An Investigation on the Synthesis of Molybdenum Oxide and Its Silica Nanoparticle Composites for Dye Degradation.

The molybdenum oxide (MoO3) and MoO3@SiO2 nanoparticles were successfully prepared using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. The photocatalytic activities of molybdenum oxide (MoO3), SiO2, and MoO3@SiO2 nanoparticles composite have shown a synergistic photocatalytic effect of SiO2 combined with MoO3. The first-order degradation rate constants for MoO3, SiO2, and MoO3@SiO2 nanocomposite were 10.3 × 10-3 min-1, 15.1 × 10-3 min-1, and 16.3 × 10-3 min-1, respectively. The MoO3@SiO2 composite showed degradation efficiencies in the methylene blue solution close to 100% after 60 min of UV irradiation. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the MoO3 powder has a hexagonal crystal structure and the silica is the tridymite type of SiO2. The crystallite size was about 94 nm, 32 nm, and 125 nm for MoO3, silica, and MoO3@SiO2, respectively, as calculated by the Scherrer equation. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed that the MoO3 powder consisted of a uniform hexagonal structure; the silica showed a rod-like micro-flake morphology and the MoO3@SiO2 composite had the appearance of coral-like structures.

Nanobiosensors for the Detection of Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV and Other Pandemic/Epidemic Respiratory Viruses: A Review.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is considered a public health emergency of international concern. The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused this pandemic has spread rapidly to over 200 countries, and has drastically affected public health and the economies of states at unprecedented levels. In this context, efforts around the world are focusing on solving this problem in several directions of research, by: (i) exploring the origin and evolution of the phylogeny of the SARS-CoV-2 viral genome; (ii) developing nanobiosensors that could be highly effective in detecting the new coronavirus; (iii) finding effective treatments for COVID-19; and (iv) working on vaccine development. In this paper, an overview of the progress made in the development of nanobiosensors for the detection of human coronaviruses (SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is presented, along with specific techniques for modifying the surface of nanobiosensors. The newest detection methods of the influenza virus responsible for acute respiratory syndrome were compared with conventional methods, highlighting the newest trends in diagnostics, applications, and challenges of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 causative virus) nanobiosensors.

Physical Investigations of (Co, Mn) Co-Doped ZnO Nanocrystalline Films.

Undoped as well as (Co, Mn) co-doped Zinc oxides have been effectively developed on glass substrates, taking advantage of the spray pyrolysis procedure. The X-ray diffraction XRD as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements have recognized a pure hexagonal wurtzite form of ZnO, and no other collateral phases such as MnO2 or CoO2 have been observed as a result of doping. The calculated values of the texture coefficient (TC) were between 0.15 and 5.14, indicating a dominant orientation along the (002) plane. The crystallite size (D) varies with the (Co, Mn) contents. The dislocation density (δ) as well as the residual microstrains increased after Co and Mn doping. Furthermore, the surface morphology of the films has been affected significantly by the Co and Mn incorporation, as shown by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation. The study of the optical properties exhibits a red shift of the band gap energy (Eg) with the (Co, Mn) co-doping. The magnetic measurements have shown that the undoped and (Co, Mn) co-doped ZnO thin films displayed room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM).

Nanostructured Fe,Co-Codoped MoO3 Thin Films.

Molybdenum oxide (MoO3) and Fe,Co-codoped MoO3 thin films obtained by spray pyrolysis have been in-depth investigated to understand the effect of Co and Fe codoping on MoO3 thin films. The effect of Fe and Co on the structural, morphological and optical properties of MoO3 thin films have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), optical and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and electropyroelectric methods. The XRD patterns demonstrated the formation of orthorhombic α-MoO3 by spray pyrolysis. SEM characterization has shown an increase in roughness of MoO3 thin films by Fe and Co doping. Optical reflectance and transmittance measurements have shown an increase in optical band gap with the increase in Fe and Co contents. Thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of Fe,Co-doped MoO3 were 24.10⁻25.86 Wm-1K-1 and 3.80 × 10-6⁻5.15 × 10-6 m²s-1, respectively. MoO3 thin films have shown PL emission. Doping MoO3 with Fe and Co increases emission in the visible range due to an increase number of chemisorbed oxygen atoms. The photodegradation of an aqueous solution of methylene blue (MB) depended on the content of the codoping elements (Fe,Co). The results showed that a degradation efficiency of 90% was observed after 60 min for MoO3: Fe 2%-Co 1%, while the degradation efficiency was about 35% for the undoped MoO3 thin film.