO2) three-dimensional nanostructured planar supercapacitor. In this particular fabrication, ZnO nanorods were grown over FTO substrate followed by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) deposition of MnO2 nanostructure on ZnO nanorods. The quality of the ZnO/MnO2 electrode was optimized by performing various cycles of SILAR deposition of MnO2 layer over ZnO core. The electrode with 7 cycles of MnO2 deposition demonstrated maximum electrochemical performance with area capacitance of 14 mF cm(-2) and the same condition was utilized for the fabrication of a symmetric planar supercapacitor. This ZnO/MnO2 3D architecture planar supercapacitor showed maximum area capacitance of 5 mF cm(-2) in 1 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte with good energy density of 4.07 x 10(-7) Wh cm(-2) and power density of 3.19 mW cm(-2). Moreover, this planar supercapacitor shows an excellent electrochemical performance with comparable long term cyclic stability. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A high-performance symmetric supercapacitor was fabricated using a Na0.33V2O5 nanocomposite synthesized by means of a simple co-precipitation technique. The structural and morphological investigation showed that the synthesized Na0.33V2O5 nanocomposite exhibited a monoclinic structure with a nanorod-like morphology. The electrochemical properties of the Na0.33V2O5 symmetric supercapacitor were studied utilizing three different aqueous electrolytes, such as 1 M of LiCl, NaCl and KCl, respectively. Interestingly, the fabricated Na0.33V2O5 symmetric supercapacitors exhibited excellent electrochemical capacitance behaviour in all the electrolytes with a maximum specific capacitance value of 168 Fg(-1) in 1 M LiCl, 146 Fg(-1) in 1 M NaCl and 132 Fg(-1) in 1 M KCl electrolytes at 0.5 Ag-1 discharge current density. In addition, Na0.33V2O5 symmetric supercapacitors demonstrated an excellent cyclic stability in 1 M NaCl electrolyte with high capacitance retention of approximately 81% after 50000 charge/discharge cycles.