Ali Gelir

In this study, we aimed at developing an innovative digital image colorimetry (DIC) system, designated CAS-t, which integrates advanced hardware and software components. The CAS-t platform includes a fully enclosed illumination chamber with uniform LED lighting diffused by a polyethylene material, a camera positioned 25 cm above a 96-well microplate with an additional lens to reduce lateral distortion, and an adjustable exposure time to optimize performance. An image-processing algorithm within a Python workflow detects circular wells in a microplate, applies median filtering, and extracts RGB intensities analyzed via principal component analysis (PCA). The experimental results obtained from phenol red (PR) and indigo carmine (IC) indicators demonstrated that exposure time significantly influences the sensitivity and measurable concentration ranges, thereby allowing tunable detection parameters. For IC, increasing exposure time from 1 to 5 ms increased the slope magnitude from −0.014 to −0.027 µM⁻¹, whereas PR showed the opposite trend. Compared with the reflected-light systems and smartphone cameras, CAS-t achieved approximately two-fold higher sensitivity (−27.0 versus −14.0 µM⁻¹) and markedly improved precision (RSD: 5.75% versus 25.39%). As a proof concept, Fe(II) content in a pharmaceutical sample was quantified by performing CAS-t system calibrated using standard solutions (0.1–5.0 mg L⁻¹) of Fe(II) versus PC1 as the most sensitive and linear color channel (R² = 0.999). Validation against the reference UV-Vis spectrometer showed strong statistical agreement at 95% confidence (p > 0.05), confirming the reliability of the 7 ms as optimal exposure time chosen based on sensitivity and linearity analyses. Consequently, this integrated hardware-software approach offers a standardized framework for DIC assays with broad adaptability across diverse chemical and biochemical applications.

Transition metal borides (MBenes) have recently emerged as an intriguing family of two-dimensional materials owing to their exceptional electrical conductivity, mechanical robustness, and chemical stability. Nevertheless, experimental investigations of MBenes remain relatively limited and have predominantly focused on Mo- and Cr-based systems, while Mn-based MBenes have received considerably less experimental attention, with only a limited number of Mn-containing systems reported to date. Herein, we report the experimental synthesis of an Mn-based MBene-like material via controlled hydrochloric acid de-aluminization of the layered Mn₂AlB₂ MAB precursor, yielding a partially de-aluminized Mn₂Al₁₋ₓB₂ structure with a characteristic MBene-like architecture. Comprehensive structural investigations using powder XRD, SEM, HRTEM, SAED, elemental mapping, and XPS demonstrate successful selective Al extraction while preserving the integrity of the Mn–B framework, accompanied by expanded interlayer spacing, an accordion-like layered morphology, and surface oxygen-containing functional groups that are favorable for electrochemical reactions. The optimized Mn₂Al₁₋ₓB₂ electrode exhibits stable pseudocapacitive charge-storage behavior in an alkaline electrolyte with low internal resistance and excellent electrochemical reversibility. When integrated into a planar tandem supercapacitor configuration with activated carbon, the device delivers a specific capacitance of 88.6 F g⁻¹, an energy density of 49.25 Wh kg⁻¹, and a power density of 500 W kg⁻¹. More importantly, this work provides systematic experimental insights into the structure–property–performance relationship of Mn-based MBene-related materials, contributing to a deeper understanding of their structural evolution and electrochemical behavior. The presented synthesis strategy further expands the compositional diversity of MBene-based materials and opens new opportunities for the rational design of transition-metal borides for next-generation electrochemical energy storage applications.

