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• A three-dimensional mesoporous microsphere structural β-MnO 2 /PPy composite was obtained using a facile hydrothermal method. • The electric PPy nanowires linked each β-MnO 2 nanorods to significantly enhance the energy storage behavior of β-MnO 2. • The total capacity was dominated by the synergistic effect between the diffusion-controlled and capacitive behavior. [Display omitted] Mn-based materials as a cathode have drawn much attention in aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) for its advantages of low cost and environmental friendliness. However, the sluggish reaction kinetics and low structural stability still limit the electrochemical application of Mn-based materials. Herein, a β-MnO 2 / polypyrrole (PPy) composite was synthesized using a facile hydrothermal method. It delivered a remarkable specific discharge capacity of 361.8 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.2 A g−1 and great rate performance compared to pure MnO 2 powder. And morphological and electrochemical characterizations revealed that the enhanced electrochemical performance of β-MnO 2 /PPy composite was mainly attributed to the high conductivity of PPy nanowires and the 3D mesoporous microsphere structure, which was assembled by β-MnO 2 nanorods and PPy nanowires. This article provided a new sight of synthesizing Mn-based materials/conducting polymer composites for high-performance cathode in zinc-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this communication, a novel Er3+ complex Er(PT)3TPPO [PT=1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-tert-butylbenzoyl-5-pyrazolone, TPPO=triphenyl phosphine oxide] is successfully synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Its optical properties and the energy transfer process from the ligand PT to the Er3+ ion are investigated, the typical near-infrared (NIR) luminescence (centered at around 1530nm) is attributed to the 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 transition of Er3+ ion which results from the efficient energy transfer from PT to Er3+ ion (an antenna effect). The wider full width at half maximum (78nm) peaked at 1530nm in the emission spectrum and the Judd–Ofelt theory calculation on the radiative properties suggest that Er(PT)3TPPO should be a promising candidate for tunable lasers and planar optical amplifiers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Zn x Cd 1-x S was firstly applied to photo-Fenton system as catalyst and co-catalyst. • The ZCS-3 photo-Fenton system exhibited satisfactory catalytic performance. • The photocatalysis of that system was synergized with co-catalysis. The exploration of new catalysts or co-catalysts to promoting the circulation efficiency between Fe3+ and Fe2+ in photo-Fenton system is of great significance for sewage treatment. Herein, metallic sulfides (Zn x Cd 1-x S) with different molar ratio of Zn/Cd were constructed by a facile solvothermal technology and applied to photo-Fenton system as both catalyst and co-catalyst for the first time. The catalytic activity of photo-Fenton systems could be enhanced by adding any as-prepared samples. Moreover, photo-Fenton system containing ZCS-3 (molar ratio of Zn:Cd = 3:7) presented the highest degradation rate for Rhodamine B (RhB, 93.5%), which showed significant improvement compared with that of photo-system without ZCS-3(43.7%). The excellent performance of this photo-Fenton system was mainly ascribed to the synergistic effect between photocatalytic and co-catalytic of ZCS-3. EPR and XPS results confirmed that the Zn2+ in the ZCS-3 would be reduced to Zn+ by the •O2–, which generated under visible light irradiation in photo-Fenton system. Thereby, more Zn+/Zn2+ exposed on the ZCS-3 surface during this photo-Fenton reaction, ensuring the acceleration of conversion between Fe2+ and Fe3+. The catalytic mechanism revealed that the formation of stable double recycles of Zn2+/Zn+ and Fe2+/Fe3+ in catalytic process displayed prominent enhancement for the catalytic properties of the photo-Fenton system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel plasmonic photocatalysts have been extensively investigated because of their advantages in efficient light absorption and surface plasmon resonance effect (SPR). Herein, plasmon-induced BiPO 4 /Ag/Ag 3 VO 4 heterostructures were constructed