The influence of nativity/birthplace, neighborhood cohesion, and duration lived in the neighborhood on psychological distress.

Introduction: Nativity/birthplace and neighborhood cohesion are potential contributing factors to psychological distress. This study explores the impact of nativity/birthplace and neighborhood cohesion on moderate-severe psychological distress among United States (US) adults, considering the duration lived in a neighborhood. Methods: Using the 2013-2018 National Health Interview Survey data, we conducted a stratified analysis based on years lived in the neighborhood (≤10 years [n = 96,175] and >10 years [n = 68,187]). Bivariate chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess the statistical differences and associations between moderate-severe psychological distress and nativity/birthplace, and neighborhood cohesion, while adjusting for other covariates. Results: Individuals with 10 years or less of residence reported higher levels of moderate-severe psychological distress than those with more than 10 years (22.3 % vs. 18.1 %). Low or medium neighborhood cohesion, regardless of duration of residence, was associated with significantly higher odds of moderate-severe psychological distress compared to high cohesion. Foreign-born individuals had higher odds of psychological distress after more than 10 years in a neighborhood, although this difference was not statistically significant. However, they had lower odds of psychological distress after 10 years or less in the neighborhood compared to US-born individuals. Similarly, the interaction of foreign-born status and 10 years or less of residence in a neighborhood showed decreased odds of psychological distress. Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of strong social cohesion in neighborhoods for positive mental well-being. Establishing community initiatives to enhance neighborhood social cohesion is crucial.

Comorbid Conditions Are Associated With Cognitive Impairment in Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

We examined the association between comorbid conditions and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) (n = 54). Cross-sectional, self-reported questionnaires were utilized to collect demographic, comorbid conditions, and MCI (via the AD8 index) data. Separate logistic regression models were conducted to investigate the relationship between comorbid conditions and MCI, adjusting for other covariates. We found significantly increased odds of MCI in those reporting high blood pressure (OR = 5.27; 95% CI: [1.36, 20.46]; p = 0.016), high cholesterol (OR = 7.30; 95% CI: [1.90, 28.14], p = 0.004), and prediabetes or borderline diabetes (OR = 4.53; 95% CI: [1.27, 16.16], p = 0.02) compared with those not reporting these respective conditions. These data show that hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and prediabetes are associated with MCI in the NHPI community, suggesting that preventive strategies to reduce chronic conditions may also potentially slow cognitive decline in underrepresented/understudied NHPI.

Harnessing ZnCr2O4/g-C3N4 nanosheet heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B and ciprofloxacin.

Utilizing semiconductors for photocatalytic processes in water bodies as an approach to environmental remediation has gained considerable attention. Theoretical band position calculations revealed a type-II step-scheme charge flow mechanism for ZnCr2O4/g-C3N4 (ZCr/gCN), emphasizing effective heterojunction formation due to synergies between the materials. A composite of agglomerated nanoparticle ZnCr2O4 (Zinc chromium oxide - ZCr)/g-C3N4 (graphitic carbon nitride - gCN) nanosheets was synthesized using the ultrasonication and leveraging the heterojunction to enhance degradation efficiency and active sites participation. The synthesized sample was characterized by XRD, XPS, FTIR, BET, HRSEM, EDX, HRTEM, EIS PL, and UV-visible spectroscopy. XRD analysis confirmed the successful formation of pure ZnCr2O4, g-C3N4 (gCN), and their composite without any secondary phases. Optical investigations demonstrated a red shift (444-470 nm) in UV-visible spectra as ZnCr2O4 content increased. Morphological assessment via HRSEM unveiled agglomerated nanoparticle and nanosheet structures. FTIR analysis indicated the presence of gCN with the tri-s-triazine breathing mode at 807 cm-1, and the identification of octahedral Zn-O (598.11 cm-1) and tetrahedral Cr-O (447.01 cm-1) metal bonds within the spinel structure of ZnCr2O4. A Surface area of 134.162 m2/g was noticed with a microporous structure of pore radius 1.484 nm. Notably, the 15% ZCr/gCN composite achieved a remarkable 93.94 % (Rhodamine B-RhB) and 74.36 % (Ciprofloxacin - CIP) within 100 and 120 min, surpassing the performance of pure gCN. Improved degradation was attributed to higher charge separation (photo-excited electrons and holes), reducing charge recombination, as supported by photoluminescence and photoelectrochemical analyses. The presence of active species like superoxide during degradation was confirmed through a scavenger test. The stability analysis confirms the sample's stable nature (without secondary phase formation) after degradation. This work underscores the potential of ZnCr2O4 based metal-free compounds intended for effective environmental remediation.

