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This study successfully developed a bio-based, photocurable, anionic-nonionic dual-functional chain extender, and sulfonated cardanol-based polyethylene glycol (SCP), derived from renewable resources-cardanol and polyethylene glycol-for application in waterborne polyurethane dispersions (WPUDs). Utilizing SCP as a chain extender, WPUDs were prepared through a typical acetone process with poly(butylene adipate) (PBA), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), and ethylene diamine (EDA) at a constant NCO/OH ratio of 1:1. This research focused on the effects of polyethylene glycol molecular weight and SCP dosage on the particle size, stability, and film-forming properties of the WPUD. Optimal dispersion stability and film-forming performance were achieved with a polyethylene glycol molecular weight of 1500 and a PBA to SCP molar ratio of 4:1, yielding a particle size of 0.326 ± 0.010 μm and excellent storage stability over six months. The resulting WPU coatings exhibited a tensile strength of 11.4 MPa, which increased to 16.8 MPa after UV irradiation owing to the formation of a semi-interpenetrating network via the photopolymerization of cardanol's unsaturated side chains. UV cross-linking also enhanced water resistance, reducing the water absorption rate (WAR) from 18.68% to 4.21% and the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) from 6.59 × 10 -5 g·m⁻¹·Pa⁻¹·d⁻¹ to 2.26 × 10⁻⁵ g·m⁻¹·Pa⁻¹·d⁻¹, while also improving thermal stability. These findings demonstrate that SCP offers a sustainable and effective solution for developing high-performance WPU coatings.

High-energy-density Li-CO 2 batteries are promising candidates for large-capacity energy storage systems. However, the development of Li-CO 2 batteries has been hindered by low cycle life and high overpotential. In this study, we propose a CO 2 -based thermoplastic polyurethane (CO 2 -based TPU) with CO 2 adsorption properties and excellent self-healing performance to replace traditional polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as the cathode binder. The CO 2 -based TPU enhances the interfacial concentration of CO 2 at the cathode/electrolyte interfaces, effectively increasing the discharge voltage and lowering the charge voltage of Li-CO 2 batteries. Moreover, the CO 2 fixed by urethane groups (-NH-COO-) in the CO 2 -based TPU are difficult to shuttle to and corrode the Li anode, minimizing CO 2 side reactions with lithium metal and improving the cycling performance of Li-CO 2 batteries. In this work, Li-CO 2 batteries with CO 2 -based TPU as the multifunctional binders exhibit stable cycling performance for 52 cycles at a current density of 0.2 A g -1 , with a distinctly lower polarization voltage than PVDF bound Li-CO 2 batteries.

