Highly ordered mesoporous copper ferrite (meso-CuFe2O4) with high surface area and large pore size was successfully fabricated and firstly proposed as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst. It was synthesized through the nanocasting strategy by using KIT-6 as hard template. The morphology and physicochemical properties of meso-CuFe2O4 were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, FT-IR, Raman spectra, etc. The obtained results showed that the surface area and the pore size of meso-CuFe2O4 were 122 m2 g−1 and 9.2 nm, respectively. The meso-CuFe2O4 presented excellent catalytic activity for the degradation of imidacloprid, achieving almost complete removal of 10 mg L−1 imidacloprid after 5 h at the reaction conditions of 0.3 g L−1 catalyst and 40 mM H2O2. Kinetic analysis showed that the degradation of imidacloprid follows the pseudo-first order. The apparent rate constant for meso-CuFe2O4 was 1.0445 h−1, which was 1.5, 2 and 2.5 times than those of meso-CoFe2O4, con-CuFe2O4 and nano-Fe3O4, respectively. The amount of hydroxyl radical (OH) generated was directly proportional to the degradation efficiency of imidacloprid, suggesting the involvement of OH in oxidizing imidacloprid. The obtained results indicated that meso-CuFe2O4 presented the highest activity, which was not only due to its ordered mesoporous structure with high surface area and large pore size, but also assigned to the redox recycle of Fe2+/Fe3+ and Cu+/Cu2+ in meso-CuFe2O4. The special effect of Cu was discussed in terms of the thermodynamically favorable Fe3+ reduction by Cu+, regenerating the active species Fe2+. The meso-CuFe2O4 presented very low iron leaching (<1 ppm) even in acidic condition and retained almost its high catalytic activity after 5 consecutive runs. Besides, meso-CuFe2O4 possessed medium saturation magnetization, which had provided a potential advantage for the recovery and reuse of catalyst.

Magnetic ordered mesoporous copper ferrite as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for the degradation of imidacloprid

Nanoparticles and their antimicrobial properties against pathogens including bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses.

The scientific and industrial interest in antimicrobial surfaces has significantly increased in recent times. This interest is largely in response to the persistent microbial contamination of industrial and, importantly, medical implant surfaces. Bacterial contamination of implant surfaces often leads to infection at the implant-tissue interface, and with the prevalence of increasing levels of antimicrobial resistance, the treatment of these infections is becoming far more challenging. Recently, many naturally occurring, high-aspect-ratio surface topographies have been discovered that exhibit high levels of biocidal efficacy. These include epicuticular lipid nano-architectures that are formed on the surfaces of insect wings, such as cicadae and dragonflies. The antimicrobial activity of such surfaces has been found to be a consequence of the physical interactions between the nanoscale topography of the substrate and the attaching pathogenic cells, meaning that the activity is independent of biochemical surface functionality. Importantly, these desirable surface properties can be translated to synthetic biomimetic surfaces, which, when mimicked, lead to a substantial increase in the antimicrobial properties of such surfaces. This paper reviews the recent advances in understanding the basis of these mechanical antimicrobial mechanisms, and discusses the progress being made towards the fabrication of optimised, biocompatible, synthetic analogues.

Nano-structured antimicrobial surfaces: From nature to synthetic analogues.

The use of metal organic frameworks as hard templates for the preparation of heterogeneous catalysts is thoroughly reviewed. In this critical article, the main factors to consider when using a MOF as a sacrificial template are first discussed. Then, the existing literature on the topic is reviewed, classifying the different examples according to the MOF metal. Finally, the main advantages, limitations and perspectives of the so-called MOF mediated synthesis are outlined.

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Metal organic frameworks as precursors for the manufacture of advanced catalytic materials

Cupric oxide (CuO), having a narrow bandgap of 1.2 eV and a variety of chemophysical properties, is recently attractive in many fields such as energy conversion, optoelectronic devices, and catalyst. Compared with bulk material, the advanced properties of CuO nanostructures have been demonstrated; however, the fact that these materials cannot yet be produced in large scale is an obstacle to realize the potential applications of this material. In this respect, chemical methods seem to be efficient synthesis processes which yield not only large quantities but also high quality and advanced material properties. In this paper, the effect of some general factors on the morphology and properties of CuO nanomaterials prepared by solution methods will be overviewed. In terms of advanced nanostructure synthesis, microwave method in which copper hydroxide nanostructures are produced in the precursor solution and sequentially transformed by microwave into CuO may be considered as a promising method to explore in the near future. This method produces not only large quantities of nanoproducts in a short reaction time of several minutes, but also high quality materials with advanced properties. A brief review on some unique properties and applications of CuO nanostructures will be also presented.

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Copper Oxide Nanomaterials Prepared by Solution Methods, Some Properties, and Potential Applications: A Brief Review

Template-free synthesis of MgO nanoparticles for effective photocatalytic applications

Physical properties of nanocrystalline CuO thin films prepared by the SILAR method

Improved photocatalytic activity of ZnO coupled CuO nanocomposites synthesized by reflux condensation method

Flower-shaped CuO Nanostructures: Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity

In this work, hierarchical CuO micropeony was synthesized by an environmentally benign reflux condensation approach without using any surfactant or templates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the formation of CuO exhibiting monoclinic crystal structure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) further confirmed the formation of single phase CuO. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the hierarchical CuO architecture is composed of numerous interpenetrating nanosheets that radiated from the center to form floral pattern with a diameter of 1–2 μm. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of CuO exhibited both UV and visible emissions. The photocatalytic activity of hierarchical CuO microsphere was evaluated by monitoring the photodegradation of methyl orange dye while the antibacterial activity was studied against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria's. Results demonstrated that CuO hierarchical architecture possesses good photocatalytic as well as antibacterial activity.

K. Mageshwari

Papers

Template-free synthesis of MgO nanoparticles for effective photocatalytic applications

Physical properties of nanocrystalline CuO thin films prepared by the SILAR method

Improved photocatalytic activity of ZnO coupled CuO nanocomposites synthesized by reflux condensation method

Flower-shaped CuO Nanostructures: Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity

Synthesis of hierarchical CuO microspheres: Photocatalytic and antibacterial activities