Cancer worry and its impact on self-reported depressive symptoms among adult males and females in the US: a nationwide sample study.

OBJECTIVE: With cancer the second deadliest disease in the world, worry about cancer can have mental health or psychiatric implications. This study examines the prevalence, differences, and influence of cancer worry (CW), its interaction effect with age, and other confounders on self-reported depressive symptoms (SRDS) among adult males and females in the US. METHODS: We utilized a nationally representative sample data of 2,950 individuals (males = 1,276; females = 1,674) from Cycle 4 of the Health Information National Trends Survey 5 (HINTS 5) 2020. Using frequencies, bivariate chi-square test, and multivariate logistic regression, we examined the prevalence, difference, and association of CW with SRDS, adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: The prevalence rate of SRDS was found to be 32% among females and 23.5% among males. Among individuals with CW, females had a higher prevalence of SRDS compared to males (40.5% vs. 35.1%). However, there was a significant difference in the likelihood of experiencing SRDS between males and females with CW, with males having 84% increased risk compared to females. Across all age groups, the multivariate analysis of the relationship between CW and SRDS revealed that both males and females showed a significantly decreased likelihood of SRDS compared to those aged 18-34 years. However, males aged 35 years or older exhibited an even more pronounced decrease in likelihood compared to females in the same age group. Nonetheless, when examining the interaction of age and CW, we observed a significantly increased likelihood of SRDS across all age groups. Males, in particular, had a higher increased likelihood of SRDS compared to females across all ages, except for those aged 75 years and older. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study highlight the significant influence of CW on individuals' SRDS and the modifying effect of age, particularly among males. These results are important for a better understanding of the risk of CW on mental health, which can be a preventive strategy or control mechanism.

Ultrasensitive and reversible NO2 gas sensor based on SnS2/TiO2 heterostructures for room temperature applications.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of the toxic gases produced by chemical industries, power plants, and vehicles. In this work, we demonstrate an inexpensive sensing platform for NO2 detection at room temperature (RT-32 °C) based on a charge transfer mechanism. Three-dimensional hierarchical SnS2 and SnS2/mesoporous TiO2 nanocomposites were synthesized via the solvothermal method. SnS2/20 wt% mesoporous TiO2 nanocomposites sample showed 245.4% enhanced response compared to pristine SnS2. The fabricated device exhibits excellent selectivity among all other interfering gases with one-month stability. The rapid response and enhanced response achieved were obtained for the minimum concentration of 2 ppm NO2. The formation of heterojunction between SnS2 and mesoporous TiO2 has a synergetic effect, providing more active sites and porous structures for the detection of NO2 gas molecules.

Solvent-assisted synthesis of Ag2Se and Ag2S nanoparticles on carbon fabric for enhanced thermoelectric performance.

The challenge of developing low-cost, highly flexible, and high-performance thermoelectric (TE) materials persists due to the low thermoelectric efficiency of conducting polymers and the inflexibility of inorganic materials. In this study, we successfully integrated Ag2Se and Ag2S with highly conductive carbon fabric (CF) to produce a flexible thermoelectric material. A facile one-step solvothermal method was employed to synthesize the Ag2Se-CF and Ag2S-CF, which were then subjected to X-ray analysis to confine the phase formation of Ag2Se and Ag2S on the carbon fabric. The analysis revealed that Ag2Se and Ag2S nanoparticles were tightly packed on the surface of carbon fabric, and compositional analysis confirmed the interaction between the material and carbon fabric. The thermoelectric properties of Ag2Se-CF and Ag2S-CF were significantly altered due to carrier concentration and mobility variations, resulting in a low power factor of 6.7 µW/mK2 for Ag2Se-CF and a high-power factor of 24 µW/mK2 at 373 K for Ag2S-CF. The growth of Ag2Se-CF and Ag2S-CF on carbon fabric led to an enhancement in their thermoelectric properties. Further, TE legs were fabricated using the Ag2Se-CF (p-type) and Ag2S-CF (n-type), and the fabricated legs exhibited an output voltage of âˆ¼20 mV to âˆ¼86.65 mV at a temperature gradient (ΔT) of 3-8 K. This work represents a cutting-edge approach to the fabrication of high-performance, wearable thermoelectric devices.

Ultra-high power factor of p-type Bi2Se3 for room-temperature thermoelectric applications.

