This study focused on the formulation and characterization of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) functionalized with d-limonene. The nanoparticles were functionalized by phase inversion and the synthesis of the nanoparticles was performed in situ; particle size was determined by laser diffraction, zeta potential and optical colloidal stability using Multiscan 20 for a period of 24 hours at 37 °C; the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the formulated material on Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Klebsiella oxytoca ATCC 700324, Enterococcus casseliflavus ATCC 700327, Escherichia coli BLEE, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomona aeruginosa were determined. The nanoparticles showed colloidal stability at a d-limonene concentration of 3.93%, silver ions at 1.61 × 10⁻³%, non-ionic adjuvant at 24% and ascorbic acid at 5.88%; citric acid/citrate (1:1) 0.48M for a pH of 4.5 was used as a buffer system. The formulation was classified as a polydisperse system (PD = 0.0851), with a zeta potential of −11.6 mV and average particle size of 81.5 ± 0.9 nm. A particle migration velocity of −0.199 ± 0.006 mm∙h⁻¹, a constant transmission profile and backscattering profile with variations of 10% were evidenced, which represents a stable formulation. The nanoparticles presented an MIC and an MBC of 28 μg∙mL⁻¹ (5.6 × 10⁻²% d-limonene and 4.7 × 10⁻⁵% AgNP) against all tested bacteria.

The Cu_2–xSe nanoparticles were synthesized by high temperature pyrolysis, modified with aminated polyethylene glycol in aqueous solution and loaded with compound 2,2′–azobis[2–(2–imidazolin–2–yl)propane] dihydrochloride (AIPH). The obtained nanomaterials can induce photothermal effect and use heat to promote the generation of toxic AIPH radicals under the irradiation of near-infrared laser (808 nm), which can effectively kill cancer cells. A series of in vitro experiments can preliminarily prove that Cu_2–xSe–AIPH nanomaterials have strong photothermal conversion ability, good biocompatibility and anticancer properties.

In this paper silver nanoparticles (NPs) which are synthesized by a simple plasma arc discharge method, that is a kind of electrochemical methods, are examined. The method is very simple and silver NPs are obtained very fast by means of two polished silver plates and electrochemical cell. The effects of changing some terms of the experiment including using Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), temperature and the medium of experiment on oxygen percent and crystalline structure of silver NPs have been studied by transmission electron microscopy, UV-visible spectrophotometery, and X-ray diffraction. Water medium gets larger nanoparticles with less oxygen content compare to air medium. The size of synthesized nanoparticles become smaller and they also become more spherical by using H₂O₂ in air medium. In water medium, the size and concentration of the silver crystallite increase by temperature growth and adding H₂O₂  respectively. 

This review summarizes some of the recent advances related to shallow penetration conformance sealants (SPCS) based on cross-linked polymer nanocomposite gels. The cross-linked polymer nanocomposite gels formed a three-dimensional (3D) gel structure upon contact with either water or oil when placed at the downhole. Therefore, the cross-linked polymer nanocomposite gels offer a total or partial water shutoff. Numerous polymeric gels and their nanocomposites prepared using various techniques have been explored to address the conformance problems. Nevertheless, their instability at high temperature, high pressure, and high salinity down-hole conditions (HT-HP-HS) often makes the treatments unsuccessful. Incorporating inert particles into the cross-linked polymer nanocomposite gel matrices improves stability under harsh down-hole conditions. This review discusses potential polymeric nanocomposite gels and their successful application in conformance control.

Green manufacturing is increasingly becoming popular, especially in lubricant manufacturing, as more environmentally friendly substitutes for mineral base oil and synthetic additives are being found among plant extracts and progress in methodologies for extraction and synthesis is being made. It has been observed that some of the important performance characteristics need enhancement, of which nanoparticle addition has been noted as one of the effective solutions. However, the concentration of the addictive that would optimised the performance characteristics of interest remains a contending area of research. The research was out to find how the concentration of green synthesized aluminum oxide nanoparticles in nano lubricants formed from selected vegetable oils influences friction and wear. A bottom-up green synthesis approach was adopted to synthesize aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) from aluminum nitrate (Al(NO₃)₃) precursor in the presence of a plant-based reducing agent—Ipomoea pes-caprae. The synthesized Al₂O₃ nanoparticles were characterized using TEM and XRD and found to be mostly of spherical shape of sizes 44.73 nm. Al₂O₃ nanoparticles at different concentrations—0.1 wt%, 0.3 wt%, 0.5 wt%, 0.7 wt%, and 1.0 wt%—were used as additives to castor, jatropha, and palm kernel oils to formulate nano lubricants and tested alternately on a ball-on-aluminum (SAE 332) and low-carbon steel Disc Tribometer. All the vegetable-based oil nano lubricants showed a significant decrease in the coefficient of friction (CoF) and wear rate with Ball-on-(aluminum SAE 332) disc tribometer up to 0.5wt% of the nanoparticle: the best performances (e_COF = 92.29; e_WR = 79.53) came from Al₂O₃-castor oil nano lubricant and Al₂O₃-palm kernel oil; afterwards, they started to increase. However, the performance indices displayed irregular behaviour for both COF and Wear Rate (WR) when tested on a ball-on-low-carbon steel Disc Tribometer.

Oil spill clean-up is a long-standing challenge for researchers to prevent serious environmental pollution. A new kind of oil-absorbent based on silicon-containing polymers (e.g., poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)) with high absorption capacity and excellent reusability was prepared and used for oil-water separation. The PDMS-based oil absorbents have highly interconnected pores with swellable skeletons, combining the advantages of porous materials and gels. On the other hand, polymer/silica composites have been extensively studied as high-performance functional coatings since, as an organic/inorganic composite material, they are expected to combine polymer flexibility and ease of processing with mechanical properties. Polymer composites with increased impact resistance and tensile strength without decreasing the flexibility of the polymer matrix can be achieved by incorporating silica nanoparticles, nanosand, or sand particles into the polymeric matrices. Therefore, polymer/silica composites have attracted great interest in many industries. Some potential applications, including high-performance coatings, electronics and optical applications, membranes, sensors, materials for metal uptake, etc., were comprehensively reviewed. In the first part of the review, we will cover the recent progress of oil absorbents based on silicon-containing polymers (PDMS). In the later details of the review, we will discuss the recent developments of functional materials based on polymer/silica composites, sand, and nanosand systems.