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The point of this review is mainly focusing on the safety and practicability of solid-state lithium ion battery. And this review emphatically discusses and analyzes these practical manufacturing methods and strategies by illustrating some novel and excellent reported examples instead of barely collecting and classifying these new materials over the years. Based on the current industrial technology and market requirements, we summarize four types of most practical solid-state electrolytes (polymer gel, PEO-based, garnet-type and sulfide-type electrolyte) whose potential of application, strategy of improvement and possibility of mass production are all analyzed in this review. Li ion transport mechanisms in different electrolytes, which are commonly accepted in recent years, are summarized and stated as well. Besides, the key interfacial problems of electrolytes and electrodes for solid batteries is emphatically discussed and we also sort out some useful methods for actual production. And there are some interesting and novel content in this paper, which is that the lithium metal is not considered as an anode material because we think that is not realistic and economical for industrial manufacture in recent years and the polymer gel is analyzed to be a great transition electrolyte from liquid electrolyte batteries to all-solid-state batteries.

This work presents facile preparation processes of multiphosphonic acid functionalised multi-walled carbon nanotubes (HEDP-MWCNTs and ATMP-MWCNTs), which have been characterised by FT-IR, XPS, X-ray diffraction, TGA, and SEM, and have employed for heavy metal ions adsorption. The adsorption properties of MWCNTs, HEDP-MWCNTs, and ATMP-MWCNTs for gold ions, cadmium ions, copper ions, lead ions, nickel ions, cobalt ions, zinc ions, and chromium ions have been investigated, the experimental results reveal that the functionalised samples HEDP-MWCNTs and ATMP-MWCNTs have excellent adsorption properties for Pb(II) and Au(III), respectively. The investigation results on their adsorption selectivity represent that in the binary heavy metal ion systems, HEDP-MWCNTs/ATMP-MWCNTs has displayed a strong affinity for Pb(II)/Au(III) and even could exhibit 100% selectivity while coexisting with copper ions, nickel ions, cobalt ions, zinc ions, chromium ions, or cadmium ions. Furthermore, the adsorption kinetics of HEDP-MWCNTs for Pb(II) and ATMP-MWCNTs for Au(III) have also been studied at different solution temperatures. All these research work results show that two novel functionalised adsorbents HEDP-MWCNTs and ATMP-MWCNTs have shown excellent adsorption properties for heavy metal ions and they can be used in wastewater treatment, especially for lead/gold ions removal.

Porous colloidal hollow spheres have been applied to diversified fields over the past few decades. However, developing simple and efficient methods to prepare such porous hollow spheres with macro pores remains a challenge. To address this problem, we present a patchy templated synthesis route, which can be used to prepare such colloidal hollow spheres that have macro pores through the shells. This was achieved by using patchy poly(styrene-co-sodium styrenesulfonate) spheres as the template and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) as binding molecules. SiO2 can site-selectively only grow on one kind of patch, resulting in the formation of porous hollow spheres. The pore sizes can be tuned from ∼50 to 400 nm. The resulting porous hollow spheres have a Janus character so that Au nanoparticles can only be attached to the interior surfaces in situ, which can be used as catalytic microreactors and show the catalytic performance of pore size dependence.

The development of simple and feasible methods to synthesize highly efficient adsorbents is the key to low-cost gas purification. Here we developed an in-situ amorphous cobalt template method based on the synergistic effect of precursor to synthesize nitrogen doped unimodal ultramicropores carbon nanosheets Co-NDPCs with high nitrogen content (up to 11.74%), large specific surface area (up to 1187 m2 g−1) and unimodal ultramicropore. As an adsorbent, the Co-NDPCs exhibit unprecedented C2H2, C2H6, C3H8 and CO2 uptake capacities of 6.7, 5.9, 7.4 and 5.6 mmol g−1, respectively, and the corresponding x/CH4 and CO2/N2 IAST selectivities are as high as 75.3, 65.9.1743.6, 11.4 and 74.7 at 298 K and 1 bar. More importantly, this method effectively avoids the defects of traditional activation or template method, such as corrosiveness, poor safety and complicated process, indicating that Co-NDPCs is a promising adsorbent for CH4/C2H2/C2H6/C3H8/CO2/N2 capture and separation.