The treatment of wastewater containing hypophosphite [P(I)] and phosphite [P(III)] is challenged by limitations of traditional Fenton oxidation such as low efficiency, secondary pollution and high costs. This study introduced a facile solvent-thermal method to synthesize Cu-Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles uniformly loaded on graphene (Cu-Co 3 O 4 /U-rGO) through the reduction and coordination effects of urushiol (U). As prepared Cu-Co 3 O 4 /U-rGO exhibited excellent activity in activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the oxidation of P(I)/P(III) to phosphate [P(V)] (0.229 min -1 ), along with high stability and reusability (91.5 % after 6 cycles), low metal leaching rate (Co: 0.2 mg/L, Cu: 0.05 mg/L), insensitivity to common anions in water and a wide pH range (3-11). The activation mechanism involved the synergistic effects from both urushiol and graphene, which promoted redox of Cu + /Cu 2+ and Co 2+ /Co 3+ and induced abundant oxygen vacancies for PMS activation to produce singlet oxygen. Furthermore, the Cu-Co 3 O 4 /U-rGO/PMS was also excellent in the oxidative removal of organic phosphorus. This study is expected to advance strategies for the treatment of P(I)/P(III)-rich wastewater and provide new insights for the development of low-cost, highly efficient heterogeneous catalysts with abundant oxygen vacancies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Host-associated gut microbial communities are key players in shaping the fitness and health of animals. However, most current studies have focused on the gut bacteria, neglecting important gut fungal and archaeal components of these communities. Here, we investigated the gut fungi and archaea community composition in Large White piglets using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, and systematically evaluated how community composition association with gut microbiome, functional capacity, and serum metabolites varied across three weaning periods., Results: We found that Mucoromycota, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the most common fungi phyla and Euryarchaeota was the most common archaea phyla across individuals. We identified that Methanosarcina siciliae was the most significantly different archaea species among three weaning periods, while Parasitella parasitica, the only differential fungi species, was significantly and positively correlated with Methanosarcina siciliae enriched in day 28 group. The random forest analysis also identified Methanosarcina siciliae and Parasitella parasitica as weaning-biased archaea and fungi at the species level. Additionally, Methanosarcina siciliae was significantly correlated with P. copri and the shifts of functional capacities of the gut microbiome and several CAZymes in day 28 group. Furthermore, characteristic successional alterations in gut archaea, fungi, bacteria, and serum metabolites with each weaning step revealed a weaning transition coexpression network, e.g., Methanosarcina siciliae and P. copri were positively and significantly correlated with 15-HEPE, 8-O-Methyloblongine, and Troxilin B3., Conclusion: Our findings provide a deep insight into the interactions among gut archaea, fungi, bacteria, and serum metabolites and will present a theoretical framework for understanding gut bacterial colonization and succession association with archaea during piglet weaning transitions., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The one-step synthesis method of nitrogen doped microporous carbon monoliths derived from biomass with high-efficiency is developed using a novel ammonia (NH3)-assisted activation process, where NH3 serves as both activating agent and nitrogen source. Both pore forming and nitrogen doping simultaneously proceed during the process, obviously superior to conventional chemical activation. The as-prepared nitrogen-doped active carbons exhibit rich micropores with high surface area and high nitrogen content. Synergetic effects of its high surface area, microporous structure and high nitrogen content, especially rich nitrogen-containing groups for effective CO2 capture (i.e., phenyl amine and pyridine-nitrogen) lead to superior CO2/N2 selectivity up to 82, which is the highest among known nanoporous carbons. In addition, the resulting nitrogen-doped active carbons can be easily regenerated under mild conditions. Considering the outstanding CO2 capture performance, low production cost, simple synthesis procedure and easy scalability, the resulting nitrogen-doped microporous carbon monoliths are promising candidates for selective capture of CO2 in industrial applications.

Hollow nanostructures represent a unique class of functional nanomaterials with many applications. In this work, a one-pot and unusual "pumpkin-carving" protocol is demonstrated for engineering mesoporous single-crystal hollow structures with multilevel interiors. Single-crystal CoSn(OH)6 nanoboxes with uniform size and porous shell are synthesized by fast growth of CoSn(OH)6 nanocubes and kinetically-controlled etching in alkaline medium. Detailed investigation on reaction course suggests that the formation of a passivation layer of Co(III) species around the liquid-solid interface is critical for the unusual hollowing process. With reasonable understanding on the mechanism involved, this approach shows high versatility for the synthesis of CoSn(OH)6 hollow architectures with a higher order of interior complexity, such as yolk-shell particles and multishelled nanoboxes. The obtained CoSn(OH)6 hollow nanostructures can be easily converted to hollow nanostructures of tin-based ternary metal oxides with excellent photocatalytic and electrochemical properties.

Uniform urchin-like α-FeOOH hollow spheres assembled from nanoneedles have been synthesized via a facile and green one-pot method. By simply adjusting the amount of glycerol in the reaction system, hierarchical urchin-like α-FeOOH solid spheres or hollow spheres can be obtained. When evaluated for the potential use in water treatment, it is found that the as-obtained uniform urchin-like α-FeOOH hollow spheres exhibit excellent capability for removing both organic dye and heavy metal ions in waste water., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)