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Pollution by metal and metalloid ions is one of the most widespread environmental concerns. They are non-biodegradable, and, generally, present high water solubility facilitating their environmental mobilisation interacting with abiotic and biotic components such as adsorption onto natural colloids or even accumulation by living organisms, thus, threatening human health and ecosystems. Therefore, there is a high demand for effective removal treatments of heavy metals, making the application of adsorption materials such as polymer-functionalized nanocomposites (PFNCs), increasingly attractive. PFNCs retain the inherent remarkable surface properties of nanoparticles, while the polymeric support materials provide high stability and processability. These nanoparticle-matrix materials are of great interest for metals and metalloids removal thanks to the functional groups of the polymeric matrixes that provide specific bindings to target pollutants. This review discusses PFNCs synthesis, characterization and performance in adsorption processes as well as the potential environmental risks and perspectives.

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The emergence of Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS‐CoV‐2 has resulted into a very massive surge in COVID‐19 cases worldwide. Due to continuous emergence of multiple variants of SARS‐CoV‐2, the ongoing pandemic has caused severe morbidity and mortality in last two years. The rate of infectivity of Omicron variant is much higher than Delta variant and in a very quick time Omicron has displaced the Delta variant and now become a dominant variant across the globe. The twin combination of Omicron and Delta variant is triggering a Tsunami wave of ever high surges in COVID‐19 cases worldwide. This article highlights the global threats and challenges posed by Omicron, and strategies to counter it with a particular focus on Indian sub‐continent.

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Corrosion of metals and its alloys employed in service is an inescapable but a controllable process. One of the practical methods for controlling the impact of corrosion of metals and alloys especially in aqueous environments is by using corrosion inhibitors which are composed mainly of organic or inorganic substances. However, the toxicity of organic and inorganic corrosion inhibitors to the environment and humans has compelled the search for safer corrosion inhibitors called 'green corrosion' inhibitor due to their properties like non-toxicity, biodegradability, and low cost. The use of natural gums as environmentally safe corrosion inhibitor for metal and alloys has in recent times received tremendous attention by several researchers. Also quantitative structure activity relationship approach has been used to establish the correlations between a number of quantum chemical parameters and the molecular structures of some gum extracts major components. This approach has aided in understanding the component of the gum extracts responsible for imparting the inhibition effect since there are several components of the gum which could act in synergy to inhibit the metal corrosion. This review paper presents an overview of works published on natural gums as green corrosion inhibitors. It also discusses the use of computational chemistry tools in understanding the inhibition mechanism of gum extracts components which is often difficult to determine using experimental means.

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