The adsorption behavior of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers functionalized silica (SG-G0∼SG-G4.0) for Cd(II) from aqueous solution was investigated by combining experimental and theoretical method. The influences of dendrimer generation, terminal functional group, solution pH, contact time, temperature, as well as the initial concentration of Cd(II) on the adsorption behavior were explored. Static adsorption indicates that the adsorption capacity increases first and then decreases with the increase of dendrimer generation, SG-G2.0 and SG-G2.5 possess the highest adsorption capacity for amino- and ester-terminated PAMAM functionalized silica, respectively. The optimal adsorption pH value is 6 for all the adsorbents. Kinetic adsorption implicates that the adsorption can approach equilibrium at about 200 min. The kinetic adsorption follows pseudo-second-order kinetic model and is dominated by film diffusion. The isotherm adsorption demonstrates that the adsorption favors high concentration and the adsorption capacity first increases and then decreases with the increase of temperature. Adsorption isotherm process can be well described by Langmuir model. FTIR technique and DFT calculation reveal that the involvement primary and secondary nitrogen atoms, as well as carbonyl oxygen atoms dominate the adsorption. As SG-G0∼SG-G4.0 displays excellent adsorption performance for Cd(II), they could be potentially used as effective adsorbents for the decontamination of aqueous Cd(II).

Heavy metal pollution to aqueous media is an important issue for environmental sustainability. A simple strategy for the synthesis of an efficient adsorbent is strongly desired for water remediatio...

The poly(3-hexylthiophene) - multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrid material (P3HT-MWCNT) was successfully prepared in the Cu(I)/DBU catalyst system via in-situ click reaction. The properties of P3HT-MWCNT were measured by FTIR, 1H NMR, UV-vis, XRD, TEM, SEM . The fluorescence spectrum of P3HT-MWCNT proved the covalent bond between P3HT and MWCNT, and P3HT could be coated on the surface of MWCNT. Compared with the physical blends of P3HT and MWCNT, P3HT-MWCNT prepared by click chemistry exhibited better thermal stability and a higher melting point of 243.2 °C. TG results also indicated that P3HT content of P3HT-MWCNT was 21.4%. It was expected to prepare novel organic-inorganic donor-acceptor hybrid material with good solubility, optical and thermal stability, which may be a promising material applied in preparation of organic photoelectron in the future.

Polylactide-b-fullerene-b-poly(3-hexylthiophene) (PLA-b-C60-b-P3HT) triblock copolymer via a combination of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction and controlled ring-opening polymerization technique was successfully synthesized. The structure, morphology and crystallinity of PLA-b-C60-b-P3HT copolymer were characterized by 1H NMR, GPC, DSC, TGA, XRD, UV–vis, PL and AFM measurements. Nanoporous C60/P3HT films were easily prepared from PLA-b-C60-b-P3HT triblock copolymer by casting the copolymer followed by thermal annealing and chemical etching of the PLA chains. Fullerene molecules could self-assembly between P3HT and PLA to form a continuous film. An ordered nanoporous C60/P3HT film was formed in AFM by chemically etching the PLA microphase with NaOH solution. Photoluminescence analysis showed that the photoinduced electron transfer of the ordered nanoporous C60/P3HT film was significantly improved compared to the physically blending sample due to the increased interface between the P3HT and the C60.

Temperature and pH double-response poly(t-butyl acrylate)-b-poly{[2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate]-co-[poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate]} (PtBA-b-P(DMAEMA-co-PEGMEMA)) were successfully prepared by RAFT polymerization and could be self-assembled into micelles. 1H NMR, UV-vis absorbance and DLS measurements were used to characterize their structures and self-assembly behaviors. At the same time, the adsorption of organic dyes and the control of drug release were also introduced. The results showed that the critical micelle concentration of PtBA-b-P(DMAEMA-co-PEGMEMA) was 2.55 mg/L. As the value of pH increased from 2 to 11, their particle size decreased from 178 nm to 130 nm. PtBA-b-P(DMAEMA-co-PEGMEMA) was also temperature responsive, with the hydrophobic block grows, the temperature of the particle mutation would increase. Therefore, PtBA-b-P (DMAEMA-co-PEGMEMA) could control the transfer and release of organic dyes such as methyl red and dithizone through their pH-sensitive properties, and the process had good reversibility. Meanwhile, PtBA-b-P(DMAEMA-co-PEGMEMA) micelles could also deliver some specific hydrophobic anticancer drug, such as camptothecin (CPT). In conclusion, the copolymers synthesized in this work have potential applications in the fields of environmental protection and drug delivery.

