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[Display omitted] Photocatalytic decomposition of water for hydrogen production using semiconductor photocatalysts in visible light is considered one of the most promising environmentally friendly ways to produce hydrogen. In this work, the calcination method was adopted to prepare an efficient Cu 3 P/WSe 2 /CNTs composite photocatalysts. Cu 3 P and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used as co-catalysts to reduce the composite rate of the photogenerated supports of the photocatalyst. The unique metallic properties of Cu 3 P as a transition metal phosphide makes it a cost-effective alternative to noble metal co-catalysts. CNTs can serve both as co-catalysts and as a suitable carrier to accelerate the transfer rate of photogenerated electrons. The experimental results showed that the Cu 3 P/WSe 2 /CNTs composite photocatalyst exhibited stronger activities in photocatalytic hydrogen production than pure WSe 2. In particular, a higher quantum yield of 30.27% at the range 400–700 nm was achieved with a loading of 4% CNTs, a calcination temperature of 300 °C and a calcination time of 2.0 h. In contrast, the quantum yield of pure WSe 2 was only 14.01%. The highest hydrogen production rate was 6.987 mL in 4.0 h, and the average hydrogen production rate was 712.985 μmol·h-1g−1, which was 2.39 times higher than that of pure WSe 2.The catalytic memory performance of the composite samples was also examined. The results indicated that the best catalytic memory performance was achieved under the pre-illumination condition of 5.0 h. The amount of hydrogen produced under darkness for 4.0 h was up to 4.934 mL and the average hydrogen production rate was 503.454 μmol·h-1g−1. The average hydrogen production rate was 1.69 times higher than the average hydrogen production rate of pure WSe 2 under light conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space-confined growth of nanoscale MOFs in hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres was achieved by a general "stepwise vacuum evaporation" strategy, the Pd functionalized of which showed excellent activity in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol. [Display omitted] • Space-confined growth of nanoscale MOFs in hollow mesoporous silica was achieved. • A general "stepwise vacuum evaporation" strategy is proposed. • UiO-66-NH 2 @HMSN can further modify Pd to form functionalized materials. • UiO-66-NH 2 /Pd@HMSN exhibits excellent activity in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The development of confined growth of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in a nano-space remains a challenge mainly due to the spatial size randomness and inhomogeneity of host materials and the limitation of MOF species. In this study, we developed a general "stepwise vacuum evaporation" strategy, which allows the nano-confined growth of MOFs in hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres (HMSN) by the vacuum forces and the capillary effect. A series of nanoscale MOFs including ZIF-8, ZIF-90, HKUST-1, MIL-53(Cr) and UiO-66-NH 2 were confinely synthesized inside the cavities of HMSN, resulting in hierarchically porous composites with core-shell structures. Further functionalization was studied by anchoring Pd to obtain UiO-66-NH 2 /Pd@HMSN catalyst, which exhibited excellent activity in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol under ambient condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photocatalytic reduction of uranium from nuclear wastewater represents a promising method for both uranium extraction and environmental remediation. This approach facilitates the recovery of uranium resources for the nuclear industry while addressing environmental pollution. Despite significant research advancements, there remains a need for cost-effective and environmentally friendly catalytic materials. In this context, we present a two non-metal O, P co-doped g-C 3 N 4 (OPCN) synthesized via a simple one-step thermo-polymerization in air. OPCN demonstrates a high uranium reduction efficiency of 94.9 % under white LED light illumination. Even after five cycles, OPCN maintained a reduction efficiency of 81.7 %, highlighting its stability and reusability. Additionally, OPCN also performs effectively in uranium reduction under natural sunlight and exhibits impressive antimicrobial properties. These features position OPCN as a promising candidate for practical environmental applications. O, P-doped g-C 3 N 4 (OPCN) was synthesized by one-step thermal polymerization in the air. The hexavalent uranium was effectively reduced to tetravalent uranium under white LED irradiation. And it has good stability and reusability. Additionally, OPCN showed excellent catalytic performance for uranium reduction under natural sunlight and exhibited notable antimicrobial properties, making it a potential candidate for practical environmental applications. [Display omitted] • One kind of two non-metal O, P co-doped g-C 3 N 4 (OPCN) is easily synthesized by one-step thermo-polymerization in the air. • OPCN shows a high uranium-reduction efficiency of 94.9 % under white LED light illumination. • After five cycle experiments, the favorable reduction ability (81.7 %) is till obtained, demonstrating the favorable stability and reusability of OPCN. • The good catalytic result of uranium reduction under real sunlight and its fine antimicrobial properties makes OPCN a potential photocatalytic material applied in practical environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2,4,6-Trinitrophenol (TNP) is a particularly hazardous nitro-explosive environmental pollutant and has high water solubility. Therefore, selective and sensitive detection of TNP is a challenging issue. In this work, a new zinc (II) coordination polymer Zn 5 (5HQ) 6 (NDC) 2 (HNU-63) based on the mixed ligands 5-chloro-8-hydroxyquinoline and 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid has been constructed. HNU-63 exhibits good chemical stability in water, common organic solvents and acid-base solutions in the pH range of 2–10. It is discovered that HNU-63 can selectively and sensitively detect TNP by fluorescent quenching in aqueous conditions. The quenching constant is 1.65 ​× ​104 ​M−1 for TNP with the low detection limit of 3.4 ​× ​10−8 ​M. Besides, the mechanism of fluorescent quenching was revealed from the viewpoints of photoinduced electron transfer (PET) and competitive absorption. HNU-63 has been successfully constructed by zinc and mixed ligands under the solvothermal condition, which can be used as a TNP sensor in aqueous condition with high selectivity and sensitivity. [Display omitted] • A water-stable zinc coordination polymer HNU-63 as a luminescent sensor was synthesized. • HNU-63 showed high selectivity and sensitivity to 2,4,6-trinitrophenol with low detection limit in aqueous media. • The test strips of HNU-63 were also successfully designed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the facile synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is necessary for their future industrial applications. In this work, the former reported a three dimensional (3D) tetrahedral imidazolate framework TIF-A1 with formula as Zn(int)(ad)•DMF (Hint ​= ​isonicotinic acid, Had ​= ​adenine) has been synthesized by various facile methods. Interestingly, TIF-A1 can be easily obtained by heating reactants at 120 ​°C in short time (30 ​min) with high yield (ca. 83%), which are furtherly used to realize the upscale synthesis (>800 ​g) of TIF-A1. More importantly, highly crystalline TIF-A1 showed high adsorption selectivity of CO 2 over N 2 (73) and CH 4 (21) under ambient conditions. [Display omitted] • Facile methods are explored for the fast and upscale syntheses of tetrahedral imidazolate framework TIF-A1. • The as-synthesized samples exhibited high stability and porosity. • TIF-A1 exhibited high selective adsorption of CO 2 over N 2 and CH 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]