Controllable growth of non-layered 2D materials encompassing precise regulation of crystallinity, large-area uniformity, thickness, composition, and scalability remains challenges that causes the large-scale device applications. In this work, ultrathin 2D WC1-x nanosheets grown by a hot-wire chemical vapor deposition on c-Si and quartz substrates at low temperature of 450 °C. The influences of H2 flow rate and argon plasma treatment time were investigated to examine the structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of the as-prepared WC1-x nanosheets. Experimentally, WC1-x nanosheets was prepared at 175 sccm exhibited a minimum thickness of 1.23 nm (equivalent to approximately 3 to few-layer thickness as compared to conventional CVD grown TMDC layered materials) with a maximum edge length of 44 nm, moderate optical transparency of 57.0˗64.6 %, and low sheet resistance of 573.95 Ω/sq. The WC1-x nanosheets prepared at a longer argon plasma treatment time of 15 min demonstrated cubic structure WC1-x layers with consisting of WC intermediate layer underneath of the nanosheets. The obtained results of HRTEM and optical absorption spectrum revealed the single-crystalline nanosheet and semimetal of WC1-x characteristic, with the calculated optical bandgap approximately 0.70 eV. The WC1-x nucleation and growth control mechanism under the influence of H2 flow rate is proposed and discussed.

A total of 150 deep eutectic solvents (DESs) with varying salt, hydrogen bond donor, and molar ratios were studied to develop a screening tool for separating toluene-heptane mixtures. The activity coefficient at infinite dilution (gamma degrees) of each DES was predicted using COSMO-RS, and selectivity (S degrees), capacity (C degrees), and performance index (PI) were calculated. Key DES properties, including density, viscosity, melting/freezing point, surface tension, and conductivity, were compiled from the literature to create a DES property library. A comprehensive screening tool with four evaluation criteria was developed, which identified ethyl triphenylphosphonium bromide:ZnCl2 (1:4) as the optimal solvent for toluene-heptane separation. Tetrabutylbased DESs exhibited higher S degrees, while phenyl phosphonium-based DESs showed higher C degrees. DESs with Cl-anions provided higher selectivity, whereas those with Br-anions had higher capacity. Generally, DESs with high S degrees also showed high PI, indicating superior separation performance.

Enzyme applications in industry are often limited by low stability, poor reusability and challenging recovery. This study presents a sustainable strategy for enhancing enzyme performance by immobilizing porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) onto Ganoderma lucidum using a hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent (HDES) as a reaction medium to facilitate enzyme immobilization. Among several HDESs tested, menthol:decanoic acid (HDES 1) showed the highest lipase activity (198.38%) and was selected for immobilization. Under optimized conditions (3 h, 40 °C, pH 7.0), the immobilized PPL achieved 212.41% catalytic efficiency, a 13 day half-life and retained activity over two reuse cycles. FTIR analysis revealed a shift in the secondary amide band from 3312 to 3306 cm-1, indicating modifications in protein hydrogen bonding. BET and EDX analyses confirmed enzyme adsorption and successful loading, while GC-MS identified fatty acid derivatives, demonstrating effective catalysis. Notably, HDES 1 enabled the immobilized enzyme to replace hexane in esterification reactions, achieving ∼90% fatty acid conversion surpassing the free enzyme. Molecular docking further highlighted strong interactions between HDES 1 and PPL's catalytic residues, validating its stabilizing role. Overall, the G. lucidum-HDES 1 platform provides a green, efficient and versatile biocatalytic system with significant potential for bioenergy production and sustainable applications in the oil industry.

ABSTRACT Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as promising green solvents for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment due to their tunable properties, low cost, and sustainability. Their unique hydrogen‐bonding networks, polarity, and ionic characteristics enable selective disruption of lignin–carbohydrate complexes. Despite these advantages, several challenges remain, including limited xylan recovery, an incomplete understanding of DES‐biomass interactions, and insufficient toxicity assessments. Toxicity is strongly influenced by DES composition, particularly the hydrogen bond donor (HBD), highlighting the need for systematic evaluation of environmental and biological impacts. Furthermore, the behavior of aqueous DES systems and their interactions with biomass components require further investigation. This review summarizes recent advances in DES‐based biomass pretreatment, emphasizing their physicochemical properties, mechanisms, and toxicity. By integrating current knowledge, it provides insights into DES behavior during biomass processing and offers guidance for the rational design of safer, more efficient solvents to support sustainable biorefinery development.

Glycerol carbonate (GC) is a value-added chemical widely produced through the transesterification of glycerol with dialkyl carbonates. In the present study, the optimization of glycerol transesterification with diethyl carbonate using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Emim][Ac]) as a catalyst was investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). The experiments were carried out using a central composite design (CCD) to evaluate the effects of important parameters including reaction temperature (110.0 degrees C to 130.0 degrees C), reaction time (1.5 hours to 2.5 hours), substrate ratio (1.5 to 2.5 equivalent ratio) and catalyst loading (0.30 mol% to 0.70 mol%) on two responses, glycerol conversion and GC yield. The developed quadratic models showed good agreement between predicted and experimental values, with coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.93 and 0.96 for glycerol conversion and GC yield, respectively. The optimum conditions were found to be 118.0 degrees C at 1.8 hours with a 2.2 diethyl carbonate/glycerol ratio and 0.42 mol% [Emim][Ac] to obtain 92.40% glycerol conversion and a GC yield of 91.80%. Reaction temperature was identified as the most influential parameter affecting both responses. The results demonstrate that [Emim][Ac] is an efficient ionic liquid catalyst for glycerol valorization via transesterification. The integration of catalytic evaluation with statistically guided optimization provides a systematic approach for improving GC synthesis under relatively mild reaction conditions.

Graphene nanosheets (GNS) have garnered significant attention due to their exceptional properties and wide-ranging applications. This research aims to synthesize GNS from coconut shells and candlenut shells and to compare their performance in Fe ion adsorption and electrochemical properties. Both coconut and candlenut shells were used as raw materials, and the pyrolysis method was chosen to produce large-scale GNS. The GNS were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, FTIR, FESEM-EDX, AAS, and electrochemical measurements, including CV and EIS on modified electrodes. New findings from this study reveal that GNS derived from candlenut shells exhibit thinner layers and fewer defects compared with those derived from coconut shells. This structural advantage contributes to superior Fe ion adsorption efficiency and better electrochemical performance, making the GNS from candlenut shells more suitable for applications in flexible electronics and electrochemical devices. Furthermore, the synthesis method effectively reduces the amount of oxides associated with defects in the GNS, enhancing the material's potential for high-performance applications. The GNS produced from candlenut shells showed an Fe adsorption effectiveness of 0.33 ± 0.012 mg/g, a charge transfer resistance of 0.78 kΩ, and a capacitance of 108.8 F/g, indicating their promising role in future technological applications.

This research aims to develop a sustainable and high-performance electrode materials by synthesizing neodymium-doped graphene nanosheets (Nd/GNS) from renewable candlenut shell biomass using a facile impregnation method. The study investigates the structural, electronic, and electrochemical properties of Nd/GNS with varying Nd concentrations (10–30 % (w/v)). Advanced characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman Spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), confirmed the successful incorporation of Nd, the formation of Nd-O-C bonds, and enhanced oxygen functionalities without disrupting the original graphene lattice. XPS analysis revealed stable Nd3+ oxidation states and strong coordination interactions, enhancing chemical stability. Electrochemical performance, evaluated through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), demonstrated that 20 % Nd-doped GNS achieved optimal results, with a maximum current density of 2.011 A cm−2 and a charge storage capacity of 0.1634 A V, surpassing commercial graphene by 38 %. This enhancement is attributed to Nd-induced lattice defects, expanded interlayer spacing, and increased pseudo capacitance, offering more active sites for electrochemical reactions. By integrating biomass utilization with rare-earth doping, this study provides a cost-effective and scalable pathway for producing high-performance materials for energy storage and catalytic applications, particularly in supercapacitors and water splitting.

Innately designed to induce physiological changes, pharmaceuticals are foreknowingly hazardous to the ecosystem. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are recognized as a set of contemporary and highly efficient methods being used as a contrivance for the removal of pharmaceutical residues. Since reactive oxygen species (ROS) are formed in these processes to interact and contribute directly toward the oxidation of target contaminant(s), a profound insight regarding the mechanisms of ROS leading to the degradation of pharmaceuticals is fundamentally significant. The conceptualization of some specific reaction mechanisms allows the design of an effective and safe degradation process that can empirically reduce the environmental impact of the micropollutants. This review mainly deliberates the mechanistic reaction pathways for ROS-mediated degradation of pharmaceuticals often leading to complete mineralization, with a focus on acetaminophen as a drug waste model.

This study explored the use of industrial acidic crude palm oil (ACPO) for biodiesel production, facing a significant obstacle due to its high free fatty acid (FFA) content, which complicates the biodiesel production process. Typically, esterification is employed to convert FFAs into fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). Herein, the effectiveness of tungstosilicic acid hydrate (TSAH) as an unsupported heteropoly acid (HPA) catalyst for FFA esterification in ACPO was investigated. The FFA content was reduced from 8.43% to 0.95% under optimum conditions (4 wt% catalyst dosage, a methanol to oil molar ratio of 10:1, 150 min and a temperature of 60 degrees C). Noteworthy, the TSAH catalyst showed stability over 7 cycles. The kinetic analysis revealed that the FFA esterification process closely followed pseudo first-order kinetics, with an R2 value of 0.94. Furthermore, the biodiesel produced from TSAH-treated ACPO meets the standard specifications outlined by ASTM D6751 and EN 14214. This research highlights the effectiveness of TSAH in catalyzing FFA esterification without the need for additional support materials or modifications.

Researchers worldwide have extensively carried out the fabrication of supercapacitors using ionic liquid-based gel electrolytes. Gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are an excellent alternative electrolyte due to their high ionic conductivity and lack of safety issues associated with solid and liquid polymer electrolytes. This work highlights the performance of a GPE composed of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [BMIM]BF4 mixed with ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) as the charge carrier, entrapped in methylcellulose (MC) for its application as an electrolyte in supercapacitors. The results of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study are in good agreement with the literature, confirming the interaction between the materials observed through the shifting of the hydroxyl band. Moreover, the addition of [BMIM]BF4 successfully reduced the degree of crystallinity and crystallite size, thus enhancing the amorphous region of the electrolytes, as observed in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) diffractogram. The sample with 10 wt% [BMIM]BF4 (IL10) exhibits the highest ambient conductivity of (2.44 +/- 0.36) x 10-2 S cm-1. The obtained ionic transference number (tion) of 0.98 confirms that ions are the dominant charge carriers. Considering its electrochemically stability up to 2.6 V within a potential range of 3.0 V, the IL10 electrolyte was chosen as a separator for application in an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC). The EDLC is characterized via cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) analysis.

This study introduces a novel and sustainable method of producing graphene from coconut shells and investigates its application in Graphene, Ni/Graphene, and Zn/Graphene electrodes for advanced energy storage devices. The graphene was synthesized scalably using a pyrolysis and impregnation technique, with its successful synthesis verified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and electrical conductivity measurements characterizations. The study highlights the enhanced performance of Zn/Graphene electrodes, which outperform both pure graphene and Ni/Graphene variants. This superior performance is attributed to the smaller particle size of Zn (mean = 2.356 µm) compared to Ni (mean = 3.09 µm), and Zn’s more favorable electron configuration for electron transfer. These findings demonstrate the potential of bio-derived graphene composites as efficient, high-performance electrodes, paving the way for more sustainable and cost-effective energy storage solutions.

This review article focuses on various fabrication strategies that utilize amino acids (AAs) in the creation of electrochemical sensors designed for the detection of heavy metals (HMs). AAs possess unique characteristics that make them valuable materials for sensing heavy metal ions (HMIs). The article delves into how AAs are incorporated into sensor designs and their interactions with HMIs. It places particular emphasis on a range of electrode modification methods, including drop casting, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), electropolymerization, and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). The article provides a comprehensive discussion of the preparation procedures, mechanisms, as well as the advantages and disadvantages associated with each approach. Furthermore, it explores the emerging insights into combining AAs with both organic and inorganic materials, highlighting their synergistic effects in sensing applications. Throughout the review, the challenges and opportunities in the development of electrochemical sensors are spotlighted, with the ultimate goal of advancing next-generation sensors that can make a meaningful impact on modern society.

