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Efficient Copper Ion Removal from Wastewater Using Copolymeric Hydrogels Based on NIPAM, OEGMA, and Acids Synthesized via Gamma Radiation
No full textWe report the synthesis of copolymeric hydrogels based on N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (OEGMA), and different acids (itaconic, acrylic, and methacrylic) with varying monomer ratios. These hydrogels were polymerized and crosslinked using gamma radiation, with a dose of 25 kGy administered at a rate of about 0.5 kGy per hour in aqueous media, eliminating the need for additional crosslinking agents. Characterization was performed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to confirm chemical composition, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to examine morphological features. Synthesized hydrogels exhibited variable water absorbency and distinct Volume Phase Transition Temperature (VPTT) responses, which were influenced by their composition and the pH of the swelling medium. This adaptability suggests their potential for diverse environmental applications. Reswelling tests demonstrated that the hydrogels can undergo swelling and deswelling without significant performance loss, indicating their reusability. In practical applications, we evaluated their effectiveness in removing copper ions (Cu) from contaminated water using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results reveal that hydrogels with acid comonomers are particularly effective for wastewater treatment and environmental remediation.ICARST-2025 : 3rd International Conference on Applications of Radiation Science and Technology; 7-11 April 2025, IAEA Headquarters, Vienna, Austria
Uptake kinetics and bioaccumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in photosynthetic model organisms
No full textPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals, valued for their durability and water- and oilrepellent properties, widely used in firefighting industries, aerospace, and consumer products.[1] However, due to their persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity, key PFAS compounds like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) have been restricted or banned globally. Long-chain PFAS can accumulate and biomagnify within aquatic food webs, posing risks to higher trophic organisms, including humans. These substances can enter the food chain through water, sediment, or diet, accumulating in the blood, liver and kidneys. A recent study linked elevated PFAS levels in humans to the consumption of contaminated livestock meat.[2] Microalgae, which form the base of aquatic food webs, can absorb toxicants and potentially mitigate their effects via biotransformation and sequestration.[3] This study investigates the uptake kinetics and bioaccumulation of PFAS in algal cells, focusing on photosynthetic model organisms commonly found in Serbian aquatic systems: green microalgae, cyanobacteria, and diatoms. These microorganisms will be exposed to PFAS with varying functional groups (e.g., carboxylates, sulfonates, sulfonamides) and chain lengths (short- vs. long-chained). Two kinetic models will be applied to assess PFAS distribution in the growth medium, whole cells, and intracellular fraction. The results will help understand PFAS incorporation in aquatic food webs and inform strategies for environmental risk assessment and mitigation.19th International Conference on Chemistry and the Environment - Environmental Chemistry for Sustainability : Belgrade, Serbia, June 8-12, 2025
Enhanced multifunctionality through the combined effect of lead-free piezoelectric and magnetostrictive phases in the polymer matrix composite
No full textIn this work, the production of polymer composites by hot pressing, incorporating barium calcium zirconium titanate (BCZT) and cobalt ferrite (CF) particles into a polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) matrix, was explored for the first time. The effect of CF content on the material's functional properties and the influence of the active phase quantity on the final flexible films were evaluated. Results showed that neither the CF content nor the active phase amount affected the formation of the electro-active PVDF β-phase. Dielectric permittivity was slightly influenced by CF content, but mainly increased due to the BCZT filler. Ferroelectric properties were primarily controlled by the filler phase amount. Piezoelectric charge coefficients (d33) increased with higher BCZT filler fraction. However, piezoelectric voltage coefficients (g33) slightly decreased (or remained almost similar) due to higher dielectric permittivity of composite samples with higher BCZT content. The magnetic properties revealed that CF content significantly impacted magnetization but not coercivity. Energy harvesting tests using impulse hammer loading indicated that composites with lower CF content generated up to 20 V of output voltage and approximately 400 μW of power. These findings demonstrate the potential of these composites for next-generation devices and applications. © 2025 Elsevier Lt
Raman Characterization of Dioxygen Species as Defects in Single-Crystal ZnO Including Their Pressure Dependence
