Water contamination is one of the most pressing environmental issues of the present. There is a significant amount of interest in the slow pyrolysis of biomass to produce biochar, a solid byproduct that is stable and rich in carbon. Adsorbents manufactured from hydrochars, sometimes referred to as hydrochar created by hydrothermal methods, have been tested for the removal of possible contaminants from wastewater. The hydrothermal processes of hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and liquefaction (HTL) yield hydrochars, a distinct category of biochar. Because of its peak efficiency, large surface area, large size of pore and capacity to regenerate, hydrochar is an acceptable option for the rehabilitation of a range of pollutants. The formation, activation, identification, and use of biochar and hydrochar were highlighted in this review. The physiochemical properties of the char produced by the two processes are very different, which has an impact on their potential uses in areas like wastewater pollution remediation, soil improvement, greenhouse gas emission and carbon sequestration among others.

Despite the orientation towards online retailing journey accelerated by the application of new-age technologies in the pandemic context, the role of the physical store still has a central role in luxury shopping in the digital omni-channel perspective. Digital technologies have increased their impact on consumers (Evanschitzky et al., 2020; Klaus & Zaichkowsky, 2020; Kaplan & Haenlein, 2020; Davenport et al, 2020; Huang and Rust, 2021a; Pantano et al, 2022). In today’s digital age, AI is one of the new-age technologies raising growing interest for their potential disruptive impact on marketing and retailing in different sectors (Forbes, 2022).

Carbon-based materials have emerged as an excellent class of biomedical materials due to their exceptional mechanical properties, lower surface friction, and resistance to wear, tear, and corrosion. Experimental studies have shown the promising results of carbon-based coatings in the field of biomedical implants. The reasons for their successful applications are their ability to suppress thrombo-inflammatory reactions which are evoked as an immune response due to foreign body object implantation. Different types of carbon coatings such as diamond-like carbon, pyrolytic carbon, silicon carbide, and graphene have been extensively studied and utilized in various fields of life including the biomedical industry. Their atomic arrangement and structural properties give rise to unique features which make them suitable for multiple applications. Due to the specificity and hardness of carbon-based precursors, only a specific type of coating technique may be utilized for nanostructure development and fabrication. In this paper, different coating techniques are discussed which were selected based on the substrate material, the type of implant, and the thickness of coating layer. Chemical vapor deposition-based techniques, thermal spray coating, pulsed laser deposition, and biomimetic coatings are some of the most common techniques that are used in the field of biomaterials to deposit a coating layer on the implant. Literature gathered in this review has significance in the field of biomedical implant industry to reduce its failure rate by making surfaces inert, decreasing corrosion related issues and enhancing biocompatibility.

This work reports the fabrication of a flexible Photodetector (PD) using Carbon Dots (CDs)/Polymer composite for Deep UV (DUV) photodetection. The CDs have been prepared using a simple and inexpensive heating process. The syncretic studies reveal the disordered graphitic core with surface functional groups and the excitation-dependent character of CDs. The synthesized CDs are stabilized via Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) through a synergistic effect and investigated for different compositions (2–10 weight %) of CDs. The CDs/PVA composites shows improved absorbance at 208 and 335 nm compared to pure CDs owing to the bonding between them. This advantageous property of high absorption and photo response in the DUV region is utilized by employing CDs/PVA composite as a photo-sensing layer on the ITO-coated PET substrate in the PD. The performance of the PD was measured under dark, short (254 nm) and long (365 nm) UV region. Among all the compositions, 4% CDs/PVA PD exhibits superior performance in terms of high photo-to-dark current ratio (IPh/Id), responsivity and detectivity. The PD functioning and other parameters are discussed in detail and reported.

Medicinal plant-derived carbon dots are eco-friendly and possess therapeutic properties. Among the medicinal plants studied throughout the world, Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. is known for its medicinal values, especially its neuroceutical and cogniceutical properties. This work discusses the green synthesis of carbon dots (CDs) using C. asiatica leaves as the carbon source via fast and cost-effective microwave-assisted method, and its physico-chemical characterization via UV–visible, fluorescence and FTIR spectrometry, XRD, SEM, AFM, TEM, SAED, EDX and zeta potential analyses. The study revealed quasi-spherical CDs having size ~ 3–6 nm, polycrystalline nature, and presence of various functional groups like –COOH, –H, =CH2 and C–O–C with UV absorption peaks at 213 and 322 nm. Interestingly, the C. asiatica-derived CDs exhibited blue fluorescence under UV with maximum emission wavelength of 460 nm when excited at 400 nm. Further, these CDs were evaluated for their biological applications, which uncovered their potential in therapeutics such as antimicrobial properties against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria at a dose of 10 μg, strong antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 165.28 and 128.48 μg mL− 1 in DPPH and H2O2 assays, respectively, and profound anti-inflammatory activity with IC50 value of 106.20 μg mL− 1 in protein denaturation assay. The CDs were also assessed for cytotoxicity using whole blood cells and were found to be safe for in vitro administration. Thus, the C. asiatica-derived CDs can be exploited for their potent biomedicinal properties. Fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) were prepared by microwave-assisted pyrolysis of Centella asiatica leaf extract and purification. The as synthesized CDs were subjected to various physico-chemical characterization and biomedical assays to understand its properties.

박새는 도시생태계 내 환경변화를 측정할 수 있는 생물지표종이자 대표적인 식충성 조류로 건전성 유지와 같은 중요한 역할을 맡고 있다. 연구자들은 박새과 조류의 번식생태 파악을 위해 인공새집 조사방법을 활용하고 있으나, 공간적･시간적 한계로 거시적 관점의 연구를 진행하기에는 어려움이 있다. 본 연구는 전문가 중심으로 수행된 기존 인공새집 모니터링이 갖는 한계를 벗어나고자 시민참여 인공새집 모니터링 프로젝트를 설계하였다. ‘수원시 앞마당 조류 모니터링단’은 시민조사원 들의 자발적인 참여를 통해 경기도 수원시 내 녹지공간에 인공새집을 설치하고 박새과 조류의 번식생태를 관찰하는 프로젝트이 다. 2021년 2월 9일부터 2월 22일까지 온라인 설문조사를 통해 참가자를 모집하였고, 시민조사원은 2021년 2월 23일부터 8월 31일까지 인공새집 설치부터 관찰까지 직접 수행하였다. 비전문가인 시민조사원들의 진입장벽을 낮추고 일관된 데이터를 수집하기 위해 모니터링 과정 전반에 대한 온라인 교육을 수행하였고 모바일 애플리케이션을 이용하여 인공새집 관찰기록을 수집하였다. 시민참여 인공새집 모니터링 프로젝트에는 98명의 시민조사원이 참여하였고 배포된 206개의 인공새집 중 175(84.95%)개가 수원시 내 녹지공간에 설치되었다. 설치된 인공새집 중 위치 좌표 생성 오류가 발생한 2건을 제외한 173(83.98%)개를 대상으로 시민과학 프로젝트 결과를 확인했다. 시민조사원으로부터 수집한 인공새집 관찰기록은 총 987회 이며, 최솟값은 1회, 최댓값은 26회, 평균은 5.71±4.37회로 나타났다. 월별 인공새집 관찰 횟수는 2월 70회(7.09%), 3월 444회(44.98%), 4월 284회(28.77%), 5월 133회(13.48%), 6월 46회(4.66%), 7월 6회(0.61%), 8월 4회(0.41%)로 조사되었 다. 설치된 173개의 인공새집 중 57개(32.95%)에서 조류의 이용을 관찰할 수 있었고 박새 12개소(21.05%), 곤줄박이 7개소 (12.28%), 미동정 조류 38개소(66.67%)로 확인되었다. 본 연구는 박새과 조류의 번식생태를 조사방법으로 활용되는 인공새집 모니터링에 시민의 참여 가능성을 처음으로 검토한 연구로 향후 시민과학을 접목한 생태모니터링 설계의 기초자료로 활용될 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.

In today’s world, carbon-based materials research is much wider wherein, it requires a lot of processing techniques to manufacture or synthesize. Moreover, the processing methods through which the carbon-based materials are derived from synthetic sources are of high cost. Processing of such hierarchical porous carbon materials (PCMs) was slightly complex and only very few methods render carbon nano-materials (CNMs) with high specific surface area. Once it is processed, which paves a path to versatile applications. CNMs derived from biological sources are widespread and their application spectrum is also very wide. This review focuses on biomass-derived CNMs from various plant sources for its versatile applications. The major thrust areas of energy storage include batteries, super-capacitors, and fuel cells which are described in this article. Meanwhile, the challenges faced during the processing of biomass-derived CNMs and their future prospects are also discussed comprehensively.

Graphene oxide/Iron III oxide (GO: Fe2O3) nanocomposites (NCs) have been topical in recent times owing to the enhanced properties they exhibit. GO acting as a graphene derivative has demonstrated superior features as obtainable in a graphene sheet. Furthermore, the attachment of oxygen functional groups at its basal and edge planes of graphene has allowed for easy metal/oxide functionalization for improved properties harvesting. Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) on the other hand have polymorphic property enabling the degeneracy of Fe2O3 in different phases, thereby resulting in different physical and crystalline properties when used to functionalize GO. The properties of GO: Fe2O3 have been applied to supercapacitor energy harvesting, Li-ion batteries, and biomedicine. The enhanced properties are attributed to the adsorption and electronic structure properties of Fe atoms. In this review, the various synthesis used in the preparation of reduced/graphene oxide: Fe2O3 is discussed. As indicated in the considered literature, the XPS analysis suggests electronic bond interactions between C–C, C–O, C–Fe and Fe–C. The available report on UPS measurements further suggests the formation of mixed states emanating from  and  bonds. The discussed reports further suggest that the various applications based on the harvesting of electronic, electrical, and magnetic properties are due to the ionic and exchange interactions between the different orbital states of carbon, oxygen and iron. The challenges and future prospects of the synthesis and application of GO/Fe2O3 are examined. Graphical abstract showing the process of exfoliation, reduction and functionalization of graphite to produce reduced graphene oxide (rGO).