One step electrodeposition of Ag-decorated ZnO nanowires

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3476-0.A new route for synthesizing Ag-decorated ZnO nanowires (NWs) on conductive glass substrates using a one-step electrodeposition technique is described here. The structural, optical, and photoelectrochemical properties of Ag-decorated ZnO nanowires were studied in detail using techniques such X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence, and photoelectrochemical measurements. Both pure and Ag-decorated ZnO nanowires were found to crystallize in the wurtzite structure, irrespective of their Ag contents. Increasing the Ag content from pure ZnO NWs to 3% Ag ZnO NWs decreases the photoluminescence intensity, shifts the optical band gap to the red, and increases the photocurrent up to threefold. This behavior was attributed to the surface plasmon resonance effect induced by the Ag nanoparticles, which inhibits charge recombination and improves charge transport on the ZnO surface.B.S. acknowledges the Nanomaterials and Systems Laboratory for Renewable Energies, Research and Technology Centre of Energy Technoparc Borj Cedria for financial support. This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (ENE2013-46624-C4-4-R) and the Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeus 2014/044).Slimi, B.; Ben Assaker, I.; Kriaa, A.; Marí, B.; Chtourou, R. (2017). One step electrodeposition of Ag-decorated ZnO nanowires. 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Synthesis and characterization of perovskite FAPbBr(3-x) I (x) thin films for solar cells

[EN] FAPbI3, FAPbBr3, and FAPbBr3-xIx perovskite thin films were produced in a single step from a solution containing a mixture of FAI, PbI2, FABr, and PbBr2 (FA = formamidinium). FAPbBr3-xIx perovskite thin films were deposited onto ITO-coated glass substrates by spin coating. X-ray diffraction analyses confirmed that these thin-film perovskites crystallize in the cubic phase (Pm-3 m) for all composition range 0 B x B 3. Mixed lead perovskites showed a high absorbance in the UV¿Vis range. The optical band gap was estimated from spectral absorbance measurements. It was found that the onset of the absorption edge for FAPbBr3¿xIx thin films ranges between 1.47 and 2.20 eV for x = 0 and x = 3, respectively. Photoluminescence emission energies for mixed halide perovskites were also dependent on their composition and presented intermediate values from 810.4 nm for FAPbI3 to 547.3 nm for FAPbBr3.This work was supported by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (ENE2016-77798-C4-2-R) and Generalitat valenciana (Prometeus 2014/044).Slimi, B.; Mollar García, MA.; Ben Assaker, I.; Kriaa, A.; Chtourou, R.; Marí, B. (2017). Synthesis and characterization of perovskite FAPbBr(3-x) I (x) thin films for solar cells. Monatshefte für Chemie - Chemical Monthly. 148(5):835-844. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00706-017-1958-0S835844148

Higher acid recovery efficiency of novel functionalized inorganic/organic composite anion exchange membranes from acidic wastewater

In this work, the synthesis of a series of the functionalized inorganic/organic composite anion exchange membranes (AEMs) was carried out by employing the varying amount of inorganic filler consist of N-(trimethoxysilylpropyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride (TMSP-TMA+Cl-) into the quaternized poly (2, 6-dimethyl-1, 4-phenylene oxide) (QPPO) matrix for acid recovery via diffusion dialysis (DD) process. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy clearly demonstrated the fabrication of the functionalized inorganic/organic composite AEMs and the subsequent membrane characteristic measurements such as ion exchange capacity (IEC), linear swelling ratio (LSR), and water uptake (WR) gave us the optimum loading condition of the filler without undesirable filler particle aggregation. These composite AEMs exhibited IEC of 2.18 to 2.29 meq/g, LSR of 13.33 to 18.52%, and WR of 46.11 to 81.66% with sufficient thermal, chemical, and mechanical stability. The diffusion dialysis (DD) test for acid recovery from artificial acid wastewater of HCl/FeCl2 showed high acid DD coefficient (UH +) (0.022 to 0.025 m/h) and high separation factor (S) (139-260) compared with the commercial membrane. Furthermore, the developed AEMs was acceptably stable (weight loss < 20%) in the acid wastewater at 60 C as an accelerated severe condition for 2 weeks. These results clearly indicated that the developed AEMs have sufficient potential for acid recovery application by DD process.Scopu

Polymorphic variants of SCN1A and EPHX1 influence plasma carbamazepine concentration, metabolism and pharmacoresistance in a population of Kosovar Albanian epileptic patients

Aim The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of gene variants in key genes influencing pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic of carbamazepine (CBZ) on the response in patients with epilepsy. Materials & Methods Five SNPs in two candidate genes influencing CBZ transport and metabolism, namely ABCB1 or EPHX1, and CBZ response SCN1A (sodium channel) were genotyped in 145 epileptic patients treated with CBZ as monotherapy and 100 age and sex matched healthy controls. Plasma concentrations of CBZ, carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide (CBZE) and carbamazepine-10,11-trans dihydrodiol (CBZD) were determined by HPLC-UV-DAD and adjusted for CBZ dosage/kg of body weight. Results The presence of the SCN1A IVS5-91G>A variant allele is associated with increased epilepsy susceptibility. Furthermore, carriers of the SCN1A IVS5-91G>A variant or of EPHX1 c.337T>C variant presented significantly lower levels of plasma CBZ compared to carriers of the common alleles (0.71±0.28 vs 1.11±0.69 μg/mL per mg/Kg for SCN1A IVS5-91 AA vs GG and 0.76±0.16 vs 0.94±0.49 μg/mL per mg/Kg for EPHX1 c.337 CC vs TT; PG showed a reduced microsomal epoxide hydrolase activity as reflected by a significantly decreased ratio of CBZD to CBZ (0.13±0.08 to 0.26±0.17, pT SNP and SCN1A 3148A>G variants were not associated with significant changes in CBZ pharmacokinetic. Patients resistant to CBZ treatment showed increased dosage of CBZ (657±285 vs 489±231 mg/day; P<0.001) but also increased plasma levels of CBZ (9.84±4.37 vs 7.41±3.43 μg/mL; P<0.001) compared to patients responsive to CBZ treatment. CBZ resistance was not related to any of the SNPs investigated. Conclusions The SCN1A IVS5-91G>A SNP is associated with susceptibility to epilepsy. SNPs in EPHX1 gene are influencing CBZ metabolism and disposition. CBZ plasma levels are not an indicator of resistance to the therapy

Effet de l'addition des tannins de châtaigniers sur la rétention azotée et la digestibilité chez les ruminants ingérant des produits herbagers

The Influence of the Addition of Extract of Chestnut Tannin on the Nitrogen Balance and the Digestibility of Fresh Grass in Ruminant. The use of chestnut tannin (CT) (hydrolysable Tannins), added at a low concentration (4 g CT/100 g of total nitrogen (TN) = 0, 8 g cT/kg of DM distribute) to a grass forage for growing sheep, improves the N retention (P <0, 01). The improvement of N retention is explained by the decrease of nitrogen in the urine, indicating a better use of absorbed nitrogen. Moreover, the addition at these low concentrations of CT to fresh grass does not alter neither the digestibility of its constituents (OM, TN, ADF) nor the rate of ingestion

Fundamental and experimental aspects of diffraction for characterizing dislocations by electron channeling contrast imaging in scanning electron microscope

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