• Nano
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1850147.1-1850147.14
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• 2018

In this work, water-soluble and blue-emitting carbon nanodots (CDs) were synthesized from apple peels for the first time via one-step hydrothermal method. The synthetic route is facile, green, economical and viable. The as-prepared CDs were characterized thoroughly by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron (XPS), fluorescence and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy in terms of their morphology, surface functional groups and optical properties. The results show that these CDs possessed ultrasmall size, good dispersivity, and high tolerance to pH, ionic strength and continuous UV irradiation. Significantly, the CDs had fast and reversible response towards temperature, and the accurate linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and temperature was used to design a novel nanothermometer in a broad temperature range from 5 to $65^{\circ}C$ facilely. In addition, the fluorescence intensity of CDs was observed to be quenched immediately by Cr(VI) ions based on the inner filter effect. A low-cost Cr(VI) ions sensor was proposed employing CDs as fluorescent probe, and it displayed a wide linear range from 0.5 to $200{\mu}M$ with a detection limit of $0.73{\mu}M$. The practicability of the developed Cr(VI) sensor for real water sample assay was also validated with satisfactory recoveries.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.163-167
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• 2001

A bulk porous $CaZrO_3/MgO$ composite with plantinum nano-dispersion was synthesized in air atmosphere through the combination of several in situ reactions, including the pyrolysis of $PtO_2$. A mixture of $CaMg(CO_3)_2$(dolomite), $ZrO_2$, $PtO_2$ and LiF (0.5 wt%, as an additive) was cold isostatically pressed at 200 MPa and sintered at $1100^{\circ}C$ for 2 h. The porous $CaZrO_3/MgO/Pt$ composite ($CaZrO_3/MgO$ : Pt=99 : 1 in volume) had a uniformly open-porous structure (porosity: 56%) with three-dimensional (3-D) network and a narrow pore-size distribution, similarly to the porous $CaZrO_3/MgO$ composites reported before. Catalytic Properties (viz., NO direct decomposition and NO reduction by $C_2H_4$) of the $CaZrO_3/MgO/Pt$ composite were investigated up to $900^{\circ}C$. In the absence of oxygen, the NO conversion rate reached ~52% for the direct decomposition and ~100% for the reduction by $C_2H_4$, respectively. The results suggest the possibility of the porous composite as a multifunctional filter, i.e., simultaneous hot gas-filtering and $de-NO_x$ in one component.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.105-111
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• 2013

Biofilm formation of multifunctional plant growth promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR), Pseudomonas fluorescens 2112 is necessary for P. fluorescens 2112 to have a positive impact on the rhizosphere of red-pepper. This study investigated whether signal molecules of the quorum sensing AHLs are produced in order to confirm biofilm formative ability. Through the use of Petri dish bioassays a blue circle formed evidence of AHLs. It was confirmed that P. fluorescens 2112 produced six-carbon-chain-long AHLs by TLC bioassay. The bacterial density of P. fluorescens 2112 on the top and bottom of pepper plant roots was estimated as $3{\times}10^5$ and $8{\times}10^3$ CFU/g root, respectively. P. fluorescens 2112 exist more with high-density of $3.5{\times}10^6$ CFU/g soil at a depth of 1 cm but at a low-density of $1.1{\times}10$ CFU/g soil at a depth of 5 cm, from the surface of rhizosphere soil. In addition, biofilm formation of P. fluorescens 2112 on the epidermises and the tips of the red-pepper roots were confirmed visually by SEM. Thus, the production of AHLs by P. fluorescens 2112 brings about quorum sensing signaling and the formation of biofilm on the roots which has a positive effect on economically important crops such as red-pepper by additionally producing a variety of antifungal substances and auxin.