In this study, we have investigated the influence of crystallinity, phase ratio and heterojunction formation on the sensing performance of ZnO/ZnFe2O4 (ZnO/ZFO) nanocomposites-based electrochemical sensors for detection of furazolidone (FZD)...

In this work we have demonstrated a powerful disinfectant ability of colloidal silver nanoparticles (NPs) for the prevention of gastrointestinal bacterial infections. The silver NPs colloid was synthesized by a UV-enhanced chemical precipitation. Two gastrointestinal bacterial strains of Escherichia coli (ATCC 43888-O157:k-:H7) and Vibrio cholerae (O1) were used to verify the antibacterial activity of the as-prepared silver NPs colloid by means of surface disinfection assay in agar plates and turbidity assay in liquid media. Transmission electron microscopy was also employed to analyze the ultrastructural changes of bacterial cells caused by silver NPs. Noticeably, our silver NPs colloid displayed a highly effective bactericidal effect against two tested gastrointestinal bacterial strains at a silver concentration as low as ∼3 mg l −1. More importantly, the silver NPs colloid showed an enhancement of antibacterial activity and long-lasting disinfectant effect as compared to conventional chloramin B (5%) disinfection agent. These advantages of the as-prepared colloidal silver NPs make them very promising for environmental treatments contaminated with gastrointestinal bacteria and other infectious pathogens. Moreover, the powerful disinfectant activity of silver-containing materials can also help in controlling and preventing further outbreak of diseases.

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An ultrabroad-band metamaterial absorber was investigated in mid-IR regime based on a similar model in previous work. The high absorption of metamaterial was obtained in a band of 8–11.7 THz with energy loss distributed in SiO2, which is appropriate potentially for solar-cell applications. A perfect absorption peak was provided by using a sandwich structure with periodical anti-dot pattern in the IR region, getting closed to visible-band metamaterials. The dimensional parameters were examined for the corresponding fabrication.