National Chemical Laboratory

About: National Chemical Laboratory is a facility organization based out in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Enantioselective synthesis. The organization has 8891 authors who have published 14837 publications receiving 387600 citations.

Biological synthesis of strontium carbonate crystals using the fungus Fusarium oxysporum

Abstract: The total biological synthesis of SrCO3 crystals of needlelike morphology arranged into higher order quasi-linear superstructures by challenging microorganisms such as fungi with aqueous Sr2+ ions is described. We term this procedure "total biological synthesis" since the source of carbonate ions that react with aqueous Sr2+ ions is the fungus itself. We believe that secretion of proteins during growth of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum is responsible for modulating the morphology of strontianite crystals and directing their hierarchical assembly into higher order superstructures.

Biomass-derived activated carbon material from native European deciduous trees as an inexpensive and sustainable energy material for supercapacitor application

Abstract: Activated carbons are one of the possible electrode materials for supercapacitors (SCs), which are widely used in commercial applications. Herein, we reported the synthesis of a novel activated carbon derived through a cavitation process from the mixture of native European deciduous trees, Birch, Fagaceae, and Carpinus betulus (commonly known as European hornbeam), which was employed as the electrode material in SC. From the morphological and structural characterization, we observed that the prepared sample is a desirable carbon with good porosity and high specific surface area of about 614 m2 g−1. The electrochemical properties of the synthesized material were evaluated with a three-electrode configuration in 1.0 M H2SO4 electrolyte. It was found that in device mode, the carbon material delivers a specific capacitance of 24 F g−1 at 0.25 A g−1 with excellent cycling stability of over 10000 consecutive charge/discharge cycles. Thus, our studies demonstrate the facile synthesis of biomass-derived carbon and its application as a versatile electrode material for SC applications.

Production and Properties of Extracellular Endoxylanase from Neurospora crassa

Abstract: Neurospora crassa 870 produced 14 and 0.025 U of extracellular xylanase (1,4-beta-d-xylan xylanohydrolase; EC 3.2.1.8) and beta-xylosidase (1,4-beta-xylan xylohydrolase; EC 3.2.1.37) per ml, respectively, in 4 days when commercial xylan was used as a carbon source. The effects of pH and carbon sources on xylanase production by N. crassa are discussed. Two xylanases (I and II) were purified and had pI values of 4.8 and 4.5 and molecular weights of 33,000 and 30,000. The maximum degree of hydrolysis of xylan by the extracellular culture broth was 66% in 4 h. The end products of xylan hydrolysis by xylanase I and II showed the presence of xylose, xylobiose, xylotriose, xylotetraose, xylopentose, and arabinose, indicating that they are endoxylanases capable of hydrolyzing 1,3-alpha-l-arabinofuranosyl branch points. Both xylanases showed activity toward carboxymethyl cellulose but no activity toward para-nitrophenyl-beta-d-xyloside or laminarin. Xylanase I showed appreciable activity toward para-nitrophenyl-beta-d-glucoside, whereas xylanase II was inactive.