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Carbon nanosheets are two-dimensional nanostructured materials that have applications as energy storage devices, electrochemical sensors, sample supports, filtration membranes, thanks to their high porosity and surface area. Here, for the first time, carbon nanosheets have been prepared from the stems and leaves of a nettle fibre clone, by using a cheap and straight-forward procedure that can be easily scaled up. The nanomaterial shows interesting physical parameters, namely interconnectivity of pores, graphitization, surface area and pore width. These characteristics are similar to those described for the nanomaterials obtained from other fibre crops. However, the advantage of nettle over other plants is its fast growth and easy propagation of homogeneous material using stem cuttings. This last aspect guarantees homogeneity of the starting raw material, a feature that is sought-after to get a nanomaterial with homogeneous and reproducible properties. To evaluate the potential toxic effects if released in the environment, an assessment of the impact on plant reproduction performance and microalgal growth has been carried out by using tobacco pollen cells and the green microalga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata . No inhibitory effects on pollen germination are recorded, while algal growth inhibition is observed at higher concentrations of leaf carbon nanosheets with lower graphitization degree.

Despite the growing popularity and promising properties of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) among other transparent conducting oxides (TCOs), modification of AZO with a suitable nano-catalyst can help to enhance its electrocatalytic properties. In this study, the surface of AZO is decorated with palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) by simply Pd ion capturing on bare AZO from an aqueous solution of K 2 PdCl 4 and successive reduction with NaBH 4 to enhance the electrocatalytic properties toward water oxidation. The effect of K 2 PdCl 4 concentration is optimized for optimum PdNPs-modified AZO (PdNPs-AZO) electrodes for electrochemical water oxidation. The surface morphology, elemental composition, and electrical properties of the prepared PdNPs-AZO were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and four-in-line probe, respectively. The PdNPs-AZO electrodes, prepared with various concentrations of Pd precursors, exhibited a significant change in terms of electrode sheet resistance and resistivity from each other. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were conducted in a 0.1 M NaOH (aq.) solution to achieve quantitative information about the electrodes and electrochemical reactions toward water oxidation. The PdNPs-AZO prepared with 5.0 mM K 2 PdCl 4 exhibited optimum behavior toward water oxidation with the starting oxidation potential of 625.7 mV vs. Ag/AgCl and current density of 13.8 mA cm −2 at 1.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl.