This study aims to describe and evaluate the performance of a new device for magnetic hyperthermia that can produce an alternating magnetic field with adjustable frequency without the need to change capacitors from the resonant bank, as required by other commercial devices. This innovation, among others, is based on using a capacitator bank that dynamically adjusts the frequency. To validate the novel system, a series of experiments were conducted using commercial magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) demonstrating the device's effectiveness and allowing us to identify new challenges associated with the design of more powerful devices. A computational model was also used to validate the device and to allow us to determine the best system configuration. The results obtained are consistent with those from other studies using the same MNPs but with magnetic hyperthermia commercial equipment, confirming the good performance of the developed device (e.g., consistent SAR values between 1.37 and 10.80 W/gMNP were obtained, and experiments reaching temperatures above 43 °C were also obtained). This equipment offers additional advantages, including being economical, user-friendly, and portable.

This review explores the potential of nanomaterial-enhanced hybrid disinfection methods as effective strategies for addressing the growing challenge of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater treatment. By integrating hybrid nanocomposites and nanomaterials, natural biocides such as terpenes, and ultrasonication, this approach significantly enhances disinfection efficiency compared to conventional methods. The review highlights the mechanisms through which hybrid nanocomposites and nanomaterials generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) under blue LED irradiation, effectively disrupting MDR bacteria while improving the efficacy of natural biocides through synergistic interactions. Additionally, the review examines critical operational parameters-such as light intensity, catalyst dosage, and ultrasonication power-that optimize treatment outcomes and ensure the reusability of hybrid nanocomposites and other nanomaterials without significant loss of photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, this hybrid method shows promise in degrading ARGs, thereby addressing both microbial and genetic pollution. Overall, this review underscores the need for innovative wastewater treatment solutions that are efficient, sustainable, and scalable, contributing to the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.

Nanoparticles derived from biological sources are currently garnering significant interest due to their diverse range of potential applications. The purpose of the study was to synthesize Al-doped nanoparticles of zinc oxide (ZnO) from leaf extracts of and assess their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity using some bacterial and fungal strains. These nanoparticles were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The average crystalline size was determined to be 25 nm, as evidenced by the XRD analysis. In the UV-vis spectrum, the absorption band was observed around 351 nm. It was discovered that the Al-ZnO nanoparticles had a bandgap of 3.25 eV using the Tauc relation. Furthermore, by FTIR measurement, the presence of the OH group, C=C bending of the alkene group, and C=O stretching was confirmed. The SEM analysis revealed that the nanoparticles were distributed uniformly throughout the sample. The EDAX spectrum clearly confirmed the presence of Zn, Al, and O elements in the Al-ZnO nanoparticles. The TEM results also indicated that the green synthesized Al-ZnO nanoparticles displayed hexagonal shapes with an average size of 25 nm. The doping of aluminum may enhance the thermal stability of the ZnO by altering the crystal structure or phase composition. The observed changes in TG, DTA, and DTG curves reflect the impact of aluminum doping on the structural and thermal properties of ZnO nanoparticles. The antibacterial activity of the Al-ZnO nanoparticles using the agar diffusion method showed that the maximum zone of inhibition has been noticed against organisms of Gram-positive compared with Gram-negative . Moreover, antifungal activity using the agar cup method showed that the maximum zone of inhibition was observed on , followed by . Al-doping nanoparticles increases the number of charge carriers, which can enhance the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under UV light exposure. These ROS are known to possess strong antimicrobial properties. Al-doping can improve the crystallinity of ZnO, resulting in a larger surface area that facilitates more interaction with microbial cells. The structural and biological characteristics of Al-ZnO nanoparticles might be responsible for the enhanced antibacterial activity exhibited in the antibacterial studies. Al-ZnO nanoparticles with leaf extract produced via the green synthesis methods have remarkable antioxidant activity by scavenging free radicals against DPPH radicals, according to these results.

High-performance and cost-efficient electrocatalysts and electrodes are needed to improve the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) for the hydrogen (H) generation in electrolysers, including microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). In this study, free-standing carbon nanofiber (CNF) films with supported cobalt phosphide nanoparticles have been prepared by means of an up-scalable electrospinning process followed by a thermal treatment under controlled conditions. The produced cobalt phosphide-supported CNF films show to be nanoporous (pore volume up to 0.33 cm g) with a high surface area (up to 502 m g) and with a suitable catalyst mass loading (up to 0.49 mg cm). Values of overpotential less than 140 mV at 10 mA cm have been reached for the HER in alkaline media (1 M KOH), which demonstrates a high activity. The high electrical conductivity together with the mechanical stability of the free-standing CNF films allowed their direct use as cathodes in a MEC reactor, resulting in an exceptionally low voltage operation (0.75 V) with a current density demand of 5.4 A m. This enabled the production of H with an energy consumption below 30 kWh kg H, which is highly efficient.

