Electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂R) to chemicals and fuels has made tremendous progress since the introduction of gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) to overcome mass-transfer limitations and enable industrial-scale current densities. The advancement in the field, however, has come with new challenges that are related to the stability and degradation of the GDE due to flooding issues, which currently hinder the scale-up. Here, we investigated the effect of six different binding materials (Nafion, polytetrafluoroethylene, Fumion, Pention, poly(vinyl alcohol), and polypyrrole) on the stability and performance of Ag-based GDEs for CO₂R to CO in alkaline media. All binders show a decrease in the Faraday efficiency (FE) of CO and increase in hydrogen evolution reaction over time. The most hydrophilic GDE based on polypyrrole can uphold a higher FE of CO for longer times, which is contrary to a common belief that low wettability is required for long-term stability. By using a range of tools (SEM-EDX, SEM-FIB, X-ray diffraction, and contact angle measurements) for the postelectrolysis characterization of the GDEs, we show that the performance loss is related to flooding, bi(carbonate) precipitation, and catalyst agglomeration. These results contribute to a better understanding of the stability issues in GDE-based CO₂ electrolyzers.

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Hydrogen gained momentum as a viable alternative to crude-derived fuels. Scalable production of green hydrogen harnessing solar energy emerged as one of the promising sustainable options that can be facilitated by photocatalyst-assisted water splitting. One-step and two-step photoexcitation systems for overall water splitting (OWS) processes gained much importance because of the ease with which they can be scaled up. This chapter gives a profound insight into the fundamental aspects of these systems, along with a broader picture regarding their possible pathway for commercial implementation. Thermodynamic and kinetic requisites of these novel systems have been described in detail and a critical appraisal of the selectivity of co-catalysts in the photocatalytic OWS process is presented. Subsequently, this chapter provides a comprehensive focus on various novel scalability studies like thin film systems, baggie reactors and the solar hydrogen farm project. The ultimate motive of this chapter is to summarize the current state-of-the-art strategies for producing green hydrogen through heterogeneous photocatalysis and the various limitations it possesses that preclude the system from reaching the market so far. By this it will motivate people to develop innovative pathways that would rectify the problems associated with it.@en

Despite extensive research, eliminating hexavalent chromium-based inhibitors from aerospace coatings remains challenging due to a lack of understanding of coating degradation during aircraft service. This study addresses the issue by investigating the protective mechanisms and aging processes of chromate-containing coatings on aircraft components after service for over 35 years. Four aircraft parts underwent visual inspection, disassembly, and analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). While most coating areas remained intact after extended use, three distinct degradation modes were identified: tip erosion, corrosion around rivets, and corrosion around fasteners at the leading edge. These findings reveal the complexity of corrosion protection, emphasizing that hexavalent chromium-containing coatings may not offer comprehensive protection at local design heterogeneities. The study also highlights the need to revisit traditional laboratory analysis protocols based on accelerated corrosion testing of oversimplified sample configurations, given the revealed end-of-service failure mechanisms.@en

The inherent colloidal dispersity (due to length, aspect ratio, surface charge heterogeneity) of CNCs, when produced using the typical traditional sulfuric acid hydrolysis route, presents a great challenge when interpreting colloidal properties and linking the CNC film nanostructure to the helicoidal self-assembly mechanism during drying. Indeed, further improvement of this CNC preparation route is required to yield films with better control over the CNC pitch and optical properties. Here we present a modified CNC-preparation protocol, by fractionating and harvesting CNCs with different average surface charges, rod lengths, aspect ratios, already during the centrifugation steps after hydrolysis. This enables faster CNC fractionation, because it is performed in a high ionic strength aqueous medium. By comparing dry films from the three CNC fractions, discrepancies in the CNC self-assembly and structural colors were clearly observed. Conclusively, we demonstrate a fast protocol to harvest different populations of CNCs, that enable tailored refinement of structural colors in CNC films.