No full textThe defects in zinc oxide crystals are of crucial importance for their usability in many applications and are not yet fully understood. Here, we demonstrate that dioxygen species are present as defects in the grown ZnO, resulting in a bending of the atom layers that lie perpendicular to the c-axis. In the Raman spectra, these defects cause the appearance of bands different from the known bands of perfect ZnO crystals allowed by symmetry. These additional Raman bands, which have been frequently reported for ZnO in the past, can thus be fully explained by the presence of dioxygen species, and the widespread assumption of second-order modes for the assignments of these bands is not necessary. Furthermore, the Raman spectrum belonging to perfect zinc oxide in the ideal wurtzite structure is presented, obtained from small domains in ZnO(0001) crystals exposed to pressures up to 2 GPa. The dependence of the O-O stretching modes on the applied pressure proves the presence of dioxygen species in ZnO, which is also confirmed by phonon calculations of structure models with embedded dioxygen species. The surface quality of the ZnO crystals studied is also reflected in the Raman spectra and is included in the analysis
Energy landscapes 2024 - Lovran
No full textThis article provides an overview of the talks given at the conference Energy Landscapes, which took place in Lovran, Croatia, from August 25 to 30, 2024. The primary focus of the conference was on the current advances in theoretical energy landscape methods and their uses across various disciplines, including chemistry, physics, biology, and materials science. The presentations covered a wide range of trending topics, including applications ranging from spectroscopy to solid-state, kinetics and first passage time distributions for multi-funnel landscapes, folding and misfolding of proteins, DNA and RNA, multiscale modeling, designing landscapes for self-assembly and multifunctional systems, landscapes for machine learning, and atomic, molecular, colloidal and nanoalloy clusters calculations
Constraints on graviton mass from S2-like star orbits around Sgr A*
No full textHere we present our achieved results on the bounding graviton mass by the observed orbits of bright stars around Sgr A∗. We used available observations of the S-star orbits in our Galactic center. By comparison of these stellar orbits with their simulated orbits in Yukawa gravitational potential, we estimated the constraints on the parameters of this modified theory of massive gravity. Then, we connected one of these parameters with the Compton wavelength of the graviton and used it for estimation of the graviton mass. In that way we obtained a new method of determining the upper limit of graviton mass, completely independent from other methods published until now. The constraints on the Compton wavelength of the graviton and its mass, obtained using this method, were in a good agreement with the coresponding LIGO results. © Serbian-Bulgarian Astronomical Conference, SBC 2024.XIV Serbian-Bulgarian Astronomical Conference, September 23-27, 2024, Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia
High-resolution studies of isomeric states in 236U with the nu-Ball2 spectrometer
No full textFission shape isomers (SI) are poorly understood metastable states characterized by a second super-deformed potential energy minimum coexisting with normally-deformed states in the low-spin regime. Although many such isomers have been observed in the actinide region, our understanding of the states of the second minimum remains very limited. For most SIs, the only available information is their half-life, determined via their exclusive decay mode, delayed fission. However, the interesting possibility of a competing branch of γ-back decay towards normally-deformed states opens up as the number of protons decreases and the fission barrier becomes harder to penetrate, uranium isotopes being the heaviest candidates. In this context, two experiments were performed to study 236fU using the nu-Ball2/PARIS spectrometer at the ALTO facility of IJCLab. The nu-Ball2 setup consists of 24 High Purity Germanium (HPGe) Clovers and 64 phoswiches (LaBr3/NaI) from the PARIS Collaboration are added to cover more than 90% of the total solid angle. Additionally, a Double-sided Silicon Stripped Detector (DSSD) was used to measure the energy of outgoing light-charged particles. The state-of-the-art fully digital FASTER electronics allowed triggerless data acquisition at high data rates. The selectivity of this setup enabled us to probe rare decays with sub-microbarn cross sections.Presented at the 57th Zakopane Conference on Nuclear Physics, Extremes of the Nuclear Landscape, Zakopane, Poland, 25 August–1 September, 2024
Low-coercivity behavior and biomedical potential of cube-like and rounded hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles: Insights from hydrothermal synthesis
