A critical review of carbon nanotube-based surface coatings

The emergence of carbon nanotubes (CNT) has encouraged widespread interest among researchers with many pioneering applications achieved by exploiting the unique properties of carbon allotropes. This article is a general overview of the diversity of applications of CNT and their various forms, particularly, in the area of surface coatings. The different methods, which have been developed and practiced in the preparation, dispersion, functionalization, and metallization of CNT, are elucidated. The composite coatings have been prepared using electrochemical methods such as electroplating and electroless plating. The review presents the mechanical, electrochemical, corrosion, thermal, electrical conduction, tribological, biosensing, magnetic, and microwave absorbing properties of CNT-based composites. The incorporation of CNT substantially affects the coating performance, and the level of influence can be befittingly adjusted to suit the application needs. Various charac­ terization studies have been conducted on these coatings, emphasizing their properties. The potential of CNT as a versatile material in catering to diverse industrial applications has placed the carbon allotrope among the elite group of materials, drawing the attention of researchers to widen their scope of utilization. The challenges, problems, and ways of the overcoming are also addressed in this review.</p

Abundance of Poleroviruses within Tasmanian Pea Crops Surrounding Weeds the Genetic Diversity of TuYV Isolates Found

The genus Polerovirus contains positive-sense, single-stranded RNA plant viruses that cause significant disease in many agricultural crops, including vegetable legumes. This study aimed to identify and determine the abundance of Polerovirus species present within Tasmanian pea crops and surrounding weeds that may act as virus reservoirs. We further sought to examine the genetic diversity of TuYV, the most commonly occurring polerovirus identified. Pea and weed samples were collected during 2019&ndash;2020 between October and January from thirty-four sites across three different regions (far northwest, north, and midlands) of Tasmania and tested by RT-PCR assay, with selected samples subject to next-generation sequencing. Results revealed that the presence of polerovirus infection and the prevalence of TuYV in both weeds and pea crops varied across the three Tasmanian cropping regions, with TuYV infection levels in pea crops ranging between 0 and 27.5% of tested plants. Overall, two species members from each genus, Polerovirus and Potyvirus, one member from each of Luteovirus, Potexvirus, and Carlavirus, and an unclassified virus from the family Partitiviridae were also found as a result of NGS data analysis. Analysis of gene sequences of the P0 and P3 genes of Tasmanian TuYV isolates revealed substantial genetic diversity within the collection, with a few isolates appearing more closely aligned with BrYV isolates. Questions remain around the differentiation of TuYV and BrYV species. Phylogenetic inconsistency in the P0 and P3 ORFs supports the concept that recombination may have played a role in TuYV evolution in Tasmania. Results of the evolutionary analysis showed that the selection pressure was higher in the P0 gene than in the P3 gene, and the majority of the codons for each gene are evolving under purifying selection. Future full genome-based analyses of the genetic variations will expand our understanding of the evolutionary patterns existing among TuYV populations in Tasmania

A review of electroless coatings on non-metals: Bath conditions, properties and applications

The electroless coatings on the non-metal surface possess the desired properties for various applications in the aerospace, marine, medical, automotive, textile, electronics, household and food industries. Many researchers have developed the coating on non-conducting materials for many applications, and it has established its potential since its invention. This review started with fundamentals and their historical backgrounds. The work carried out on polymer, glass and ceramics is crtically reviewed. The optimized bath conditions developed for coating on the various non-metal substrates are populated for reference to future research works. The various properties of the developed coating, such as tribological, mechanical, electrical, and thermal, are addressed in line with their applications. The most recent applications of electroless coating on non-metals are reviewed. Finally, the future application of the electroless coating in emerging technologies is also discussed.</p

New rock salt-related oxides Li3M2RuO6 (M=Co, Ni): Synthesis, structure, magnetism and electrochemistry

We describe the synthesis, crystal structure, magnetic and electrochemical characterization of new rock salt-related oxides of formula, Li3M2RuO6 (M=Co, Ni). The M=Co oxide adopts the LiCoO2 (R-3m) structure, where sheets of LiO6 and (Co-2/Ru)O-6 octahedra are alternately stacked along the c-direction. The M=Ni oxide also adopts a similar layered structure related to Li2TiO3, where partial mixing of Li and Ni/Ru atoms lowers the symmetry to monoclinic (C2/c). Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that in Li3Co2RuO6, the oxidation states of transition metal ions are Co3+ (S=0), Co2+ (S=1/2) and Ru4+ (S=1), all of them in low-spin configuration and at 10 K, the material orders antiferromagnetically. Analogous Li3Ni2RuO6 presents a ferrimagnetic behavior with a Curie temperature of 100 K. The differences in the magnetic behavior have been explained in terms of differences in the crystal structure. Electrochemical studies correlate well with both magnetic properties and crystal structure. Li-transition metal intermixing may be at the origin of the more impeded oxidation of Li3Ni2RuO6 when compared to Li3CO2RuO6. Interestingly high first charge capacities (between ca. 160 and 180 mAh g(-1)) corresponding to ca. 2/3 of theoretical capacity are reached albeit, in both cases, capacity retention and cyclability are not satisfactory enough to consider these materials as alternatives to LiCoO2. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Land-use survey of Idukki District

The growing population pressure and limited availability of land necessitates proper utilization of the available land through scientific land-use planning. Realizing this fact, a project using multiband aerial photography was taken up with following objectives: identification and mapping of areas under various land uses, study of geomorphology, identification of potential groundwater areas and identification of areas requiring soil conservation and reclamation measures. The major land-use classes mapped are agriculture, forest, wasteland, water bodies and public use. These are further subclassified. Some of the important observations are the reduction in the area under forest and the existence of a large area under wasteland. Geomorphological maps prepared depict slope, relief, drainage and vegetation. With the help of structural and geomorphological maps, the technique of identifying potential groundwater areas has been demonstrated. The land-use maps have a classification accuracy of 86 per cent whereas the accuracy of slopes in geomorphological maps is 72 per cent. The locational accuracy of the land features is 50-150 m on the ground. Visual interpretation of LANDSAT images led to the identification of nine land-cover classes while digital analysis enabled identification of twelve land-cover classes. Significant changes in land cover over a decade (1973-1982) have been noticed. This information has been used for preparation of a detailed land-use plan for the Idukki District