The study integrates hydrochemical and isotopic (518O, 52H, 3H, and 513C) techniques to investigate water evolution in the North Kelantan River basin. Groundwater facies were mainly classified as Ca-Mg-Cl, Ca-Mg-Cl-HCO3, and Na-Cl during the rainy season and shift toward Ca-Mg-HCO3 and Na-Ca-HCO3-Cl during the dry season in surface water and shallow aquifer, while facies in intermediate and deep aquifers were classified as Na-HCO3 and Na-Cl. The 518O and 52H compositions of most groundwater samples have not deviated significantly from NKMWL (52H = 8.4 518O + 11.5) with slightly depleted isotopic values due to the humid climate. Isotopically, evaporation does not impact recharged water significantly. However, shallow aquifers are slightly enriched than deep aquifers of the study area. The estimated recharge was 20.17% and 22.52% of annual rainfall based on the CMB and 518O values, respectively. The recharge mainly occurs during the wet season and is influenced mostly by the amount of rain. Aquifers clustered in distinct groups based on their isotopic signatures and hydrochemical results. The decomposition of organic matter is the primary carbon source in the study area. Building on this, by utilizing isotope hydrology to study water resources, we can gain a deeper insight into the susceptibility of groundwater in coastal aquifers of monsoonal tropical humid regions.

Although electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) are known to exhibit impressive power density, rapid charging/discharging, and long cycle life, their energy density remains a hurdle for broader use. Gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) offer an interesting approach to improve the energy density of EDLCs while maintaining their other desirable characteristics. This study investigates the development of novel GPEs based on zein, honey, and ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) for EDLC applications. The GPEs are prepared by incorporating zein, honey, and NH4NO3 in a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solvent system through a solution casting method. The degree of crystallinity of zein successfully reduced from 33.0 % to 15.71 % with the addition of 20 wt% NH4NO3. The interaction between zein, honey and NH4NO3 is confirmed by observing the shifting of the hydroxyl band. The ambient ionic conductivity of zein-honey increases from (4.86 +/- 0.36) x 10(-4) S cm(-1) to (4.19 +/- 0.40) x 10(-3) S cm(-1) with the incorporation of 20 wt% NH4NO3 (ZH20), exhibiting the significantly lowest T-g value (77.53 degrees C). Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) demonstrates high electrochemical stability up to 2.6 V of ZH20. Additionally, the transference number (t(ion)) of 0.989 indicates a dominant role of ionic charge carriers in this work. Finally, the ZH20-based GPE is used as both an electrolyte and separator to fabricate EDLC. Its electrochemical behavior has demonstrated stable results in terms of specific capacitance, energy, and power density, with fast rate performance observed through cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques.

The current increase in demand for graphene in various energy applications such as electrode materials for supercapacitors, batteries, thermoelectric, and hydrogen production via water-splitting, the production of high-quality graphene, considering its fascinating physical and electrical properties, high-yield, and large-area has becoming more challenging at the research and development level. Therefore, in this work, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were directly grown on tungsten nanoparticle (W NP)-coated p-type crystalline silicon and quartz substrates using hot-wire chemical vapor deposition at low substrate temperatures (<500 degrees C). Prior to the GNP deposition, a plasma process was employed to induce the formation of W NPs, which act as a metal catalyst for facilitating the growth of large-area and multi-layer GNPs. The W NPs were formed at substrate temperatures ranging from 250 to 550 degrees C, with the largest graphene sheet was grown at 450 degrees C. Higher substrate temperatures promote the growth of high-quality graphene layers with high intensities of G (I-G) and 2D bands (I-2D), and high I-2D/I-G ratio values. The GNP photoelectrode prepared at 450 degrees C demonstrated better photoelectrochemical responses with the highest photocurrent density of 1.65 mA/cm(2) at 1.5 V-Ag/AgCl, the lowest charge transfer resistance (14.0 k Omega), and the highest donor density (2.57 x 10 (28) cm(-3)) compared to the tungsten carbide thin film and W NP electrodes prepared at the same temperature. The effects of substrate temperature on the optical, structural, and photoelectrochemical properties of the as-grown GNPs are discussed.

Soap removal from crude biodiesel is considered as one of the most challenging biorefinery processes. This study reports a new technique for soap removal incorporating activated carbon (AC) in an emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) system based on deep eutectic solvents (DES-AC-ELM). These DESs were prepared from two salts, namely tetramethylammonium chloride (TMAC) and choline chloride (ChCl), with different hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) such as ethylene glycol (EG), diethylene glycol (DEG) and triethylene glycol (TEG). COSMO-RS modelling was performed in the evaluation of the activity coefficients and capacity at infinite dilution of DESs. The COSMO-RS simulation shows that the DESs with TEG as the HBD are the most effective stripping agents for soap removal which is in accordance with the experimental results. In addition, the sigma-profile and sigma-potential were used to investigate the interactions between the soap molecules in each phase. The impact of various process parameters on the soap removal such as the salt: HBD ratio, DES:biodiesel ratio, span-20 concentration, mixing speed, extraction time and dosage of AC were evaluated. The proposed technique achieved a soap extraction efficiency of 99.1% (6.856 ppm) and 97.5% (18.773 ppm) for TMAC:TEG(DES3) and ChCl:TEG (DES6), respectively, with a salt: HBD molar ratio of 1:4, DES:biodiesel ratio of 1:1, 2 wt% surfactant concentration, 10 min extraction duration, 400 rpm mixing speed, 0.5 treatment ratio and 0.5 wt% AC dosage. The transport mechanism of soap conforms to a first-order mass transfer behaviour, with a kinetic rate constant of 0.64 min-1 and 0.43 min(-1), for DES3 and DES6, respectively. This study illustrated a new cleaner and simple route for purification of crude biodiesel.