Achieving high zT in n-type and p-type thermoelements in similar compounds is a great challenge for device construction. Herein, we report a high-power factor of 480 µW/mK2 in Ga and Mn co-doped Bi2Se3 along with a maximum zT of 0.25 at 303 K as a p-type thermoelement. The co-doped Ga and Mn play distinct roles in enhancing the hole concentration to 1.6 × 1019 cm-3 with a maximized effective mass. In addition, a drastic reduction in lattice thermal conductivity of 0.5 W/mK is attained due to point defects of mass and strain field fluctuation scattering in Bi2Se3.

Small polaron hopping conduction mechanism and enhanced thermoelectric power factor in the perovskite LaCoO3 ceramic.

Among the various thermoelectric oxide materials, perovskites offer more flexibility to adjust the interdependent thermoelectric parameters for an improved thermoelectric performance. In this work, we investigated the effect of A-site cation deficiency and Sr-substitution on the thermoelectric properties of the LaCoO3 ceramic synthesized via a solid-state reaction. A rhombohedral crystal structure with the R3̄c space group was revealed through Rietveld refinement of the XRD data. XPS analysis further confirmed the presence of multiple oxidation states of Co, and the mechanism of charge transport involving these multivalent cations was described using the small polaron hopping model. The La deficiency and Sr-substitution were found to increase the electrical conductivity in the LCO1 and LCO2 compositions, which resulted in a significant increase in the thermoelectric power factor. It was found that the increase in electrical conductivity of LCO1 and LCO2 was caused by a substantial reduction in the activation energy barrier for small polaron hopping conduction and an increase in fractional polaron concentration. The maximum power factor value of 78 µW m-1 K-2 was observed for the LCO2 composition at 403 K.

Realization of an ultra-low lattice thermal conductivity in Bi2AgxSe3 nanostructures for enhanced thermoelectric performance.

Bismuth Selenide is a Tellurium free topological insulator in V-VI compounds with an excellent thermoelectric performance from room temperature to mid-temperature region. Herein, hydrothermally prepared polycrystalline Bi2AgxSe3 nanostructures have been reported for thermoelectric application. The crystal structure identification and morphology with the elemental presence were analyzed by XRD (X-ray diffraction), HR-SEM with EDS (High resolution scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray), and HR-TEM (High-resolution transmission electron microscope) measurements. The reduced lattice thermal conductivity and enhanced electrical transport properties synergistically boost the thermoelectric properties through the highly-dense stacking faults with the presence of dislocations. The IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) pattern reveals the existence of stacking faults and dislocations. These highly dense stacking faults and dislocations act as active phonon scattering centers, which can contribute to effective phonon scattering resultsin extremely low lattice thermal conduction of 0.3 W/mK at 543 K. On the other hand, the involvement of phonon-phonon scattering primarily reduced the lattice thermal conductivity at elevated temperatures. In addition, phonon-carrier scattering was less compared to phonon-phonon scattering at elevated temperature region. Moreover, the enhancement of electrical conductivity and controlled reduction of the Seebeck coefficient plays a vital role in achieving the maximum power factor of 335 µW/mK2 at 543 K due to the energy filtering effect. The synergistic combination of low thermal conduction and the maximum power factor helps to achieve the high peak zT of 0.3 at 543 K.

Enhancement of thermoelectric power factor via electron energy filtering in Cu doped MoS2 on carbon fabric for wearable thermoelectric generator applications.

The design and construction of state-of-the-art wearable thermoelectric materials are important for the development of self-powered wearable thermoelectric generators (WTEGs). Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has been reported as a noteworthy thermoelectric (TE) material because of its large intrinsic bandgap and high carrier mobility. In this work, Cu-doped two-dimensional layered MoS2 nanosheets were grown on carbon fabric (CF) via a hydrothermal method. The electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and power factor for the Cu-doped MoS2 were found to increase with increasing temperature. The maximum Seebeck coefficient was obtained for a MoS2 sample doped with 4 at% of Cu (CM4) was ∼10 µV/K at 303 K and ∼13 µV/K at 373 K. The enhancement in the Seebeck coefficient was attributed to an energy-filtering effect caused by the interfacial barrier between MoS2 and Cu. In addition, a thermoelectric device was designed with four pairs of TE materials, where CM4 (4 at%) was used as a p-type material and Cu wire was used as an n-type material. These p- and n-type materials were connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel to generate a voltage of 190.7 µV at a temperature gradient of 8 K.

