There is no doubt that the BRICS countries established in 2000-01, have already made their mark on the international stage. Increasing relations among BRICS countries with less developed nations through south-south cooperation, especially, China, India, and Russia and with least developed countries are of significant importance. BRICS has been the forerunner of cooperation, collaboration and reformation of the present international governance structure and to move towards multilateralism. Over the years, BRICS has become a platform of, and for the developing countries. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has created divisions in the world, impacting diplomatic relations that BRICS needs to address. The fact that Russia is the member of BRICS makes things complicated and new challenges has emerged for the bloc to take necessary actions and policy considerations. The article examines the challenges and opportunities for BRICS (as a bloc) amid Russia-Ukraine conflict in a post pandemic world.

Adsorption of arsenic by graphene-based adsorbents is widely applied to remove arsenic from water and has become a promising technology. However, most of the reported studies were conducted at a relatively higher concentration of arsenic in As (V) oxidative form, whereas the As (III) is more difficult to remove from water and more toxic, which prompted us to conduct the study at a lower concentration of 1 ppm in As (III). A Facile and controlled synthesis of graphene-based metal/ metal oxide nanomaterials and adsorptive removal of aqueous As (III) is reported here. Adsorbents were characterized using spectroscopy (FTIR, XPS and Raman) and microscopy (TEM). The maximum uptake of arsenic obtained was 88.8% from the RGO-Fe3O4 composite among all the adsorbents. The pseudo-second-order model and Intra-particle mass transfer diffusion model were applied to determine the adsorption kinetics with varying contact time between the adsorbents and the As (III) in water to interact. Experimental results suggest that the adsorption of As (III) onto the adsorbents was a multi-step process involving external adsorption to the surface followed by diffusion to the interior. A simple spectrophotometric method also was used for the detection and quantification of As (III).

Despite concerns about the significant toxicity of copper pyrithione (CuPT) at environmental concentrations, effects of CuPT on benthic organisms have received little attention. Here, we analyzed the detrimental effects of CuPT at sublethal concentrations (1/50, 1/20, and 1/10 of the 96 h-LC50 value) for 14 days in the marine polychaete Perinereis aibuhitensis. Reduced burrowing activity and significantly decreased the acetylcholinesterase activity in response to relatively high concentrations of CuPT were identified as CuPT-triggered cholinergic inhibition. The lipid peroxidation marker, malondialdehyde levels were dosedependently increased, whereas intracellular glutathione was depleted by relatively high concentrations. In the CuPT-treated polychaete, significant fluctuations in the enzymatic activities of the antioxidant defense system (catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione peroxidase) were observed with significantly modulated glutathione S-transferase activity. These results indicate that even sublethal levels of CuPT would have detrimental effects on the health status of the marine polychaete.

The biocarbon (SKPH) was obtained from Sargassum spp., and it was evaluated electrochemically as support for the CO2 reduction. The biocarbon was synthesized and activated with KOH, obtaining a high surface area (1600 m2 g− 1) due to the activation process. Graphitic carbon formation after pyrolysis was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The XRD results show that SKPH has an amorphous structure with peaks corresponding to typical amorphous carbonaceous materials. FTIR was used to determine the chemical structure of SKPH. The bands at 3426, 2981, 2851, and 1604 cm− 1 correspond to O–H, C-H, and C-O stretching vibrations, respectively. Then, it compares SKPH films with different carbon films using two electrolytic systems with and without charge transfer. The SKPH film showed a capacitive behavior in the KOH, H2SO4, and, KCl systems; in the acid medium, the presence of a redox couple associated with carbon functional groups was shown. Likewise, in the [Fe(CN)6]−3 and Cu(II) systems, the charge transfer process coupled with a capacitive behavior was described, and this effect is more noticeable in the [Fe(CN)6]−3 system. Electrodeposition of copper on SKPH film showed two stages Cu(NH 3)2+ 4 /Cu(NH 3)+ 2 and Cu(NH 3)+ 2 ∕Cu in ammonia media. Hydrogen formation and the activity of CO2 are observed on SKPH film and are favored by the carbon’s surface chemistry. Cu/SKPH electrocatalyst has a catalytic effect on electrochemical reduction of CO2 and inhibition of hydrogen formation. This study showed that the SKPH film electrode responds as a capacitive material that can be used as an electrode for energy storage or as metal support.

We complete the survey for finite-source/point-lens (FSPL) giant-source events in 2016–2019 KMTNet microlensing data. The 30 FSPL events show a clear gap in Einstein radius, 9 μas < θE < 26 μas, which is consistent with the gap in Einstein timescales near tE ∼ 0.5 days found by Mr´oz et al. (2017) in an independent sample of point-source/point-lens (PSPL) events. We demonstrate that the two surveys are consistent. We estimate that the 4 events below this gap are due to a power-law distribution of freefloating planet candidates (FFPs) dNFFP/d logM = (0.4 ± 0.2) (M/38 M⊕)−p/star, with 0.9 ≲ p ≲ 1.2. There are substantially more FFPs than known bound planets, implying that the bound planet power-law index γ = 0.6 is likely shaped by the ejection process at least as much as by formation. The mass density per decade of FFPs in the Solar neighborhood is of the same order as that of ‘Oumuamua-like objects. In particular, if we assume that ‘Oumuamua is part of the same process that ejected the FFPs to very wide or unbound orbits, the power-law index is p = 0.89 ± 0.06. If the Solar System’s endowment of Neptune-mass objects in Neptune-like orbits is typical, which is consistent with the results of Poleski et al. (2021), then these could account for a substantial fraction of the FFPs in the Neptune-mass range.

Aluminum (Al) is one of the major factors adversely affects crop growth and productivity in acidic soils. In this study, the effect of Al on plants in soil was investigated by comparing the protein expression profiles of alfalfa roots exposed to Al stress treatment. Two-week-old alfalfa seedlings were exposed to Al stress treatment at pH 4.0. Total protein was extracted from alfalfa root tissue and analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. A total of 45 proteins differentially expressed in Al stress-treated alfalfa root tissues were identified, of which 28 were up-regulated and 17 were down-regulated. Of the differentially expressed proteins, 7 representative proteins were further confirmed for transcript accumulation by RT-PCR analysis. The identified proteins were involved in several functional categories including disease/defense (24%), energy (22%), protein destination (9%), metabolism (7%), transcription (5%), secondary metabolism (4%), and ambiguous classification (29%). The identification of key candidate genes induced by Al in alfalfa roots will be useful to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of Al stress tolerance in alfalfa plants.

In the past decade, there has been phenomenal progress in the field of nanomaterials, especially in the area of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). In this review, we have elucidated a contemporary synopsis of properties, synthesis, functionalization, toxicity, and several potential biomedical applications of CNTs. Researchers have reported remarkable mechanical, electronic, and physical properties of CNTs which makes their applications so versatile. Functionalization of CNTs has been valuable in modifying their properties, expanding their applications, and reducing their toxicity. In recent years, the use of CNTs in biomedical applications has grown exponentially as they are utilized in the field of drug delivery, tissue engineering, biosensors, bioimaging, and cancer treatment. CNTs can increase the lifespan of drugs in humans and facilitate their delivery directly to the targeted cells; they are also highly efficient biocompatible biosensors and bioimaging agents. CNTs have also shown great results in detecting the SARS COVID-19 virus and in the field of cancer treatment and tissue engineering which is substantially required looking at the present conditions. The concerns about CNTs include cytotoxicity faced in in vivo biomedical applications and its high manufacturing cost are discussed in the review.