Graphene was synthesized through a two-step pyrolysis method using waste candlenut (Aleurites moluccanus) shells as the precursor. Cerium (Ce)/graphene composites were prepared via an impregnation technique. The resulting graphene and Ce/graphene were characterized using various analytical methods, including Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), and Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV). The bio-carbon produced predominantly exhibited a graphene structure with flat carbon morphology and an interlayer distance of 0.33 nm. This structural information is supported by XRD data, which shows a broad and weak peak at 2θ = 26° corresponding to the C (002) plane, indicative of graphene presence. FTIR, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy further confirmed the presence of graphene through the detection of Csp2 aromatic bonds and the characteristic D, G, and 2D peaks. Notably, the performance of cerium can be enhanced by the incorporation of graphene, attributed to the large surface area and chemical interactions between Ce and graphene. Consequently, candlenut-derived graphene shows potential as a supportive material for modifying the properties of cerium, due to the current value of Ce/Graphene increase with presence of graphene, thereby opening avenues for various advanced applications, such as sustainable and high-performance energy storage systems.

Poly(methyl methacrylate-vinyl imidazole bromide) (poly-MMA-IL)-grafted magnetic nanoparticles were successfully developed and applied in the micro-magnetic solid phase extraction (μ-MSPE) for 16 types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from tea, fried food, and grilled food samples via gas chromatography flame ionization detector (GC-FID). One variable at a time (OVAT) and response surface methodology (RSM) were used for efficient optimization. The validation method showed a good coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 0.9901 to 0.9982 (n = 3) with linearity of 0.2 μg L-1-500 μg L-1. Detection and quantification limits were 0.06 µg L-1-0.32 µg L-1 and 0.18 µg L-1-0.97 µg L-1. Additionally, satisfactory reproducibility was attained with intra-day and inter-day precisions having RSD ranges of 3.6%-11.1%. The spiked recovery value of 16 PAHs in fried food, grilled food and tea samples obtained from the night market in Malaysia ranged from 80%-12%, respectively.

Heavy metals (HMs) are well-known environmental pollutants that threaten the life forms. The content of HMs in water must be constantly monitored as people are concerned about the ecosystem health, food safety and human health. In this work, a novel green composite consisting of amino acid (AA) and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) was employed in constructing an electrochemical sensor. The fabricated sensor can be utilized for simultaneous detection of heavy metal ions (HMIs), including cadmium(II) ion (Cd2+) and lead(II) ion (Pb2+), by utilizing the distinctive potential difference between them as the detection signals. Such electrochemical sensor has several merits over the conventional detection approaches due to its portability, flexibility and simplicity. A green approach was used in the preparation of electrode in which beta-CD and L-cysteine (Cys) were separately electropolymerized onto the electrode surface without linker in aqueous solution. Electrode fabrication was carried out by layer-by-layer electropolymerization, forming a thin polymeric film with abundant functional groups responsible for anchoring metal ions. Chemical and physical characterizations of modified electrodes were performed to validate the successful synthesis of polymeric film. Under optimal conditions, the developed electrode demonstrated promising simultaneous detection of Cd2+ and Pb2+ in real water samples through square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) analysis, with results comparable to conventional methods employing inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The fabricated sensor revealed sensitivities of 346.26 mu A mu M(-1)cm(-2) and 250.54 mu A mu M(-1)cm(-2), and limit of detections (LODs) of 1.13 nM for Cd2+ and 0.53 nM for Pb2+, over the linear ranges of 3.42-700 nM and 1.60-700 nM, respectively. The developed sensor demonstrated a high selectivity, sensitivity, and stability, along with high reproducibility and low LOD over a wide linear range.