by in-situ partially reduction along with hydrothermal approach. Photo-degradation results revealed that BiPO 4 /Ag/Ag 3 VO 4 -1.2 (abbreviation as Bi/Ag-1.2) product presented a significant enhancement of photoactivity for Methyl orange-MO, Congo red-CR and tetracycline-TC degradation under visible light irradiation, which was higher than that of pristine BiPO 4 and Ag/Ag 3 VO 4 , respectively. Moreover, this excellent performance of Bi/Ag-1.2 was mainly ascribed to the synergistic effect consisting of intimate heterostructure between BiPO 4 and Ag/Ag 3 VO 4 and SPR effect of Ag, thus ensuring an accelerated separation and transfer of photo-generated carriers and promoting the absorbance of visible light. The trapping test and electron spin resonance further demonstrated that h+ and ·O 2− species are the vital active species in the photocatalytic reaction. Meanwhile, a plausible photocatalytic mechanism induced by plasmon-based heterojunctions was systematically proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The novel Yb3+/Tm3+ co-doped Ti 3 C 2 /Ag@Ag 3 VO 4 composite was fabricated by in-situ partially reduction-hydrothermal strategy. • The resultant Yb3+/Tm3+ co-doped Ti 3 C 2 /Ag@Ag 3 VO 4 composite exhibited enhanced photo-degradation performance under visible light irradiation. • The synthetic process and the corresponding photocatalytic mechanism was proposed and investigated detailedly. A novel Yb3+/Tm3+ co-doped Ti 3 C 2 /Ag/Ag 3 VO 4 composite with stable and robust photodegradation performance was synthesized by in-situ partially reduction along with hydrothermal strategy. In the composite, block-like Ag 3 VO 4 particles are self-assembled on the surface of 2D Ti 3 C 2 MXene accompanied by partial reduction of Ag+ to Ag0. Photodegradation results showed that the resulting Yb3+/Tm3+ co-doped Ti 3 C 2 /Ag/Ag 3 VO 4 composite with optimal Yb/Tm proportion (Y/T:0.3/0.005) presented a boosting photocatalytic performance for degradation of tetracycline (TC) and organic dyes under visible light irradiation. The removal efficiency was 97% for TC in 20 min, 96% for rhodamine B in 25 min, and 99% for methylene blue in 20 min, which was higher than that of Ag/Ag 3 VO 4 composite. As manifested by photoelectrochemical measurements, the enhanced photocatalytic performance of the Y/T:0.3/0.005 composite was attributed to the improved light absorption and excellent charge separation induced by the formation of intermediate energy states after co-doping Yb3+/Tm3+ ions. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic mechanism of the photocatalyst was also investigated through electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra and trapping experiments, which verified that the active species of h+ and ·O 2 − play the important role for photodegradation of tetracyline and organic dyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ti 3 C 2 -OH/Bi 2 WO 6 :Yb3+,Tm3+ was prepared via a facile hydrothermal method. • Ti 3 C 2 -OH/Bi 2 WO 6 :Yb3+,Tm3+ composites accompanied 2D/2D heterojunction with grid-like porous hierarchical structure. • Ti3C 2 -OH/Bi 2 WO 6 :Yb3+,Tm3+ composite shows significant enhancement on photocatalytic activity. It is an effective method to explore full spectrum responsive photocatalyst for improving their photocatalytic activity. Herein, Ti 3 C 2 −OH/Bi 2 WO 6 :Yb3+, Tm3+ composites were successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. The resultant Ti 3 C 2 −OH/Bi 2 WO 6 :Yb3+, Tm3+ composites accompanied 2D/2D heterojunction with grid-like porous structure present a significant enhancement of photoactivity towards degradation of RhB under visible and NIR light irradiation. Specifically, the 0.2-Y/T-TB2.8 composite exhibits the best photocatalytic activity for RhB removal, in which the RhB degradation efficiency was 99.8% (Vis-NIR, 30 min), 91% (Vis, 30 min), and 48% (NIR, 160 min). The excellent photocatalytic activity of the composite is attributed to the grid-like porous structure endowing it with an enhanced RhB adsorption, favorable charge separation resulting from the outstanding conductivity of the Ti 3 C 2 −OH, and up-conversion mechanism via energy level transition of Yb3+/Tm3+. In addition, the radical capture experiments verified that the hole (h+) plays the important role for degradation of RhB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]