The utilization of carbonaceous reinforcement-based polymer matrix composites in structural applications has become a hot topic in composite research. Although conventional carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) have revolutionized the composite industry by offering unparalleled features, they are often plagued with a weak interface and lack of toughness. However, the promising aspects of carbon fiber-based fiber hybrid composites and hierarchical composites can compensate for these setbacks. This review provides a meticulous landscape and recent progress of polymer matrixbased different carbonaceous (carbon fiber, carbon nanotube, graphene, and nanodiamond) fillers reinforced composites’ mechanical properties. First, the mechanical performance of neat CFRP was exhaustively analyzed, attributing parameters were listed down, and CFRPs’ mechanical performance barriers were clearly outlined. Here, short carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite was distinguished as a prospective material. Second, the strategic advantages of fiber hybrid composites over conventional CFRP were elucidated. Third, the mechanical performance of hierarchical composites based on carbon nanotube (1D), graphene (2D) and nanodiamond (0D) was expounded and evaluated against neat CFRP. Fourth, the review comprehensively discussed different fabrication methods, categorized them according to performance and suggested potential future directions. From here, the review sorted out three-dimensional printing (3DP) as the most futuristic fabrication method and thoroughly delivered its pros and cons in the context of the aforementioned carbonaceous materials. To conclude, the structural applications, current challenges and future prospects pertinent to these carbonaceous fillers reinforced composite materials were elaborated.

The mechanosynthesis route is a physical top–down strategy to produce different nanomaterials. Here, we report the formation of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) through this route using carbon bars recovered from discarded alkaline batteries as raw material. The mechanosynthesis time (milling time) is shown to have an influence on different features of the GNRs such as their width and edges features. TEM revealed the presence of GNRs with widths of 15.26, 8.8, and 23.55 nm for the milling times of 6, 12, and 18 h, respectively. Additionally, the carbon bars evolved from poorly shaped GNRs for the shortest milling time (6 h) to well-shaped GNRs of oriented sheets forming for the longest milling time. Besides GNRs, graphene sheets (GNS) of different sizes were also observed. The Raman analysis of the 2D bands identified the GNS signal and confirmed the GNRs nature. ID/IG values of 0.21, 0.32, and 0.40 revealed the degree of disorder for each sample. The in-plane sp2 crystallite sizes ( La) of graphite decreased to 91, 60, and 48 nm with increasing peeling time. The RBLM band at 288 cm− 1 confirmed the formation of the GNRs. Mechanosynthesis is a complex process and the formation of the GNRs is discussed in terms of a mechanical exfoliation, formation of graphene sheets and its fragmentation to reach GNR-like shapes. It is shown that the synthesis of GNRs through the mechanosynthesis route, besides the use of recycled materials, is an alternative for obtaining self-sustaining materials.

We investigated the electronic and mechanical properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with different tube diameters using density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, respectively. The carbon nanotubes’ electronic properties were derived from the index number ( n 1 , n 2 ), lattice vectors, and the rolled graphene sheet orientation. For (6,1) SWCNT, ( n 1-n 2)/3 is non-integer, so the expected characteristic is semiconducting. We have considered (6,1) Chiral SWCNT with different diameters ‘d’ (4.68 Å, 4.90 Å, 5.14 Å, 5.32 Å, 5.53 Å) corresponds to respective bond lengths ‘  ’ (1.32 Å, 1.38 Å, 1.45 Å, 1.50 Å and 1.56 Å) and then analyze the electronic properties from the Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals (LCAO) based on DFT. We have used both the DFT-1/2 and GGA exchange energy correlation approximations for our calculation and compared the results. In both cases, the energy bandgap is decreasing order with the increase in bond lengths. The lowest value of formation energy was obtained at the bond length  = 1.45 Å ( d = 5.14 Å). For the mechanical properties, we have calculated Young’s modulus using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. From our calculation, we have found that the (6,1) SWCNT with bond length 1.45 Å ( d = 5.14 Å) has Young’s modulus value of 1.553 TPa.