M. Faisal

Exploration of CeO2 nanoparticles as a chemi-sensor and photo-catalyst for environmental applications

CeO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized hydrothermally and utilized as redox mediator for the fabrication of efficient ethanol chemi-sensor. The developed chemi-sensor showed an excellent performance for electrocatalytic oxidization of ethanol by exhibiting higher sensitivity (0.92 μA∙cm⁻²∙mM⁻¹) and lower limit of detection (0.124±0.010 mM) with the linear dynamic range of 0.17 mM-0.17 M. CeO₂ nanoparticles have been characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Raman spectrum, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV-visible absorption spectrum which revealed that the synthesized CeO₂ is an aggregated form of optically active spherical nanoparticles with the range of 15-36 nm (average size of ~25±10 nm) and possessing well crystalline cubic phase. Additionally, CeO₂ performed well as a photo-catalyst by degrading amido black and acridine orange.

Low-temperature growth of ZnO nanoparticles: photocatalyst and acetone sensor.

Well-crystalline ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized in large-quantity via simple hydrothermal process using the aqueous mixtures of zinc chloride and ammonium hydroxide. The detailed structural properties were examined using X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) which revealed that the synthesized NPs are well-crystalline and possessing wurtzite hexagonal phase. The NPs are almost spherical shape with the average diameters of ∼ 50 ± 10 nm. The quality and composition of the synthesized NPs were obtained using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and electron dispersed spectroscopy (EDS) which confirmed that the obtained NPs are pure ZnO and made with almost 1:1 stoichiometry of zinc and oxygen, respectively. The optical properties of ZnO NPs were investigated by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. Synthesized ZnO NPs were extensively applied as a photocatalyst for the degradation of acridine orange (AO) and as a chemi-sensor for the electrochemical sensing of acetone in liquid phase. Almost complete degradation of AO has taken place after 80 min of irradiation time. The fabricated acetone sensor based on ZnO NPs exhibits good sensitivity (∼ 0.14065 μA cm(-2) mM(-1)) with lower detection limit (0.068 ± 0.01 mM) in short response time (10s).

CuO Codoped ZnO Based Nanostructured Materials for Sensitive Chemical Sensor Applications

Due to numerous potential applications of semiconductor transition metal-doped nanomaterials and the great advantages of hydrothermal synthesis in both cost and environmental impact, a significant effort has been employed for growth of copper oxide codoped zinc oxide (CuO codoped ZnO) nanostructures via a hydrothermal route at room conditions. The structural and optical properties of the CuO codoped ZnO nanorods were characterized using various techniques such as UV-visible, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), etc. The sensing performance has been executed by a simple and reliable I-V technique, where aqueous ammonia is considered as a target analyte. CuO codoped ZnO nanorods of thin film with conducting coating agents on silver electrodes (AgE, surface area of 0.0216 cm(2)) displayed good sensitivity, stability, and reproducibility. The calibration plot is linear over the large dynamic range, where the sensitivity is approximately 1.549 ± 0.10 μA cm(-2 )mM(-1) with a detection limit of 8.9 ± 0.2 μM, based on signal/noise ratio in short response time. Hence, on the bottom of the perceptive communication between structures, morphologies, and properties, it is displayed that the morphologies and the optical characteristics can be extended to a large scale in transition-metal-doped ZnO nanomaterials and efficient chemical sensors applications.

Role of ZnO-CeO2 Nanostructures as a Photo-catalyst and Chemi-sensor

ZnO-CeO 2 nanostructures were synthesized by simple and efficient low temperature method. The structure and morphology of the ZnO-CeO 2 nanostructures were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), which revealed elongated shaped CeO 2 nanoparticles with diameters of 40–90 nm distributed on the surface of elongated ZnO nanostructures with diameters of 50–200 nm (edge-centre). Further the structure of the synthesized ZnO-CeO 2 nanostructure was supported by Raman spectra and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). UV-vis absorption spectrum was used to confirm the optical properties of the CeO 2 doped ZnO nanostructures. Photo-catalytic activity of CeO 2 doped ZnO nanostructure was evaluated by degradation of acridine orange and methylene blue which degraded 84.55% and 48.65% in 170 min, respectively. ZnO-CeO 2 nanostructures also showed good sensitivity (0.8331 μA·cm −2 ·(mol/l) −1 ) in short response time (10 s) by applying to chemical sensing using ethanol as a target compound by I – V technique. These degradation and chemical sensing properties of ZnO-CeO 2 nanostructures are of great importance for the application of ZnO-CeO 2 system as a photo-catalyst and chemical sensor.

Electrochemical determination of olmesartan medoxomil using hydrothermally prepared nanoparticles composed SnO2-Co3O4 nanocubes in tablet dosage forms.

Low-dimensional nanoparticles composed SnO(2)-Co(3)O(4) nanocubes (NCs) were prepared by a hydrothermal method using reducing agents. The doped nanomaterials were investigated by UV/vis, powder X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Raman spectroscopy, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. They were deposited on a silver electrode (AgE, surface area, 0.0216 cm(2)) to give a drug sensor with a fast response towards Olmesartan medoxomil (OSM) in 0.1 mol L(-1) phosphate buffer-phases. The sensor also exhibits higher sensitivity, long-term stability, and enhanced electrochemical response. The calibration plot is linear (r(2)=0.9948) over the 0.28 nmol L(-1)-1.4 μM OSM concentration range. The sensitivity is ~2.083 μA cm(-2) mmol L(-1) and the detection limit is 0.17 nmol L(-1) (at an SNR of 3). We discuss the possible potential uses of this nanoparticles doped semiconductor NCs in terms of drug sensing, which could also be employed for the determination of drugs in quality control of formulation.