The structural properties of lattice-matched InAlAs/InP layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy have been studied using atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy. The formation of the surface pits with lateral sizes in the micron range and a depth of about 2 ÷ 10 nm has been detected. The InP substrate annealing temperature and value of InAlAs alloy composition deviation from the lattice-matched InAlAs/InP case ( = 0.52) control the density of pits ranging from 5 × 10 cm ÷ 10 cm. The pit sizes are controlled by the InAlAs layer thickness and growth temperature. The correlation between the surface pits and threading dislocations has been detected. Moreover, the InAlAs surface is characterized by composition inhomogeneity with a magnitude of 0.7% with the cluster lateral sizes and density close to these parameters for surface pits. The experimental data allow us to suggest a model where the formation of surface pits and composition clusters is caused by the influence of a local strain field in the threading dislocation core vicinity on In adatoms incorporating kinetic.

In the original publication [...].

Gold nanoparticles (NPs) have demonstrated significance in several important fields, including drug delivery and anticancer research, due to their unique properties. Gold NPs possess significant optical characteristics that enhance their application in biosensor development for diagnosis, in photothermal and photodynamic therapies for anticancer treatment, and in targeted drug delivery and bioimaging. The broad surface modification possibilities of gold NPs have been utilized in the delivery of various molecules, including nucleic acids, drugs, and proteins. Moreover, gold NPs possess strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties, facilitating their use in surface-enhanced Raman scattering for precise and efficient biomolecule detection. These optical properties are extensively utilized in anticancer research. Both photothermal and photodynamic therapies show significant results in anticancer treatments using gold NPs. Additionally, the properties of gold NPs demonstrate potential in other biological areas, particularly in antimicrobial activity. In addition to delivering antigens, peptides, and antibiotics to enhance antimicrobial activity, gold NPs can penetrate cell membranes and induce apoptosis through various intracellular mechanisms. Among other types of metal NPs, gold NPs show more tolerable toxicity capacity, supporting their application in wide-ranging areas. Gold NPs hold a special position in nanomaterial research, offering limited toxicity and unique properties. This review aims to address recently highlighted applications and the current status of gold NP research and to discuss their future in nanomedicine.

The development of energy-efficient, sensitive, and reliable gas sensors for monitoring NO concentrations has garnered considerable attention in recent years. In this manuscript, TiO nanotube arrays/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites with varying rGO contents (TiO NTs/rGO) were synthesized via a two-step method for room temperature NO gas detection. From SEM and TEM images, it is evident that the rGO sheets not only partially surround the TiO nanotubes but also establish interconnection bridges between adjacent nanotubes, which is anticipated to enhance electron-hole separation by facilitating electron transfer. The optimized TiO NTs/rGO sensor demonstrated a sensitive response of 19.1 to 1 ppm of NO, a 5.26-fold improvement over the undoped TiO sensor. Additionally, rGO doping significantly enhanced the sensor's response/recovery times, reducing them from 24 s/42 s to 18 s/33 s with just 1 wt.% rGO. These enhancements are attributed to the increased specific surface area, higher concentration of chemisorbed oxygen species, and the formation of p-n heterojunctions between TiO and rGO within the nanocomposites. This study provides valuable insights for the development of TiO/graphene-based gas sensors for detecting oxidizing gases at room temperature.

Flexible energy storage devices have attracted wide attention as a key technology restricting the vigorous development of wearable electronic products. However, the practical application of flexible batteries faces great challenges, including the lack of good mechanical toughness of battery component materials and excellent adhesion between components, resulting in battery performance degradation or failure when subjected to different types of deformation. It is imperative to develop flexible batteries that can withstand deformation under different conditions and maintain stable battery performance. This paper reviews the latest research progress of flexible lithium batteries, from the research and development of new flexible battery materials, advanced preparation processes, and typical flexible structure design. First, the types of key component materials and corresponding modification technologies for flexible batteries are emphasized, mainly including carbon-based materials with flexibility, lithium anode materials, and solid-state electrolyte materials. In addition, the application of typical flexible structural designs (buckling, spiral, and origami) in flexible batteries is clarified, such as 3D printing and electrospinning, as well as advanced fabrication techniques commonly used in flexible materials and battery components. Finally, the limitations and coping strategies in the practical application of flexible lithium batteries are discussed, which provides new ideas for future research.

