Optical coherence tomography is a well-known technique for the optical imaging biological tissues. However, the depth scanning range of high-resolution optical coherence tomography is restricted by its depth of focus. In this study, a Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) Microlens Array (MLA) is employed to overcome the depth-of-focus limitation of optical coherence tomography. The ZnSe material with a low Abbe number and high chromatic dispersion extends the depth of focus with transverse resolution. The ZnSe MLA focused the incident light (from visible to near-infrared (NIR) region) on multiple focal planes with the uniform distribution of light over a biological tissue. The MLA is designed using Zemax OpticStudio software and fabricated via a single-point diamond-turning based on Slow Tool Servo (STS) configuration. STS machining has the unique advantage of offering larger degrees of freedom with no additional baggage, thereby reducing the setup time. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the STS machining process in fabricating ZnSe MLA with desired accuracies. The characterization of fabricated MLA using Coherence Correlation Interferometry (CCI) depicts uniform lenslets with no structural and positional distortion, with a total error of 32 nm within the tolerance limit.

Herbal extract stabilized green synthesis of nanoparticles is an alternative reducing agent for chemical synthesis. In this manuscript, green synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has been performed using aqueous extract of black tea. The effect of tea extract concentration on the morphology of the particles was studied. Formation, functional groups, crystalline phase, and morphology changes of the nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis spectrophotometer, Fourier transforms spectrometer, an X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive diffraction (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled with selected area diffraction. Antibacterial activity AuNPs were studied against bacteria. It was found that as the concentration of the tea extract increased, the shape of the particles changed and finally became spherical at high concentrations. The results of this research reveal the antibacterial activity of AuNPs.

The incorporation of S-g-C₃N₄ into CuNPs resulted in enhanced electrochemical performance. The introduction of sulfur facilitated the formation of a highly conductive network within the composite material, enabling effective charge transfer and improved specific capacitance. The g-C₃N₄ matrix served as a support network, controlling the accumulation of CuNPs and delivering stability during electrochemical cycling. The optimized S-g-C₃N₄/CuNPs composite showed superior electrochemical performance, high specific capacitance, and enhanced cycling stability. In this study, a facile and scalable synthesis method was employed to fabricate S-g-C₃N₄/CuNPs composite materials on GCE. The resulting composites were characterized using different optical and microscopic techniques. The electrochemical performance of the nanocomposites was assessed via using different techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) techniques. The S-g-C₃N₄/CuNPs nanocomposite exhibited excellent electrochemical properties with a specific capacitance of 1944.18 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g and excellent cycling stability. The resultant composite material exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, making it an advantageous nominee for energy storage applications needing high power density, extended cycling life, and steadfast performance.

This study aimed to create and describe mucoadhesive nimodipine solid lipid nanoparticles as buccal tablets by altering the amounts of three polymers: Carbopol 934, Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and Hydroxyethyl cellulose. The Nimodipine-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) were formulated by high shear homogenization and ultrasonication process using palmitic and stearic acid as the lipid matrix and Tween-80 as the surfactant. The swelling properties of all formulations were investigated, and it was discovered that all formulations have a good swelling index at 6 hours. The surface pH of each batch varied between 5.6 and 6.1. The mucoadhesive strengths (15.3-29.5 g) varied with polymer concentrations, particularly Carbopol 934. All batches had considerably different dissolution profiles, ranging from a maximum release of 89.08% (at 8h in batch NT3) to a minimum release of 80.32% (at 8h in batch NT2). SLN formulations had the best results in both Entrapment efficiency and In-vitro drug release, showing that SLN may be a promising delivery strategy for improving Nimodipine release.

The research of energy-storage systems has been encouraged in the last ten years by the rapid development of portable electronic gadgets. Hybrid-ion capacitors are a novel kind of capacitor-battery hybrid energy storage device that has earned a lot of interest because of their high power density while maintaining energy density and a long lifecycle. Mostly, lithium-based energy storage technology is now being studied for use in electric grid storage. But the price increment and intermittent availability of lithium reserves make lithium-based commercialization unstable. Therefore, sodium-based technologies have been proposed as potential substitutes for lithium-based technologies. Sodium-ion capacitors (SICs) are acknowledged as potential innovative energy storage technologies which have lower standard electrode potentials and lower costs than lithium-ion capacitors. However, the large radius of the sodium ion also contributes to unfavorable reaction kinetics, low energy density, and brief lifespan of SICs. Recently, transition metal oxide (TMO)-based candidates have been considered potential due to the large theoretical capacity, environmental friendliness, and low cost for SICs. This brief study summarizes current advancements in research of TMOs and sodium-based TMOs as electrode candidates for SIC applications. Also, we have covered in detail the state of the exploration and upcoming prospects of TMOs for SICs.

Rapid tooling using additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is an emerging manufacturing technology that has the potential to revolutionize the production of complex parts using only a computer and a design program. Lightweight structures with excellent dimensional precision and lower cost for customizable geometries are possible with these printed parts. In recent years, inherent constraints of polymers, metals, and ceramics have pushed researchers toward superior alternative composite materials to boost mechanical and other critical features; current 3D printing research follows this route from neat to composite materials. The characteristics, performance, and future uses of composite materials produced using additive manufacturing methods are discussed in this review. In addition, to discuss the state of the art in additive manufacturing, this article also fabricated many technologies, including robotics, machine learning, organ-on-a-chip, and 4D bioprinting.

The contemporary era's top environmental problems include the lack of energy, recycling of waste resources, and water pollution. Due to the speedy growth of modern industrialization, the utilization of non-renewable sources has increased rapidly, which has caused many serious environmental and energy issues. In photocatalysis, as a proficient candidate, g-C₃N₄ (metal-free polymeric photocatalyst) has gained much attention due to its auspicious properties and excellent photocatalytic performance. But, regrettably, the quick recombination of photoinduced charge carriers, feeble redox ability, and inadequate visible light absorption are some major drawbacks of g-C₃N₄ that hamper its photocatalytic ability. Henceforth, these significant limitations can be solved by incorporating modification strategies. Among all modification techniques, the amalgamation of g-C₃N₄ with two or more photocatalytic semiconducting materials via heterojunction formation is more advantageous. In this review, we have discussed various modification strategies, including conventional, Z-scheme and S-scheme heterojunctions. S-scheme heterojunction is consideredan efficient and profitable charge transferal pathway due to the excellent departure and transferal of photoexcited charge carriers with outstanding redox ability. Consequently, the current review is focused on various photocatalytic applications of S-scheme-based g-C₃N₄ photocatalysts in pollutant degradation, H₂ production, and CO₂ reduction.

Functional coatings provide durability to the bulk material and add other value-added properties which enhance the surface's mechanical, electrical, optical, and many other properties. The functional response of these coatings stems from the ambiance, which can be made to sense in response to a sharp change in the temperature, pH, moisture, active ions, or mechanical stresses. Recently, many efforts have been made to impart multi-functionality within a single coating, i.e., to achieve hydrophobicity and antifouling characteristics, which can be achieved by combining an appropriate coating material with a geometric nanopattern. Such coatings are poised to shape the future of the transport, healthcare, and energy sectors, including marine, aeronautics, automobile, petrochemical, biomedical, electrical and electronic industries. This perspective sheds light on the design specifications and requirements to fabricate functional coatings and critically discusses the fabrication methods, working principles, and case studies to survey various applications with a particular focus on anti-corrosion and self-cleaning applications.