Brawny Silver-Hydrogel Based Nanocatalyst for Reduction of Nitrophenols: Studies on Kinetics and Mechanism

The present work demonstrates the preparation and characterization of silver nanoparticles-ensnared hydrogel and demonstrated its catalytic efficiency for the reduction of a series of nitrophenols. SPAG was synthesized via simultaneous polymerization of acrylic acid and in situ reduction of silver nitrate in the presence of amidodiol. Reduction process in the presence of SPAG exhibited a first-order reaction with a lower activation energy path (28.0, 30.7, and 33.8 kJ/mol for <i>p</i>-nitrophenol, <i>o</i>-nitrophenol, and <i>m</i>-nitrophenol, respectively) and the reduction mechanism is found to be obeying the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model

Functional liquid crystalline gels through multi-scale hierarchical self-assembly of LAPONITE® and amidodiol

Energy storage devices accomplished with efficient LAPONITE® liquid crystalline gel electrolytes.</p

Electrochemically Patterned Transducer with Anisotropic PEDOT through Liquid Crystalline Template Polymerization

We have demonstrated patterning of highly ordered nanostructured conducting PEDOT (poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)) on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) through electrochemical polymerization of a biobased liquid crystalline template of EDOT-PDPPA (3-pentadecylphenyl phosphoric acid). Self-assembled “EDOT-PDPPA” in water exhibited lyotropic liquid crystalline (LC) phases of nematic gyroid, columnar, and lamellar phases. Studies revealed that, during electrochemical polymerization, PEDOT-PDPPA mimicked the anisotropic domains of its monomer LC template. Nyquist plot showed enhancement in conductivity with a positive change in the HOMO– LUMO gap. Further, the efficiency of the modified GCE was demonstrated as an electrochemical transducer for the detection of nicotine. It was observed that oxidation of nicotine occurs at lower potential (0.83 V) with higher current (54.63 μA) compared to bare GCE (1.1 V, 17.86 μA) with nanomolar detection. This simple strategy of electrochemical patterning of conductive polymer on a conventional electrode can be exploited for the high tech applications in miniaturized plastronic devices

Modulating Electrochemical Performance of Interfacially Polymerized, MoS₂ Decorated Polyaniline Composites for Electrochemical Capacitor Applications

Among the transition metal dichalcogenides, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a graphene analogue, is the most sought after 2D material for energy storage devices. Electrical conductivity of the thermodynamically stable, semiconducting 2H MoS2 phase can be further enhanced by the incorporation of conducting polymers. Herein, we synthesize the MoS2–PANI nanocomposite with increased crystallinity through an interfacial polymerization route where the growth of HCl doped polyaniline fibers through the MoS2 sheets developed an intrinsic strong π back-donation between the Mo and the N of the polyaniline fibers. This characteristic π bond has enhanced the conductivity as well as the intrinsic pseudocapacitance by an additional redox electron exchange occurring at the Mo centers. The optimized 1 wt % MoS2 decorated PANI nanosheets showed a high capacitance of 657.5 F/g at 1.5 A/g, and the corresponding symmetric and asymmetric supercapacitor cells delivered a capacitance of 424 F/g and 335 F/g at 0.5 A/g, respectively. The potential window was increased to 1.5 V in the asymmetric configuration, leading to an enhanced energy density of 104.9 Wh/kg and a power density of 937.9 W/kg. The work highlights the beneficial effects of incorporating MoS2 in polyaniline for improved capacitance and provides a feasible approach to modulate the electrochemical performance of PANI-based materials for energy storage