Carbon microfibres (CMFs) were synthesised on SiO2 particles by catalytic chemical vapour deposition at 1200°C using ethanol as carbon precursor, iron nitrate as the catalyst precursor, and nitrogen as a carrier gas. The structure and morphology of the products were characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. CMFs obtained after a deposition time of 5 h have a diameter of 5–10 μm and a length of a few hundred micrometres. In the deposition process, Fe–Si–O–C droplets were first formed on the surface of SiO2 particles, and then carbon fibres grew as a result of the catalysis of the droplets. Carbon fibres have the higher graphitic structures when the deposition process is conducted at 1200°C.

Porous carbons with large specific surface area and high structural stability are conducive to Li + diffusion and cycling performance of lithium ion batteries. In this paper, porous carbon/α-Fe 2 O 3 composites were in situ synthesized using water soluble phenolic resin as carbon precursor and environmentally benign NaCl as porogen. The interaction between the metal ions and hydroxyl groups in the resin facilitates the self-assembly of the precursors. The presence of NaCl enables the uniform dispersion of ferrous gluconate in the phenolic resin and prevents the aggregation of α-Fe 2 O 3 during the later thermal treatment. When applied as anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the porous carbon provides short diffusion pathways for Li + ions and adequate buffer space to accommodate the volume change of α-Fe 2 O 3 during the discharge/charge process, leading to a high reversible capacity of 1272 mAh g −1 at 100 mA g −1 after 200 cycles, which is much higher than that of carbon/α-Fe 2 O 3 without addition of NaCl. This strategy provides a simple and low-cost way for the mass production of novel anode materials of lithium ion batteries.

A tannic acid-Fe coordination compound has been prepared via a simple mechanochemical method. The compound could be used as precursors for the fabrication of porous carbon, which was successfully a...

The organic/inorganic hybrid material of poly[2-(dimethyl amino)-ethyl methacrylate]/polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS–PDMAEMA) was synthesized via a thiol-Michael addition reaction. The structures of POSS–PDMAEMA and its self-assembly in aqueous solution were confirmed by 1H-NMR, TEM, DLS, UV–Vis and fluorescence spectrum. In aqueous solutions, POSS–PDMAEMA could self-assemble into micelles and its critical micelle concentration was 12.4 mg/L. POSS–PDMAEMA micelles can adsorb dyes efficiently, it could adsorb methyl red at a concentration of 10–100 mg/L and dithizone at a concentration of 20–100 mg/L, and could remove 98% methyl red and 90% dithizone within 30 s. Due to the good temperature and pH responsiveness, POSS–PDMAEMA micelles could release organic dye absorbed into the organic solution again when the solution was heated to 40 °C or pH value of the solution was adjusted to 4.0. It suggested that POSS–PDMAEMA can be utilized as an interesting “smart” materials for absorption of organic dyes.

In this paper, chromogenic and fluorescent indicators have been prepared that can be used to detect Hg2+ in aqueous solutions. Through amide condensation reaction and primary amine-aldehyde reaction, sulfur containing thiophene group was connected to rhodamine B with diethylene triamine as bridge molecule, and rhodamine B-diethylene triamine sulfide was prepared and characterized. The prepared indicator can accurately detect Hg2+ in the environment without being interfered by other common metal ions such as ions of Na+, K+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Fe3+, Cu2+, Zn2+ and Cr3+. As the concentration of Hg2+ increases, the UV–vis absorbance at 560 nm grows. According to the Benesi-Hildebrand equation, combined with the UV–vis characterization, the stoichiometry between Hg2+ and the prepared indicator proved to be 1:1. The detection limit of detection of Hg2+ was equal to 1.95 × 10−7 mol/L, and the response of the solution turned to red after adding the indicator can be displayed within 2 min. This indicator applies to weakly acidic to neutral environments.