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The maintenance of people’s lifestyle against global climate change, exhaustion of groundwater, depletion of minerals, and water scarcity has instigated the recycling and reuse of water from unlikely sources. This situation has motivated researchers to develop effective technologies for treating wastewater, enabling its reuse. Water security has been ensured in myriad, highly populated regions through large-scale centralized treatment facilities. The development and implementation of small-scale, renewable-energy-based, decentralized, on-site treatment methodologies ensure water sustainability in rural areas, where centralized treatment facilities are impractical for application. This review article focuses on the recently reported low-cost purification techniques for recycling wastewater generated by single and community-based households in sparsely populated areas. Here we propose treatment technologies for efficient waste management that can be easily integrated in the upcoming years to the lavatories built under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), a momentous cleanliness campaign that has been successfully implemented by the Government of India (GOI). Specifically, we suggest an electrochemical (EC) method to treat the supernatant of the Blackwater (BW) to produce purified non-potable water for reuse in diverse purposes. The EC technique does not require external chemicals for treatment and can be powered by sustainable technologies (like solar panels), thus reducing the treatment cost. Subsequently, vermicomposting, microwave, biogas, and phycoremediation methods are considered to treat the solid sludge to produce value-added products such as enriched organic fertilizer for agriculture and biofuel. The above methods also ensure the satisfactory reduction in Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) (>85%) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) (81–91%) and the complete removal of pathogens and other harmful pollutants. Finally, the novel treatment techniques discussed here are not only limited to rural areas of India but can be implemented in any rural area of the world.@en

The development of antibacterial coatings is a promising approach to preventing biofilm formation and reducing the overuse of systemic antibiotics. However, widespread antibiotic use has resulted in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, limiting the efficacy of antibiotic-based coatings. Herein, an antibacterial coating is developed by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of two polymers namely PDLG (poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)) and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) while chicken cathelicidin-2 (CATH-2), a cationic and amphipathic peptide, is loaded between these polymer layers. The electrospray method is used to apply the coatings to achieve efficient peptide loading and durability. The CATH-2 bactericidal concentration ranges are first identified, followed by a study of their cytotoxicity to human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and macrophage cell lines. Later, different LbL electrospray coating assemblies loaded with the optimal peptide concentration are sought. Various coating strategies are investigated to identify an LbL coating that exhibits prolonged and biocompatible CATH-2 release. The resulting CATH-2-coated titanium surfaces exhibit strong antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria for 4 days and are biocompatible with hMSCs and macrophage cells. This coating can be considered as a versatile delivery system platform for the delivery of CATH-2 peptides while avoiding cytotoxicity, particularly for the prevention of infections associated with implants.@en

The preferential orientation of the perovskite (PVK) is typically accomplished by manipulation of the mixed cation/halide composition of the solution used for wet processing. However, for PVKs grown by thermal evaporation, this has been rarely addressed. It is unclear how variation in crystal orientation affects the optoelectronic properties of thermally evaporated films, including the charge carrier mobility, lifetime, and trap densities. In this study, we use different intermediate annealing temperatures Tinter between two sequential evaporation cycles to control the Cs0.15FA0.85PbI2.85Br0.15 orientation of the final PVK layer. XRD and 2D-XRD measurements reveal that when using no intermediate annealing primarily the (110) orientation is obtained, while when using Tinter = 100 °C a nearly isotropic orientation is found. Most interestingly for Tinter > 130 °C a highly oriented PVK (100) is formed. We found that although bulk electronic properties like photoconductivity are independent of the preferential orientation, surface related properties differ substantially. The highly oriented PVK (100) exhibits improved photoluminescence in terms of yield and lifetime. In addition, high spatial resolution mappings of the contact potential difference (CPD) as measured by KPFM for the highly oriented PVK show a more homogeneous surface potential distribution than those of the nonoriented PVK. These observations suggest that a highly oriented growth of thermally evaporated PVK is preferred to improve the charge extraction at the device level.@en