Nanofluids have improved thermophysical properties compared to conventional fluids, which makes them promising successors in fluid technology. The use of nanofluids enables optimal thermal efficiency to be achieved by introducing a minimal concentration of nanoparticles that are stably suspended in conventional fluids. The use of nanofluids in technology and industry is steadily increasing due to their effective implementation. The improved thermophysical properties of nanofluids have a significant impact on their effectiveness in convection phenomena. The technology is not yet complete at this point; binary and ternary nanofluids are currently being used to improve the performance of conventional fluids. Therefore, this work aims to theoretically investigate the ternary nanofluid flow of a couple stress fluid in a vertical channel. A homogeneous suspension of alumina, cuprous oxide, and titania nanoparticles is formed by dispersing trihybridized nanoparticles in a base fluid (water). The effects of pressure gradient and viscous dissipation are also considered in the analysis. The classical ternary nanofluid model with couple stress was generalized using the fractal-fractional derivative (FFD) operator. The Crank-Nicolson technique helped to discretize the generalized model, which was then solved using computer tools. To investigate the properties of the fluid flow and the distribution of thermal energy in the fluid, numerical methods were used to calculate the solution, which was then plotted as a function of various physical factors. The graphical results show that at a volume fraction of 0.04 (corresponding to 4% of the base fluid), the heat transfer rate of the ternary nanofluid flow increases significantly compared to the binary and unary nanofluid flows.

This study demonstrates, for the first time, the conversion of waste rice noodles (WRN) into a cost-effective, nano-silver-loaded activated carbon (Ag/AC) material capable of efficient adsorption and antibacterial activity. The fabrication process began with the conversion of WRN into hydrothermal carbon (HTC) via a hydrothermal method. Subsequently, the HTC was combined with silver nitrate (AgNO) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH), followed by activation through high-temperature calcination, during which AgNO was reduced to nano-Ag and loaded onto the HTC-derived AC, resulting in a composite material with both excellent adsorption properties and antibacterial activity. The experimental results indicated that the incorporation of nano-Ag significantly enhanced the specific surface area of the Ag/AC composite and altered its pore size distribution characteristics. Under optimized preparation conditions, the obtained Ag/AC material exhibited a specific surface area of 2025.96 m/g and an average pore size of 2.14 nm, demonstrating effective adsorption capabilities for the heavy metal Cr(VI). Under conditions of pH 2 and room temperature (293 K), the maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) reached 97.07 mg/g. The adsorption behavior of the resulting Ag/AC fitted the Freundlich adsorption isotherm and followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the Ag/AC composite exhibited remarkable inhibitory effects against common pathogenic bacteria such as and , achieving antibacterial rates of 100% and 81%, respectively, after a contact time of 4 h. These findings confirm the feasibility of utilizing the HTC method to process WRN and produce novel AC-based functional materials.

In this study, we investigated the influence of structural parameters, including active region dimensions, electric field intensity, In-composition, impurity position, and potential profiles, on the energy levels, sub-gap transitions, and photovoltaic characteristics of a p-GaN/i-(In, Ga)N/GaN-n (p-QW-n) structure. The finite element method (FEM) has been used to solve numerically the Schrödinger equation. We found that particle and sub-gap energy levels are susceptible to well width, electric field, and impurity position. Particle energy decreases with increasing well size and electric field intensity, while impurity position affects energy based on proximity to the well center. Potential profile shapes, such as rectangular (RQW) and parabolic (PQW), also play a significant role, with PQW profiles providing stronger particle confinement. IB width increases with electric field intensity and saturates at higher In-content. Voc increases with field strength but decreases with In-content, and the parabolic profile yields higher efficiency than the rectangular one. Photovoltaic efficiency is improved with an appropriately oriented electric field and decreases with higher In-content and field intensity. These findings highlight the critical role of structural parameters in optimizing QW-IBSC performance.

The reactive molecular dynamics method was employed to examine the thermal decomposition process of aluminized hydride (AlH) containing explosive nanoparticles with a core-shell structure under high temperature. The core was composed of the explosives RDX, HMX, and CL-20, while the shell was composed of AlH. It was demonstrated that the CL-20@AlH NPs decomposed at a faster rate than the other NPs, and elevated temperatures could accelerate the initial decomposition of the explosive molecules. The incorporation of aluminized hydride shells did not change the initial decomposition mechanism of the three explosives. The yields of the main products (NO, NO, N, HO, H, and CO) were investigated. There was a large number of solid aluminized clusters produced during the decomposition, mainly AlO and AlC clusters, together with AlN clusters dispersed in the AlO clusters.

Carbon fiber, with its strong mechanical properties and electrical conductivity, is ideal as a fiber electrode in wearable or structural energy storage devices. However, its energy storage capacity is limited, and coatings like transition metal oxides (TMOs) enhance its electrochemical performance. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are commonly used to grow TMOs on carbon fibers, increasing the surface area for better energy storage. Despite this, TMOs have limited electrical conductivity, so ion exchange is often used to dope them with additional cations, improving both conductivity and energy storage capacity. This study compares different ion-exchange cations in ZIF-L-derived TMO coatings on carbon fiber. Testing both supercapacitor and Li-ion battery applications, Ni-doped samples showed superior results, attributed to their higher exchange ratio with cobalt. As a supercapacitor electrode, the Ni-doped material achieved 13.3 F/g at 50 mA/g-66% higher than undoped samples. For Li-ion battery anodes, it reached a specific capacity of 410.5 mAh/g at 25 mA/g, outperforming undoped samples by 21.4%.