Investigation of non-covalent interactions in Polypyrrole/Polyaniline/Carbon black ternary complex for enhanced thermoelectric properties via interfacial carrier scattering and π-π stacking.

The thermoelectric (TE) performance of conducting polymers can be improved by the incorporation of carbon nanomaterials. In this work, the impact of carbon black (CB) on polypyrrole (PPy) and polypyrrole/polyaniline (PPy/PANI) binary composite have been investigated. Herein, PPy/PANI binary composite was initially prepared through chemical oxidative polymerization and then solution mixed with CB to form PPy/PANI/CB ternary nanocomposite. The structural and morphological analyses confirmed the formation of composites, and the strong interaction present between polymer matrix and CB. This was further confirmed by theoretical study, which showed strong noncovalent interaction and high complex stability between the materials. The thermoelectric results showed that both the electrical conductivity (σ) and Seebeck coefficient (S) has been increased with the increase in CB content (from 10 wt% to 30 wt%) and temperature (303 K to 373 K), while the thermal conductivity (κ) increase was low. The ternary nanocomposite involving 30 wt% of CB was found to be the most promising material which showed an enhanced power factor (PF) of 0.0251 µW/mK2 and high figure of merit (ZT) of 4.37x10-5 at 370 K. The enhancement in ZT for PPy/PANI/CB ternary composite is 2 times, 316 times, 17.3 times, 3.97 times, 11.7 times, and 6.8 times greater than other samples. The enhancement in power factor and ZT was due to energy filtering effect and strong non-covalent interactions between the homopolymers and CB.

Boosting the energy density of supercapacitors by constructing hybrid molybdenum disulphide nanostructures as a highly durable novel electrode.

Hierarchical MoO3@MoS2/rGO nanocomposites with highly active sites deliver high power density and energy density are fabricated here by using a simple two-step process, the first one is a direct anion-exchange reaction of the inorganic MoO3 nanorods (NRs) for growth of few-layered MoS2 nanosheets in a perpendicular direction and other is the composition of rGO sheets with core-shell MoO3@MoS2. Interestingly, how the modification of hybrid solvent in the anion-exchange mechanism and the concentration of thiourea impact on the morphologies of core-shell MoO3@MoS2 at quantum level have been inspected. A fruitful synergistic effect between MoO3/MoS2 core-shell nanostructures and rGO nanosheets led to a high surface area and transporting properties are inspected obviously through fundamental studies. Therefore, in eventual, this novel and more active sites MoO3@MoS2/rGO hierarchical structures material has delivered an outstanding specific capacitance of 525.06F/g at 4 A/g when used as an electrode in supercapacitor and more importantly good stability (80.6% at 10 A/g) even after 1000 successive cycles has been procured in an electrode in which MoS2 shell layer prepared at 5 mmol thiourea ratio.

Urinary Phytoestrogen Levels Are Associated with Female Hormonal Cancers: An Analysis of NHANES Data From 1999 to 2010.

Phytoestrogens are plant-derived compounds that are structurally similar to endogenous estrogens. Studies have shown phytoestrogens to have possible health benefits although they could also act as endocrine disruptors. This is particularly relevant for estrogen-dependent cancers since estrogens increase risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer. Using data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES), we assessed the associations between urinary phytoestrogens (daidzein, equol, o-Desmethylangolensin (O-DMA), genistein, enterodiol, enterolactone) and breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer using multivariate logistic regression with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Cancer diagnosis and other characteristics were collected via in-person questionnaires. We found women in the highest tertile for daidzein and enterodiol had over twice the odds of having breast cancer (OR = 2.51, 95% CI 1.44-4.36 for daidzein, OR = 2.78, 95% CI 1.44-5.37 for enterodiol). In addition, women in the highest tertiles for daidzein and genistein had three to four times the odds of having endometrial cancer, respectively (OR = 3.09, 95% CI 1.01-9.49 for daidzein, OR = 4.00, 95% CI 1.38-11.59 for genistein). Overall, phytoestrogens were positively associated with breast and endometrial cancer although the associations varied by phytoestrogen type. Additional studies are needed to further inform phytoestrogens' role in disease etiology.Supplemental data for this article is available online at at https://doi.org/10.1080/01635581.2021.2020304.

Synergistic effect of grain boundaries and phonon engineering in Sb substituted Bi2Se3 nanostructures for thermoelectric applications.

