ZnO core-triggered nitrogen-deficient carbonaceous g-C3N4 shell enhances the visible-light-driven disinfection

Edible Acid–Base Complexes of Caffeic Acid with Histidine and Arginine Exhibit Enhanced Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Characteristics

“…The cytotoxicity of the CA–amino acid complexes was studied in triplicate against mouse fibroblast (SNL 76/7) cells for 24 h, following the literature protocol of the MTT assay with the required customization. − For this, the concentration of the CA–amino acid complexes was studied up to 25 mM. After the treatment of the cells with the specified concentration of the CA–amino acid complexes, the formazan crystals formed by the viable cells were dissolved in DMSO (as per the protocol), and the absorbance of the resultant solutions was recorded at 570 nm.…”

Review and Perspective on Rational Design and Interface Engineering of g-C3N4/ZnO: From Type-II to Step-Scheme Heterojunctions for Photocatalytic Applications

“…In this approach, the GCN precursor and preformed ZnO are dispersed in a suitable solvent and then annealed to facilitate the composite formation. − Alternatively, crystallized ZnO and the GCN precursor are manually grounded to obtain the mixture and later amended with an annealing step. − A two-stage calcination was attempted to form GCN, wherein the mixture of ZnO and urea was annealed initially at a lower temperature (130 °C, 0.5 h) and later held at a higher temperature (500 °C, 2 h) . Similarly, the ZnO-NRs array was mixed with melamine and heated until its volatilization (300 °C, 1 h) and further calcination (550 °C, 3 h) to trigger the thermal condensation process .…”

“…In contrast, the GCN is extremely stable over a range of solution pH values. The PZC of GCN/ZnO was reported in the range of ∼6.6–8.3 and can vary depending on further modifications. , Thus, GCN/ZnO is expected to operate under these conditions better than that of pure ZnO. Likely, pollutants can possess distinct ionization groups and hence have varied p K a values in an aqueous medium.…”

“…The Zn 2+ ions react with PVA via its hydroxyl group and simultaneous carbonization as well as ZnO crystallization progressed to form Zn-O-C surface states during the annealing step . The presence of a carbonaceous layer improves the performance through increasing the pollutant adsorption and by circumventing the leaching of Zn 2+ ions at the extreme pH conditions. , Also, carbonization with polyol under the inert atmosphere resulted in simultaneous formation of a carbon shell and oxygen vacancies, with the latter inducing a visible light response up to the NIR region owing to the overlapping of their electronic energy levels with the bandgap states of ZnO . The EPR investigation confirmed the presence of dense oxygen vacancies and also the generation of superoxide radicals during the degradation reaction .…”

“…The defective GCN shell thickness increased from ∼2 to ∼60 nm with the rise in the content of melamine in the composite. 97 Similarly, GCN was crystallized on the ZnO-NTs using melamine via a simple annealing method. 100 Jung et al 99 reported that the DCDA resulted in the formation of ZnO@GCN, while urea and thiourea ensued the irregular morphology (Figure 4).…”