Poly[tris(μ-4,4′-bipyridine-κ2N:N′)bis(dimethyl sulfoxide-κO)tetrakis(thiocyanato-κN)dicobalt(II)]

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Co2(NCS)4(C10H8N2)3(C2H6OS)2]n, consists of one CoII atom, two thiocyanate anions, one dimethyl sulfoxide molecule and one and a half 4,4′-bipyridine molecules. The half-molecule is completed by inversion symmetry. The CoII atom is coordinated in a distorted octahedral geometry by two N atoms from two thiocyanate anions, one O atom from dimethyl sulfoxide as a terminal ligand and three N atoms from three 4,4′-bipyridine molecules as bridging ligands linking the cations, with a Co...Co separation of 11.5964 (5) Å. This generates a two-dimensional structure parallel to (-103). A C—H...S hydrogen bond links the layers into a three-dimensional supramolecular framework. The layers are stacked in an ABC fashion preventing the occurrence of interlayer void space and hence leading to the absence of lattice solvent and/or organic guest molecules in the structure

Kinetic and Equilibrium Studies of Fe(III) Sorption from an Aqueous Solution Using Palmyra Palm Fruit Fibres as a Biosorbent

This research focused on the removal of Fe(III) ions from an aqueous solution of wastewater through an adsorption process using biosorbents of natural palmyra palm fruit fibres (N–PPF) and chemically modified palmyra palm fruit fibres (C–PPF). BET was used to determine the pore volume and pore size of the biosorbents; the C–PPF was more than N–PPF at 0.01069 cm3/g and 450.2094 Å, respectively. The initial concentration of Fe(III), the adsorbent dosage, solution pH, and contact time for optimal adsorption were investigated for adsorption, and it was found that the dosage of the adsorbent was 2.0 g, pH 4, and 300 min for adsorbent dosage, solution pH, and contact time, respectively. The adsorption data were consistent with the three models, though the Freundlich model provided the best fit. The characteristics for both before/after adsorption were examined by FT–IR, which showed that hydroxyl groups were involved in adsorption. SEM–EDX analysis confirmed the successful increase of containing functional groups during adsorption. Adsorption proceeded according to a pseudo–first–order kinetic model for N–PPF, while the adsorption of C-PPF was according to both kinetic models. It was revealed that Fe(III) adsorption is an exothermic process that occurs on the surface of heterogeneous adsorbents and physisorption. The intra-particle diffusion model is appropriate to explain the rate-controlling step in the Fe(III) adsorption process of natural fibres

A Comprehensive Evaluation of Mechanical, Thermal, and Antibacterial Properties of PLA/ZnO Nanoflower Biocomposite Filaments for 3D Printing Application

Functionalities of 3D printing filaments have gained much attention owing to their properties for various applications in the last few years. Innovative biocomposite 3D printing filaments based on polylactic acid (PLA) composited with ZnO nanoflowers at varying contents were successfully fabricated via a single-screw extrusion technique. The effects of the varying ZnO nanoflower contents on their chemical, thermal, mechanical, and antibacterial properties were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and tensile testing, as well as qualitative and quantitative antibacterial tests, respectively. It was found that the ZnO nanoflowers did not express any chemical reactions with the PLA chains. The degrees of the crystallinity of the PLA/ZnO biocomposite filaments increased when compared with those of the neat PLA, and their properties slightly decreased when increasing the ZnO nanoflower contents. Additionally, the tensile strength of the PLA/ZnO biocomposite filaments gradually decreased when increasing the ZnO nanoflower contents. The antibacterial activity especially increased when increasing the ZnO nanoflower contents. Additionally, these 3D printing filaments performed better against Gram-positive (S. aureus) than Gram-negative (E. coli). This is probably due to the difference in the cell walls of the bacterial strains. The results indicated that these 3D printing filaments could be utilized for 3D printing and applied to medical fields