This article proposes the synthesis and characterization of (triethylene glycol dimethacrylate-N,N-dihydroxyethyl-p-toluidine) TEGDMA-DHEPT self-healing microcapsules for their inclusion in dental composite formulations. The obtaining method is the in situ emulsion polymerization of the (poly urea-formaldehyde) (PUF) coatings. The microcapsules were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. The optimal formation of uniform microcapsules is achieved at a stirring speed of 800 rpm and centrifugation is no longer necessary. HPLC demonstrates that the microcapsules formed at 800 rpm show a better control of liquid release than the heterogeneous ones obtained at a lower stirring speed. The centrifuged samples have rounded shapes, with dimensions between 80 and 800 nm, while the non-centrifuged samples are more uniform, with a spherical shape and dimensions of approximately 800 nm.

Over the past two decades, research on innovative micro- and nano-biomaterials has seen a significant surge in the bioengineering, biomedicine, and regenerative medicine fields [...].

Systems composed of several multi-layer compounds have been extremely useful in tailoring different quantum physical properties of nanomaterials. This is very much true when it comes to semiconductor materials and, in particular, to heterostructures and heterojunctions. The formalism of a position-dependent effective mass has proved to be a very efficient tool in those cases where quantum wells emerge either in one or two dimensions. In this work, we use a variety of mathematical theorems, as well as numerical computations, to study different scenarios pertaining to choices of a specific piecewise constant effective mass for a particle that causes its energy eigenvalues to reach an extremum. These results are relevant when it comes to practical technological applications such as modifying the optical energy gap between the first excited state and the ground state energy of the system. At the end of our contribution, we also question the physical validity of some approximations for systems with particles that possess a position-dependent mass especially for those cases in which the mass distribution is divergent.

Despite progress in the high-pressure synthesis of nanodiamonds from hydrocarbons, the problem of controlled formation of fluorescent impurity centers in them still remains unresolved. In our work, we explore the potential of a new precursor composition, a mixture of adamantane with detonation nanodiamond, both in the synthesis of nanodiamonds and in the controlled formation of negatively charged silicon-vacancy centers in such nanodiamonds. Using different adamantane/detonation nanodiamond weight ratios, a series of samples was synthesized at a pressure of 7.5 GPa in the temperature range of 1200-1500 °C. It was found that temperature around 1350 °C, is optimal for the high-yield synthesis of nanodiamonds <50 nm in size. For the first time, controlled formation of negatively charged silicon-vacancy centers in such small nanodiamonds was demonstrated by varying the atomic ratios of silicon/carbon in the precursor in the range of 0.01-1%.

This study utilized semiconductor processing techniques to fabricate patterned silicon (Si) substrates with arrays of inverted pyramid-shaped micro-pits by etching. Molybdenum trioxide (MoO) was then deposited on these patterned Si substrates using a thermal evaporation system, followed by two-stage sulfurization in a high-temperature furnace to grow MoS thin films consisting of only a few atomic layers. During the dropwise titration of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) solution, a longitudinal electric field was applied using a Keithley 2400 (Cleveland, OH, USA) source meter. Raman mapping revealed that under a 100 mV condition, the analyte R6G molecules were effectively confined within the pits. Due to its two-dimensional structure, MoS provides a high surface area and supports a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) charge transfer mechanism. The SERS results demonstrated that the intensity in the pits of the few-layer MoS/patterned Si SERS substrate was approximately 274 times greater compared to planar Si, with a limit of detection reaching 10 M. The experimental results confirm that this method effectively resolves the issue of random distribution of analyte molecules during droplet evaporation, thereby enhancing detection sensitivity and stability.

In this paper, we optimized IGZO/Ag/IGZO (IAI) multilayer films by post-rapid thermal annealing (RTA) to enhance the electrical conductivity and optical transmittance in visible wavelengths for solar cell applications. Our optimized device showed an average transmittance of 85% in the visible range, with a lowest sheet resistance of 6.03 Ω/□ when annealed at 500 °C for 60 s. Based on these results, we assessed our device with photo-generated short circuit current density (J) using a solar cell simulator to confirm its applicability in the solar cell. IAI multilayer RTA at 500 °C for 60 s showed a highest J of 40.73 mA/cm. These results show that our proposed IAI multilayer film, which showed a high optical transparency and electrical conductivity optimized with post RTA, seems to be excellent transparent electrode for solar cell applications.

In the original publication [...].