No full textUnderstanding the shape-dependent magnetic properties of hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles is essential for advancing their biomedical and nanotechnological applications. We synthesized cube-like and rounded hematite nanoparticles using a controlled hydrothermal synthesis method by varying ethanol/water ratios, enabling precise morphological tuning. While the Morin transition temperature (TM) (225–231 K) and coercivity below TM (≈180 Oe) remain largely shape-independent, coercivity above TM exhibits significant shape dependence. Cube-like hematite nanoparticles display ultra-low coercivity (HC = 21 Oe) due to defect-minimized planar surfaces, whereas rounded hematite nanoparticles exhibit higher coercivity (HC = 306 Oe) due to defect-rich curved surfaces and atomic misalignments. MRI relaxivity measurements reveal that rounded hematite nanoparticles enhance transverse relaxivity (5.70 ± 0.17 mM[Fe]-1s−1), while cube-like hematite nanoparticles show higher longitudinal relaxivity (0.0075 mM[Fe]-1s−1), demonstrating morphology-dependent MRI contrast efficiency. With low cytotoxicity and high biocompatibility, the synthesized hematite nanoparticles show promise for biomedical applications, particularly in targeted imaging and magnetic nanodevice development. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.This is the peer-reviewed version of the article: Tadic, M., Lazovic, J., Panjan, M., Tadic, B. V., & Lalatonne, Y. (2025). Low-coercivity behavior and biomedical potential of cube-like and rounded hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles: Insights from hydrothermal synthesis. Materials Science and Engineering: B, 317, 118204. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mseb.2025.118204
Valorization of viscose textile waste for the adsorptive removal of organophosphate pesticides from water
No full textThis study investigates the potential of carbon materials derived from viscose textile waste as effective adsorbents for the removal of organophosphate pesticides, specifically malathion, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, phorate, and azinphos-methyl from water. Seven carbon materials were synthesized at varying carbonization temperatures using the same precursor, and their physicochemical properties were characterized through Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and Zeta potential measurements. Screening tests identified the most efficient adsorbents for pesticide removal, followed by kinetic and equilibrium studies elucidating the adsorption mechanisms. The pseudo-second-order kinetics and Sips isotherm models best described the adsorption process. The highest adsorption capacities of the best-performing material follow the order: diazinon (76.1 mg g−1) > chlorpyrifos (32.0 mg g−1) > azinphos-methyl (24.3 mg g−1) > malathion (10.9 mg g−1) > phorate (0.4 mg g−1), suggesting that aromatic pesticides adsorb to a greater extent on the presented materials, compared to aliphatic ones. The analysis of the regeneration potential of the adsorbents revealed successful multiple adsorption-regeneration cycles with minimal performance loss when using 96 % ethanol as a regenerant. This research demonstrated the innovative use of viscose textile waste for sustainable adsorbents to address pesticide contamination in water, emphasizing the importance of optimizing adsorption and regeneration processes while utilizing renewable resources to tackle modern environmental challenges. Environmental implications: This study explores the potential of carbon materials derived from viscose textile waste for the adsorption of organophosphate pesticides, which pose significant risks to aquatic ecosystems due to their persistence and toxicity. Utilizing viscose textile waste contributes to effective water remediation and supports sustainable waste management by repurposing a discarded resource. Additionally, the carbonization process involved in producing biochar effectively sequesters carbon, helping to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The synthesis process includes a minimum of chemicals, reducing overall environmental impact. This approach promotes a circular economy by transforming waste into valuable materials for environmental protection and sustainably addressing contamination issues. © 2024 Elsevier Lt
Ambient dose equivalent monitoring in the vicinity of a nuclear facility with dosemeters based on Geiger-Müller tubes
No full textArea dosemeters, which are used to estimate the effective dose by ambient dose equivalent measurements in the environment, are employed in both official and non-governmental networks. Area environment monitoring dosemeters cover a wide range of portable and/or installed detectors based on various detection mechanisms. Among others, Geiger-Müller tube detectors are most used for this purpose, more frequently so in non-governmental networks. Since these devices can often produce unreliable data, their dosimetry properties need to be thoroughly assessed. Evaluation of dosemeter performance in terms of response to influence quantity variation in laboratory conditions and on-site via a comparison and a long-term measurement campaign in the vicinity of a nuclear facility was done. A wide range of photon energies from 33 keV up to 1.25 MeV, angles of incidence up to ±90°, and dose rates in the range from near-background level fluctuations to high dose rates were examined under laboratory conditions. In addition to the on-site comparison with a reference instrument a measurement uncertainty budget was estimated for operational measurements in the environmental monitoring applications