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A Ni-based metal–organic framework (Ni-MOF) has been synthesized using a microwave-assisted strategy and converted to nanostructured Ni/MOF-derived mesoporous carbon (Ni/MOFDC) by carbonization and acid treatment (AT-Ni/MOFDC). The materials are well characterized with Raman, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), revealing that chemical etching confers on the AT-Ni/MOFDC-reduced average nanoparticle size (high surface area) and structural defects including oxygen vacancies. AT-Ni/MOFDC displays low series resistances and a higher specific capacity ( C s ) of 199 mAh g –1 compared to Ni/MOFDC (92 mAh g –1 ). This study shows that the storage mechanism of the Ni-based electrode as a battery-type energy storage (BTES) system can be controlled by both non-faradic and faradic processes and dependent on the sweep rate or current density. AT-Ni/MOFDC reveals mixed contributions at different rates: 75.2% faradic and 24.8% non-faradic contributions at 5 mV s –1 , and 34.1% faradic and 65.9% non-faradic at 50 mV s –1 . The full BTES device was assembled with AT-Ni/MOFDC as the cathode and acetylene black (AB) as the anode. Compared to recent literature, the AT-Ni/MOFDC//AB BTES device exhibits high energy (33 Wh kg –1 ) and high power (983 W kg –1 ) with excellent cycling performance (about 88% capacity retention over 2000 cycles). This new finding opens a window of opportunity for the rational designing of next-generation energy storage devices, supercapatteries, that combine the characteristics of batteries (high energy) and supercapacitors (high power).

e synthesis of polydispersed zinc sulphide and copper sulphide nanocrystals capped with polar L-alanine (Aln) and L-aspartic acid (Asp) molecules is reported. e resulting nanocrystals were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), photoluminescence (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). UV-Vis absorption spectra of all samples were blue-shifted from the bulk band edges due to quantum confinement effects. PL emission spectrum of the nanoparticles showed peaks at 453 and 433 nm for Aln-capped ZnS and CuS nanoparticles, respectively, while peaks for Asp-capped ZnS and CuS nanoparticles were observed at 455 and 367 nm, respectively. e average particle sizes for Aln-capped ZnS and Asp-capped ZnS nanoparticles synthesized at 35°C were measured to be 2.88 nm and 1.23 nm, respectively. e antibacterial properties were tested using different strains of both positive and negative bacteria and fungi. It was found that capped-copper sulphide nanoparticles were more effective against the bacteria than cappedzinc sulphide nanoparticles. Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) was the most susceptible one with an MIC of 0.05 mg/mL for uncapped-CuS nanoparticles while Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 15442) and Cryptococcus neoformans (ATCC 14116) were the least ones with the MIC of 3.125 mg/mL for both uncapped-CuS and Aln-capped CuS.

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A low cost synthesis of catalyst free carbon nano-onions (CNOs) and nitrogen post doped CNOs (NÀ CNOs) using grapeseed oil is reported. Successful incorporation of nitrogen atoms into the lattice of CNOs was confirmed by XPS, resulting in 1.7 % nitrogen content. BET and Raman analysis showed an increase in the specific surface area and the I D /I G ratio of carbon, respectively after N incorporation. The specific capacitance of the CNOs increased upon nitrogen doping and as a result, NÀ CNOs exhibited superior electrochemical performance compared to pristine CNOs. Our results demonstrate that NÀ CNOs are a promising electrode material for energy storage in supercapacitors.

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This work reports the first study on the possible application of nanodiamond-derived onion-like carbons (OLCs), in comparison with conductive carbon black (CB), as an electrode platform for the electrocatalytic detection of tramadol (an important drug of abuse). The physicochemical properties of OLCs and CB were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer−Emmett−Teller (BET), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The OLC exhibits, among others, higher surface area, more surface defects, and higher thermal stability than CB. From the electrochemical analysis (interrogated using cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy), it is shown that an OLC-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE-OLC) allows faster electron transport and electrocatalysis toward tramadol compared to a GCE-CB. To establish the underlying science behind the high performance of the OLC, theoretical calculations (density functional theory (DFT) simulations) were conducted. DFT predicts that OLC allows for weaker surface binding of tramadol (E ad = −26.656 eV) and faster kinetic energy (K.E. = −155.815 Ha) than CB (E ad = −40.174 eV and −305.322 Ha). The GCE-OLC shows a linear calibration curve for tramadol over the range of ∼55 to 392 μM, with high sensitivity (0.0315 μA/μM) and low limit of detection (LoD) and quantification (LoQ) (3.8 and 12.7 μM, respectively). The OLC-modified screen-printed electrode (SPE-OLC) was successfully applied for the sensitive detection of tramadol in real pharmaceutical formulations and human serum. The OLC-based electrochemical sensor promises to be useful for the sensitive and accurate detection of tramadol in clinics, quality control, and routine quantification of tramadol drugs in pharmaceutical formulations.