Synthesis and applications of graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites: Conventional to artificial intelligence approaches

Recent advances in graphene research have enabled the utilization of its nanocomposites for numerous energy-based and environmental applications. Recently, the advancement in graphene-based polymer nanocomposites has received much attention with special emphasis on synthesis and application. Graphene-based nanocomposites show astonishing electrical, mechanical, chemical, and thermal characteristics. Graphene nanocomposites (GNCs) are synthesized using a variety of methods, including covalent and non-covalent methods, a chemical-based deposition approach, hydrothermal growth, electrophoresis deposition, and physical deposition. Chemical methods are the most viable route for producing graphene in small quantities at low temperatures. The technique can also produce graphene films on a variety of substrate materials. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) for the synthesis of AI-created nanoparticles has recently received a lot of attention. These nanocomposite materials have excellent applications in the environmental, energy, and agricultural sectors. Due to high carrier mobility, graphene-based materials enhance the photocatalytic performance of semiconductor materials. Similarly, these materials have high potential for pollutant removal, especially heavy metals, due to their high surface area. This article highlights the synthesis of graphene-based nanocomposites with special reference to harnessing the power of modern AI tools to better understand GNC material properties and the way this knowledge can be used for its better applications in the development of a sustainable future

Role of Molecular Breeding Tools in Enhancing the Breeding of Drought-Resilient Cotton Genotypes: An Updated Review

Drought stress is an inevitable factor that disturbs the production of plants by altering morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular functions. Breeding for drought tolerance requires a complete understanding of the molecular factors controlling stress-responsive pathways. The plant responds to drought stress by adopting four mechanisms: avoidance, escape, tolerance, and recovery. Traditional plant-breeding tools have been employed to increase tolerance in cotton, but the complexity of drought tolerance has limited the use of these breeding methods. The plant adopts several key strategies against drought stress, such as activating the signaling network and activating molecular factors. Cotton breeders have been engaged in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance in cotton using significant molecular tools such as quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, transcription factor (TFs) analysis, transcriptome analysis, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genetic engineering, and CRISPR/Cas9. Breeders have studied the functional description of genes and the interacting pathways accountable for controlling drought tolerance in cotton. Hundreds of genes/QTL have been identified, and many have been cloned for drought tolerance in cotton; however, a complete understanding of these traits still needs more study. This review presents a detailed overview of molecular tools, their application for improving drought tolerance in cotton, and their prospects. This review will help future researchers to conduct further studies to develop drought-tolerant cotton genotypes that can thrive under conditions of water scarcity