Phonon scattering by intrinsic defects and nanostructures has been the primary strategy for minimizing the thermal conductivity in thermoelectric materials. In this work, we present the effect of Isovalent substitution as a method to decouple the Seebeck coefficient and the thermal conductivity of antimony (Sb) substituted bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3). Transmission electron microscopy studies present the nanostructured Bi2-xSbxSe3 thermoelectric system represents the coexistence of hierarchical defect structure and dislocations. The observed giant reduction in thermal conductivity is due to the multi-scale phonon scattering caused by a combination of stacking faults, lattice dislocations and grain boundary scattering. This study reveals that a large number of dislocations about ∼1.09 × 1016 m-2 are particularly effective at lowering thermal conductivity. We achieved one of the ultra-low thermal conductivity values (∼0.26 W/m K) for the maximized dislocation concentration. Moreover, Isovalent substitution provides a new avenue for the reduction in thermal conductivity and significant enhancement in the Seebeck coefficient of thermoelectric materials.

Suppression of intrinsic thermal conductivity in Sr1-x Gd x TiO3 ceramics via phonon-point defect scattering for enhanced thermoelectric application.

A substantial reduction in the thermal conductivity for strontium titanate (ABO3) perovskite structure was realized for the A-site substitution of gadolinium (rare earth element) in SrTiO3 ceramics. The effect of Gd3+ substitution on the structure, composition, and thermoelectric properties of SrTiO3 was investigated. The substitution of Gd3+ in the SrTiO3 matrix resulted in the minimalization of thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity followed a similar trend as that of thermal diffusivity, but specific heat capacity exhibited a non-monotonic trend. The thermal conductivity is reduced to 1.05 W m-1 K-1 for the minimal substitutional composition (Sr0.99Gd0.01TiO3) which is 30% less than that of SrTiO3 at 303 K. The variation in the ionic radii and atomic mass of the heavier rare earth Gd3+ substituted over Sr2+ resulted in the reduction of thermal conductivity of SGTO ceramics caused by the corresponding boundary scattering at low temperatures and temperature-independent phonon-impurity scattering at high temperatures.

Fabrication of novel hybrid Z-Scheme WO3@g-C3N4@MWCNT nanostructure for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline and the evaluation of antimicrobial activity.

Exploring highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalyst for the elimination organic pollutants is a great concern for constructing sustainable green energy systems. In the current work, a novel hybrid ternary WO3@g-C3N4@MWCNT nanocomposites have been fabricated for visible-light-driven photocatalyst by self-assembly method. The as-prepared photocatalyst was examined by XRD, Raman, FESEM, HRTEM, XPS EDS, EIS, UV-visible DRS, and PL analysis. The experimental results revealed that the photocatalytic activity of WO3@g-C3N4@MWCNT nanocomposites on the degradation of Tetracycline (TC) is 79.54% at 120 min, which is higher than the binary WO3@g-C3N4 composite and pristine WO3. The improved degradation performance towards TC is recognized for its higher surface area, intense light absorption towards the visible region, and enhanced charge separation efficiency. Consequently, the fabricated catalyst endows a promising application for antibiotic degradation.

Hierarchically ordered macroporous TiO2 architecture via self-assembled strategy for environmental remediation.

Hierarchical orderd macroporous TiO2 architecture (HOMTA) was prepared with aid of ethylenediamine (EDA) and investigated the impact of amine molecules on the properties of TiO2 architecture. The different variation of amine molecules (EDA) leads to tunning the morphology under hydrothermal approach which is confirmed by FESEM and TEM analysis. The XRD and Raman studies confirms the crystal structure of anatase and brookite phase of TiO2. The surface of the architecture strongly depended on the concentration of EDA which plays a vital role in surface area which is revealed by Brunauer Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The obtained HOMTA was employed as photocatalyst and active photoanode in the dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The DSSC device exhibits excellent efficiency (η) of 5.27% for the EDA capped TiO2 (S5) which had high surface area (167.11 m2/g) for better dye loading, whereas the lower concentration of EDA capped TiO2 (S1, S2, S3 and S4) resulted the efficiency of 2.14, 3.90, 3.25 and 4.37%, respectively. The efficiency of photocatlysis degradation of the prepared samples (S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5) was 94.8, 90.47, 91.41, 91.32 and 93.75% under light source. The excellent photocatalysis property was achieved by S5 within 6 min due to high surface area which inducing more active site.