Two types of devices were considered: one is the combination of activated carbon electrodes and pectin-Ca hydrogel electrolytes (AC-E), and another one involving spray-coated hydrogel electrodes/electrolytes based on pectin/activated carbon composite (P@AC-E). NH₄Cl was selected as the ion source in the electrolyte layer, while CaCl₂ was introduced to cross-link the pectin matrix. The structures were confirmed by FTIR and rheological analyses. Electrochemical analyses revealed the performance of the AC-E device exhibiting a specific capacitance, energy and power densities of around 15 Fg⁻¹, 1 Whkg⁻¹, and 120 Wkg⁻¹, respectively. The P@AC-E device demonstrated enhanced electrochemical performance, achieving a specific capacitance, energy and power densities of around 40 Fg⁻¹, 6 Whkg⁻¹, and 130W kg⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) revealed a lower series resistance for the P@AC-E device compared to the AC-E device, indicating improved ionic continuity and reduced resistive losses in the fully hydrogel-based configuration. Kinetic analyses based on the b-value and Dunn’s approach suggested that charge storage involved both capacitive and diffusion-controlled mechanisms; however, a stronger surface-controlled contribution was observed for the P@AC-E device. This study demonstrates that pectin-based hydrogels can successfully function as both electrolytes and electrodes, highlighting their potential for application in flexible energy storage devices

The synthesis of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) a benchmark conducting polymer frequently researched for energy storage, conventionally relies on corrosive and toxic reagents leading to significant hazardous waste, conflicting with the principles of green and sustainable chemistry. This report introduces a fully photochemical, metal-free, and sustainable method that employs a single organic photoinitiator, phenacyl bromide (PAB), to achieve the in-situ polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) and sodium 4-styrenesulfonate (NaSS) monomers. The reaction occurs at room temperature in a benign ethanol/water solvent system. A major environmental advantage is the elimination of hazardous metal waste, replaced instead by acetophenone, a non-toxic byproduct readily removed via simple precipitation. Structural analysis confirmed the formation of the doped polymer with a PEDOT:PSS molar ratio of approximately 1:3, consistent with both Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) bulk and surface measurements, respectively. As a proof-of-concept for its application in energy storage, the resulting PEDOT:PSS/Activated Carbon composite was fabricated into a symmetric supercapacitor device demonstrating an exceptional operational durability, retaining 97% of its initial capacitance after 2000 charge–discharge cycles. Moreover, this light-driven synthesis can enable spatiotemporal control, opening new pathways for sustainable advanced manufacturing, such as 3D printing of PEDOT:PSS, in line with SDG 9 goals.

A new technique based on machine learning algorithms was introduced to detect internal wood defects. This technique relies on analyzing segmented propagation rays of stress waves and successfully generates the tomographic images of the defects by using the stress wave velocity. Utilizing a dual-stage methodology, the initial phase involves ray segmentation for the precise delineation of stress wave propagation, while the subsequent stage integrates advanced classification and clustering algorithms to facilitate the generation of tomographic images. This approach effectively tackles the inherent challenges associated with accurate segmentation and classification of stress wave velocity rays. The effectiveness of the proposed method was evaluated using both synthetic and experimental data. The results showed that the proposed method, when compared with some state-of-the-art methods, has a superior ability to accurately detect defective regions in the wood. The success of the proposed method is evaluated with four different evaluation metrics. It determined that over 90% success is achieved for all metrics. In comparison with related studies, it determined that the results are improved by 7–22% compared to the literature.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the best means of personal protection was using face masks. In this context, the World Health Organization has declared the attempts to produce masks inactivating airborne virus species a welcome initiative. This preliminary study aimed to prove that airborne germs passing through a mask filter cartridge can be destroyed by the rays emitted from UVC LEDs placed in such cartridge. We therefore designed such a face mask and tested the efficiency of UVC LEDs placed in its cartridge against common contaminants, gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus , gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and the influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 virus because of its similarity with SARS CoV-2. Eight UVC LEDs with a total power of 75 mW provided sufficient germicidal effect for all three germs. In terms of safety, ozone production released during UVC LED emission was negligible. Our findings are promising, as they show that well-designed UVC-based face masks can be effective against airborne germs, but further research on a greater sample may help us learn more and optimise such face masks.