Various criteria of formation of perovskites and KzNiF4-type compounds, which are the end members of homologous Ruddlesden-Popper series of phases, have been discussed. RP-phases show some general trends in their physical properties. Literature survey of the formation of these phases, their properties, and effect of oxygen stoich|ometry and doping is presented. Some conditions for their synthesis are also described.

In this study, an eco-friendly, cost-effective, and convenient method for preparing biocompatible fluorescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) by one-pot microwave assisted synthesis from the leaf extract of the medicinal plant Calotropis gigantea, also known as crown flower, has been demonstrated. As-synthesized CQDs demonstrated fluorescence quantum yields up to 4.24 percent. The size distribution of the as-synthesized CQDs varied from 2.7 to 10.4 nm, with a significant proportion of sp 2 and sp 3 carbon groups verified by nuclear magnetic resonance analysis.The zeta potential of as-synthesized CQDs was measured to be -13.8 mV, indicating the existence of a negatively charged surface with incipient instability in aqueous suspension. Furthermore, as an alternative to organic or synthetic dyes, the development of simple, inexpensive, and non-destructive fluorescence-based staining agents are highly desired. In this regard, as-synthesized CQDs shown remarkable fluorescent staining capabilities in this work and may be utilised as a suitable probe for optical and bio-imaging of bacteria, fungi, and plant cells.

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Silica-capped Zinc Sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles were synthesized for the use as stable and long-term antibacterial agents because silica is a very important component in food packaging applications for moisture absorption in tune with its property of biocompatibility and water solubility. The variation in morphological and optical properties of core-shell nanostructures was studied by changing the concentration of silica in a core-shell combination. The structural and morphological properties of silica-capped ZnS have been observed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) studies, respectively. Uncapped ZnS nanoparticles with particle size of 2-4 nm in a highly agglomerated state have been observed from TEM, which shows that they can be used only for short-term antibacterial action despite its excellent zone of inhibition (antibiotic sensitivity). However, ZnS/SiO 2 core-shell nanostructures are highly monodisperse in nature and the particle size increases up to 5-8 nm with increase in silica concentration. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirms the formation of silica capping on the ZnS surface. The inhibition of defect-related emission by silica capping in energy-resolved photoluminescence studies also shows the formation of very stable ZnS nanoparticles. To study the antibacterial properties of the pure and silica-capped ZnS nanostructure the agar-well diffusion method was employed against both grampositive and gram-negative bacteria. The obtained results indicate that pure ZnS shows excellent antibacterial action but it can last only for few days. K E Y W O R D S

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