Marijuana use and high-risk health behaviors among diverse college students post- legalization of recreational marijuana use.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined high-risk health behaviors in marijuana-users among a diverse college population in Southern California, post legalization of marijuana for recreational use. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional research design was employed utilizing existing data via the 2018 National College Health Assessment (NCHA) from a large Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) population [n = 1345 (Hispanic/Latino/a, n = 456; White, n = 353; Asian Pacific Islander (API), n = 288; Multiracial/Biracial, n = 195; Other, n = 53)]. METHODS: Chi square and t-tests assessed differences in descriptive characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity and GPA) and high-risk behaviors (alcohol, tobacco and sexual behaviors) among marijuana users and non-users. Logistic regression analyses examined the relationship between race/ethnicity and high-risk behaviors with marijuana use (dependent variable). RESULTS: Among marijuana-users, significant (p = 0.004) differences were observed between race/ethnicity with Whites reporting using most (32.7%), followed by Hispanics (27.6%) and then APIs (17.8%). Marijuana-users compared with non-users consistently reported high-risk alcohol behaviors (p < 0.0001), were more likely to smoke tobacco (p < 0.0001) and engaged in more high-risk sexual behaviors (p < 0.0001). Logistic regression showed after adjusting for demographic characteristics and high-risk behaviors, race/ethnicity was borderline significantly associated with marijuana use, specifically for Whites (OR = 1.53; 95% CI: (-0.01, 0.86), p = 0.06) and the Other race/ethnicity category (OR = 2.32; 95% CI: (0.12, 1.56), p = 0.02) compared with APIs. CONCLUSION: Our findings clearly demonstrate deleterious high-risk behaviors such as alcohol use, tobacco use, and certain sexual behaviors occur more among marijuana-users compared to non-users, post legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Further, race-ethnic differences were observed. Therefore, continued examination of marijuana use trends and high-risk behaviors is critical in monitoring the implications of marijuana policy changes, specifically in diverse populations.

Interfacial engineering in 3D/2D and 1D/2D bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3)/Graphene oxide nanocomposites for the enhanced photocatalytic activities under sunlight.

3D-particulate and 1D-fiber structures of multiferroic bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3/BFO) and their composites with 2D-graphene oxide (GO) have been developed to exploit the different scheme of interfacial engineering as 3D/2D and 1D/2D systems. Particulates and fibers of BFO were developed via sol-gel and electrospinning fabrication approaches respectively and their integration with GO was performed via the ultrasonic-assisted chemical reduction process. The crystalline and phase formation of BiFeO3 and GO was confirmed from the XRD patterns obtained. The electron microscopic images revealed the characteristic integration of 3D particulates (with average size of 100 nm) and 1D fibers (with diameter of ~150 nm and few µm length) onto the 2D GO layers (thickness of ~27 nm). XPS analysis revealed that the BFO nanostructures have been integrated onto the GO through chemisorptions process, where it indicated that the ultrasonic process engineers the interface through the chemical modification of the surface of these 3D/2D and 1D/2D nanostructures. The photophysical studies such as the impedance and photocurrent measurements showed that the charge separation and recombination resistance is significantly enhanced in the system, which can directly be attributed to the effective interfacial engineering in the developed hetero-morphological composites. The degradation studies against a model pollutant Rhodamine B revealed that the developed nanocomposites exhibit superior photocatalytic activity via the effective generation of OH radicals as confirmed by the radical analysis studies (100% degradation in 150 and 90 min for 15% GO/BFO particulate and fiber composites, respectively). The developed system also demonstrated excellent photocatalytic recyclability, indicated their enhanced stability.

Interface enriched highly interlaced layered MoS2/NiS2 nanocomposites for the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B dye.

In the past few decades, air and water pollution by organic dyes has become a serious concern due to their high toxicity. Removal of these organic dyes from polluted water bodies is a serious environmental concern and the development of new advanced photocatalytic materials for decomposing organic dyes can be a good solution. In this work, layered molybdenum disulfide/nickel disulfide (MoS2/NiS2) nanocomposites with various NiS2 content was synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method using citric acid as a reducing agent. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows the hexagonal and cubical crystal structure of MoS2 and NiS2, respectively. Morphological analysis confirms the formation of MoS2/NiS2 nanosheets. The elemental composition of the samples was carried out by XPS, which shows a significant interaction between NiS2 and MoS2. The photocatalytic performance of MoS2/NiS2 nanocomposites was studied by the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB). Ni-4 sample shows higher photocatalytic activity with a maximum degradation of 90.61% under visible light irradiation for 32 min.