http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/67681 2026-10-09T18:37:24Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/67695 Title: A novel Iraqi Prunus Domestica gum and lignin as natural precursors for the development of hydrogels for the slow release of thiamethoxam Authors: A. Shaheed, Majeed; Nandal, Manu; Kumar, Devendra; K. Gupta, Rajinder Abstract: Sustainability, which addresses the challenges of agricultural issues, requires the development of hydrogel-based systems. For this purpose, new hydrogels have been synthesized via free radical copolymerization using Iraqi Prunus domestica gums (IPDG) and lignosulfonic acid sodium salt (LS), and were analyzed by FTIR, ¹³C NMR, FESEM, XRD, and TGA techniques. The swelling capacities are 165.357 g.g⁻¹ of LS-IPDG-g-SAH, 159.267 g.g⁻¹ of LS-g-SAH, and 156.469 g.g⁻¹ of IPDG-g-SAH hydrogel formulations. The pH 7.2 exhibited the maximum swelling in distilled water compared to alkali and acidic media. The release behaviour of thiamethoxam in distilled water has been modeled using the Korsmeyer–Peppas, Weibull, and Higuchi models. Up to 92 h, 27.793%, 25.447%, and 23.538% of the pesticide are released from LS-IPDG-g-SAH, LS-g-SAH, and IPDG-g-SAH, respectively. For soil application, the trend of water evaporation is in the decreasing sequence: blank soil > IPDG-g-SAH >LS-g-SAH >LS-IPDG-g-SAH after 12 days. These results generally present the prospects of hydrogels as environmentally friendly materials for agrochemical applications, providing opportunities for the controlled delivery of pesticides and increased resource efficiency. Additionally, the novel approach by incorporating IPDG and lignin-based hydrogels makes it of fantastic value in the field of potential agricultural development. Page(s): 149-169 2026-03-01T00:00:00Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/67694 Title: Development and experimental characterization of a portable six-cell alkaline electrolyzer using 316L stainless steel electrodes Authors: Kozimjon ugli Bakhramov, Shokhrukhbek; Ibragimovich Ismailov, Astan Abstract: A small alkaline water electrolyzer with a six-cell capacity, using 316L stainless steel as electrodes, has been designed and described to produce distributed hydrogen. Both electrodes have widths of 130 mm, heights of 170 mm, a thickness of 1 mm, and an active surface area of 221 cm². Potassium hydroxide electrolyte at four concentrations (10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% w/w) at atmospheric pressure and temperatures of 25-70°C is used to test the system. Using the ADC-3303D regulated power supply (12.5V/10A, 125W), we obtained a constant average current of 7.75 A at all concentrations. An SD-6000 flowmeter is used to measure hydrogen production with maximum output recorded at 30% KOH concentration and 70°C, 3.8 L/h. The purity of hydrogen is determined by gas chromatography analysis to be more than 99.5% in the absence of moisture. The results of the prolonged testing of greater than 1000 h showed the rate of corrosion of the electrode as low as 0.008 mm/year. It was shown that the system could perform optimally at 30% KOH with a thermoneutral potential efficiency of 72% and a Faraday efficiency of 96%. Its small size (15x20x25 cm) allows industrial applications to be deployed portably. Economic estimates show that the production of hydrogen will cost $28/kg at 2000 h per year of operation. Page(s): 170-181 2026-03-01T00:00:00Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/67693 Title: Mechanical, dynamic mechanical and thermal analysis of casuarina leaf fibre and moringa gum filler reinforced epoxy biocomposite Authors: Nalini Suja, R.; Sridevi, B.; Sutha, A.; Vimalanathan, P.; Selwyn Jebadurai, D.; Chitra, M. Abstract: These days, the automotive sector and manufacturing industries have begun adopting renewable materials due to public awareness of the usage of polymers and severe legal pressures surrounding their use. This research is focused on using casuarina leaf fibre as reinforcement in an epoxy matrix together with natural moringa gum filler since natural fibre reinforced composites are essential for the development of lightweight structural materials. It is observed that the synergistic impact of fibre and natural filler improved adhesion and stress is transferred more evenly across the reinforcements. The mechanical, viscoelastic, thermal and biodegradability properties have been investigated on incorporation of 4,8,12,16 and 20v/v % of moringa gum in casuarina epoxy composite and the results indicated that the addition of moringa gum filler increased the tensile, flexural and impact strength of the composites indicating that moringa gum is a promising filler. Using thermogravimetric analysis, Differential Scanning Calorimetric analysis, it is found that the development of hybrid composites increased thermal stability, with distinct degradation patterns Page(s): 182-195 2026-03-01T00:00:00Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/67692 Title: Voltammetric determination of copper(II) ion using cyanex 921 modified pencil graphite electrodes Authors: Cetinkaya, B.; Sardohan Koseoglu, T.; Percin Ozkorucuklu, S.; Koseoglu, H. Abstract: In this study, polymer-based modified electrodes (PGE/PPy and PGE/PPy/Cyanex 921) based on pencil graphite electrodes (PGE) have been prepared for the determination of copper(II) ions. Parameters such as the number of cycles, scan rate, and solution pH have been optimized to prepare the electrodes. As a result of the analyses, the optimum number of cycles is determined to be 8 for the PGE/PPy and PGE/PPy/Cyanex 921 electrodes. The scan rate is 40 mV/s for PGE and 80 mV/s for PGE/PPy and PGE/PPy/Cyanex 921 electrodes. The pH value of the analysis medium is set to 2 for both the PGE and PGE/PPy electrodes and 3 for the PGE/PPy/Cyanex 921 electrode. The electrodes are prepared using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique. The performance of the electrodes in the determination of copper(II) ions was investigated using the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) method. As a result of experiments with the electrodes, linearity is obtained in the ranges of 20–200 ppm (R²=0.9991) for the PGE electrode, 20–150 ppm (R²=0.9983) for the PGE/PPy electrode, and 20–140 ppm (R²=0.9991) for the PGE/PPy/Cyanex 921 electrode. The limits of detection (LOD) for the PGE, PGE/PPy, and PGE/PPy/Cyanex 921 electrodes are found to be 3.60, 3.51, and 2.15 ppm, respectively (S/N=3). Interference effect experiments showed that the selectivity and sensitivity of the PGE/PPy/Cyanex 921 electrode for copper(II) are not significantly affected by the presence of interfering species. The developed electrodes are used to determine copper(II) ions added to water samples by the standard addition method, and the recovery values of the method were close to 100%. Page(s): 196-206 2026-03-01T00:00:00Z