Highly sensitive and stable phenyl hydrazine chemical sensors based on CuO flower shapes and hollow spheres

Chemical sensors are needed to develop efficient sensing systems with high flexibility, and low capital cost for controlled recognition of analytes. Herein, we report a highly sensitive, low cost, simple chemical sensor based on flower shape and hollow sphere CuO. Following the precipitation process, FESEM images revealed that CuO nanosheets are grown in high density and organized in a proper manner to give a flower shape structure; however, following the hydrothermal method in the presence of urea, the cage like micro structures CuO hollow spheres have been discovered. XRD revealed that the grown CuO has a single-crystalline phase of a monoclinic system. The resistivity of CuO hollow spheres (1.93 × 106 Ω m) is ∼100 times higher than flower shape CuO (2.2 × 104 Ω m). The prepared CuO flower shapes and hollow spheres have been evaluated for the detection and quantification of phenyl hydrazine. The findings indicate that CuO hollow spheres and flowers exhibited good sensitivity (0.578 and 7.145 μA cm−2 mM−1) and a lower limit of detection (LOD = 2.4 mM) with a linear dynamic range (LDR) of 5.0 μM to 10.0 mM and rapid assessment of the reaction kinetics (in the order of seconds). The designed flower shape CuO sensing system is 12 times more sensitive than CuO hollow spheres. To the best of our knowledge, the measured sensitivity ∼ 7.145 μA cm−2 mM−1 of CuO flower shapes is found to be among the highest sensitivity values reported for phenyl hydrazine up to now.

Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Mohammed M. Rahman1, Sher Bahadar Khan1,2, Aslam Jamal3, Mohd Faisal3 and Abdullah M. Aisiri1,2 1The Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 2Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 3Centre for Advanced Materials and Nano-Engineering (CAMNE), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Arts, Najran University, Najran Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Synthesis of mesoporous sulfur-doped Ta2O5 nanocomposites and their photocatalytic activities.

Mesoporous sulfur (S)-doped Ta2O5 nanocomposites have been synthesized for the first time through the sol-gel reaction of tantalum chloride and thiourea in the presence of a F127 triblock copolymer as structure directing agent. The as-formed mesophase S-doped Ta2O5 hybrid gels were calcined at 700°C for 4h to obtain mesoporous S-Ta2O5 nanocomposites. The experimental results indicated that the surface area of the S-doped Ta2O5 was up to 50m(2)g(-1) and the pore diameter was controllable in the range of 3-7.7nm. The S-doped Ta2O5 nanocomposites behave as superior visible light-sensitive photocatalysts and the 1.5at.% S-doped Ta2O5 (S1.5) photocatalyst exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity of ∼92% for the photodegradation of methylene blue, identical to 80% TOC removal after three hours illumination under visible light. The photodegradation rate of S1.5 photocatalyst showed 3.4 times higher than the undoped Ta2O5 due to their narrow bandgap, large surface area, mesostructure and well crystalline state. The S1.5 photocatalyst could be recycled at least five times without an apparent decrease in its photocatalytic efficiency, indicating its high stability for practical applications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that demonstrates one-step synthesis of mesoporous S-doped Ta2O5 nanocomposites as an efficient photocatalysts under visible light illumination.

Sensitive and fast response ethanol chemical sensor based on as-grown Gd2O3 nanostructures

Abstract Well crystalline gadolinium oxide (Gd 2 O 3 ) nanostructures were grown by annealing the hydrothermally as-prepared nanostructures without using any template. Microscopic studies of Gd 2 O 3 nanostructures were recorded along the [111] direction due to the clearly resolved interplanar distance d (222) ∼0.31 nm of the cubic crystal structure Gd 2 O 3 . Sensing mechanism of Gd 2 O 3 as efficient electron mediator for the detection of ethanol was explored. As-fabricated sensor demonstrated the high-sensitivity of ∼0.266 μAm/M/cm 2 with low detection limit (∼52.2 μmol/L) and correlation coefficient ( r 2 , 0.618). To the best of our knowledge, this was the first report for the detection of ethanol using as-grown (at 1000 °C) Gd 2 O 3 nanostructures by simple and reliable I-V technique and rapid assessment of the reaction kinetics (in the order of seconds). The low cost of the starting reagents and the simplicity of the synthetic route made it a promising chemical sensor for the detection of various toxic analytes, which are not environmentally safe.

Electronic Structure, Nonlinear Optical Properties, and Vibrational Analysis of Gemifloxacin by Density Functional Theory

The non-linear optical properties of gemifloxacin (C18H20FN5O4) have been examined using density functional theory (DFT). The molecular HOMO, LUMO composition, their respective energy gaps, MESP contours/surfaces have also been drawn to explain the activity of gemifloxacin. The equilibrium geometries and harmonic frequencies of title molecule was determined and analyzed at DFT/B3LYP level employing the 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The skeleton of both the optimized molecules is non-planar. In general, a good agreement between experimental and calculated normal modes of vibrations has been observed.