Chitosan supported silver nanostructures as surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensor: Spectroscopic and density functional theory insights.

In this work, nanostructures comprising silver nanoparticles supported on a wrinkled chitosan matrix (Ag@Ch) were successfully synthesized by a simple aging process at room temperature for four days through self-assembly. Chitosan, a natural polysaccharide was used as a support as well as a reducing agent for the formation of Ag nanostructures and the creation of hotspots for SERS activity. The fabricated Ag@Ch nanostructures were characterized by several spectroscopic techniques and were used as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. The effect of wet, dry, and liquid samples on the SERS enhancement has been studied and was found to be effective for sensing Methylene blue, Crystal Violet, and p-Nitrophenol with detection limits of 3.8, 8.1, and 8.2 ppb respectively. The SERS enhancement of the Ag@Ch was attributed to the combination of both electromagnetic (EM) and chemical effects (CE). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to explain the observed surface enhancement. Good agreement was observed between the experimental and simulated spectra.

Gamma radiation dose rate distribution in the Anand, Bharuch, Vadodara, and Narmada districts of Gujarat, India.

Radiation is present everywhere in the earth, and human beings are continuously exposed to gamma radiation. The health consequences of environmental radiation exposure are a serious societal issue. The purpose of this study was to analyse outdoor radiation in four districts of Gujarat, India: Anand, Bharuch, Narmada, and Vadodara during summer and winter seasons. This study illustrated the influence of lithology of areas on gamma radiation dose values. Summer and winter seasons are the primary factors that alter the causes directly or indirectly; therefore, the influence of season fluctuation on radiation dose rate was investigated. The annual dose rate and mean gamma radiation dose rate values from four districts were found to be greater than the global population weight average value. The mean value of gamma radiation dose rate from 439 locations in the summer and winter seasons was 136.23 nSv/h and 141.58 nSv/h, respectively. According to a paired differences sample study, the significance value between outdoor gamma dose rate in summer and winter seasons was 0.05 indicating that seasons have a significant impact on gamma radiation dose rate. The impact of various types of lithology on gamma radiation dose was studied in all 439 places, and the statistical analysis revealed that there was no significant association between lithology and gamma radiation dose rate in the summer season, but a relationship between lithology and gamma dose rate was observed in the winter season.

Magnetic chitosan stabilized palladium nanostructures: Potential catalysts for aqueous Suzuki coupling reactions.

This work describes the preparation of palladium-based catalyst supported on magnetic chitosan (Pd@IO-Chitosan) for Suzuki Miyaura C-C coupling reaction. The Pd@IO-Chitosan catalyst was characterized using different spectroscopic and microscopic techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscope (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) Spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Pd@IO-Chitosan was further analysed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in order to determine its thermal behavior. The catalyst comprised Pd, PdO species stabilised by chitosan that facilitated Suzuki coupling reactions. Palladium loading as low as 0.0055 mol% was found to be effective for aqueous Suzuki cross-couplings with excellent yields of over 99%. The catalyst could be recycled and reused at least 12 times with no significant decrease in its catalytic activity.

Chitosan, nanoclay and chitosan-nanoclay composite as adsorbents for Rhodamine-6G and the resulting optical properties.

The objective of this study was to investigate the use of chitosan-clay nanocomposite (CC) as an adsorbent for Rhodamine 6G (Rh-6G). The effects of adsorbent dose, contact time, and concentration on the adsorption process were systematically studied. Isotherm models were applied to the experimental equilibrium data obtained from spectrophotometric measurements of dye adsorption. Various Kinetic models were used to describe the kinetic data and evaluate of rate constants. Rh-6G loaded adsorbents were investigated for their optical and photophysical properties.

Adsorption property of Rhodamine 6G onto chitosan-g-(N-vinyl pyrrolidone)/montmorillonite composite.

A series of chitosan-g-(N-vinyl pyrrolidone)/montmorillonite hydrogel composites were synthesized by in situ intercalative polymerization. The properties of the composites were investigated by FTIR, XRD, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The morphologies of the hydrogel composites were sponge like with a homogeneous structure. The effects of clay on the swelling, morphology, glass transition (Tg), and water structure were studied. The swelling of the hydrogel composites formed was found to be affected by the pH of the medium and the electrolyte. Maximum swelling was observed in the hydrogel containing low percentage of clay (H-0.2) and was used to investigate the adsorption of a water soluble cationic dye Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G). The results show that the adsorption capacity for the dye increased with increase in dose, contact time but there was no change observed with respect to increase in temperature. The adsorption kinetics of Rh6G followed Pseudo second order model and the equilibrium data was found to fit Freundlich model.