In this study, the effect of ZnO nanoparticles (Zn NPs) on the performance of epoxy resin composites was investigated. The new ZnO/epoxy resin composites were synthesized using halloysite nanotubes (HNT) and different types of ZnO nanoparticles (commercial ZnO and ZnO-ODTES). These ZnO nanoparticles were utilized for intending to enhance the interfacial bonding between the epoxy resin and the reinforcement. Various methods such as FTIR, TGA, DSC, TEM-EDX, and Nanoindentation analyses were used to prove that the ZnO nanoparticles can improve the properties of epoxy resin composites. The thermal properties of the epoxy resin composites were enhanced to a greater extent by the addition of ZnO NPS. DSC testing proved that the epoxy resin composites modified with ZnO NPS are more flexible and elastic than unmodified epoxy resin. It was seen that the epoxy resin modified with ZnO-ODTES shows a much improved hardness and penetration depth compared to the other samples. These findings can pave the way for the developing of ZnO-based marine coatings with improved properties.

Several strategies promote phyllosphere colonization by soil-born Trichoderma plant-beneficial strains. One of these is foliar spraying with suspensions containing large amounts of chlamydospores – spores with a thick cell wall structure that makes them highly resistant to harsh environmental conditions. Trichoderma biomass was produced by cultivation on cornmeal medium and compared by microscopic and thermogravimetric analysis with the biomass produced in potato dextrose broth. Both analyses revealed higher chlamydospores content and thicker mycelium in the fungal biomass produced on cornmeal medium. The Trichoderma suspension rich in chlamydospores was sprayed on bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) leaves at two concentration levels, 106 and 108 ufc/ml. The effect of these treatments on plant physiological parameters, leaf photosynthetic pigments, polyphenol and flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity of leaves and fruits and yield was compared to the control (plants sprayed with water) and to the experimental treatment sprayed with 108 ufc propagules produced in potato dextrose broth. The effect of chlamydospore-rich suspensions on plant physiological parameters was more pronounced and long-lasting compared with the other treatments. The treatment with chlamydospore-rich suspension enhanced the accumulation of polyphenols and flavonoids in the leaves and fruits and increased the antioxidant activity. The application of the foliar treatment with Trichoderma suspensions did not modify the cytocompatibility of the extracts from fruits determined on L929 cells.

The bimetallic (Ta/(Ti, V, Co, Nb) mesoporous MCM-41 nanoparticles were obtained by direct synthesis and hydrothermal treatment. The obtained mesoporous materials were characterized by XRD, XRF, N2 adsorption/desorption, SEM, TEM, XPS, Raman, UV-Vis, PL spectroscopy. A more significant effect was observed on mesoporous structure, typi-cally for MCM-41, and optic properties if the second metal (Ti, Co) does not belong to the same Vb group with Ta as V, Nb. The obtained new nanoparticles were used as catalysts for oxidation with H2O2 of olefinic compounds (1,4 cyclohexadiene, cyclohexene, styrene) and photodegradation of organic pollutants (phenol, methyl orange) from water. The re-sults showed improving of activity and selectivity in oxidation reactions by addition of the second metal to Ta-MCM-41 catalyst. The slow addition of H2O2 was also be benefit for the selectivity in epoxide products and stability of the catalysts. The band gap energy values decrease in the presence of the second metal and the band edge diagram evidenced posi-tive potential for all the conduction band of the bimetallic samples except TaTi-MCM-41. The higher photocatalytic degradation was obtained for samples with TaTi and TaV.