A colorimetric and fluorescent indicator based on cinnamamide group-containing rhodamine derivative was synthesized for the detection of Hg2+. The rhodamine B and cinnamamide were connected via ethylenediamine as a bridging molecule through a condensation reaction to obtain a colorimetric and fluorescent indicator for the detection of Hg2+ in H2O-EtOH (4:1, v/v). The indicator was excellent in the selectivity of Hg2+ and was almost unaffected by other common ions such as Na+, K+, Mg2+, Fe3+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Cr3+. The Hg2+-containing aqueous solution turned from colorless to red within 7 min after the addition of the indicator, and had an absorption peak at 564 nm in UV-vis, which implies a significant colorimetric phenomenon. Their characteristic peaks varied with the Hg2+ content, and they reached a linear relationship at low concentrations. The binding stoichiometry proved to be 1:1. The lowest detection limit was 4.1 × 10−7 mol/L, ranging from acidic to neutral.

In this paper, a new kind of colorimetric chemsensor aiming at detecting Cr3+ has been synthesized, and it is based on the “Off-On” effect of a rhodamine derivative. Comparing with other metal irons (Na+, K+, Ni2+, Hg2+, Fe3+, Mn2+, Co2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, Pb2+, Zn2+, Mg2+, Ba2+, Ag+, Fe2+, Ce3+), the chemsensor has a quick and accurate response to Cr3+ in H2O-EtOH solution (4/1, v/v). There is an obvious change in color, from colorless to bright pink when Cr3+ is detected. According to the fitting curve based on Benesi-Hildebrand equation and working curve of absorption strength in UV-vis spectrum, the binding pattern of Cr3+ and the rhodamine derivative follows a 1:1 stoichiometry. The chemsensor shows great potential in monitoring Cr3+ in the aqueous medium with high efficiency, which is supposed to complete the recognition in the minimum as 5.2 × 10−7 mol/L within 5 min.

Fe2O3/ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) have been synthesized by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method via self-assembly process. The combination of OMCs and anchored Fe2O3 nanoparticles shows a synergistic effect which results in a kind of anode materials with enhanced electrochemical performance for lithium ion batteries. OMCs with highly porous mesostructure and good conductivity not only alleviate the problem of volume variation and agglomeration of Fe2O3, but shorten the diffusion pathway of Li+ ions, which efficiently overcomes the problem of rapid capacity loss of iron oxide. Moreover, appropriate loading amount of Fe2O3 nanoparticles is believed to be a key factor to enhance the capacity of anode materials. The materials deliver an excellent reversible capacity of 789 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 after 120 cycles.

Metal doping MnO2 has better electrochemical performance than pure MnO2. We have demonstrated a facile approach for synthesizing Mg-doped MnO2@ carbon cloth via a typical hydrothermal reaction. The intercalation of Mg2+ rapidly increases the operating window to 1.2 V. Compared to other metal ions (Co2+, Fe3+, Bi2+, Al3+, Cr2+) doping, Mg2+ doping further increases the lattice defects of MnO2, achieving more vacancies, and effectively improving the performance of MnO2. As a flexible symmetric solid supercapacitor (FSSSC), the voltage window can be extended to 2.2 V, and the energy density of FSSSC reaches 2.06 mW h/cm3 at 43.94 mW/cm3. The device can illuminate a 2.2 V LED successfully, showing its huge actual application value.

Ultrahigh specific capacity silicon is considered as a potential anode candidate for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In order to reduce the influence of the large volume expansion and poor conductivity of silicon, a few silicon nanoparticles are now used in commercial anodes, which increases costs and weakens the overall specific capacity. Here, we used low-cost aluminum–silicon alloys as raw materials to obtain porous silicon (pSi) particles by simple chemical etching. Then, Ag doped porous silicon/graphite (Ag-pSi/G) composite was prepared by depositing ultrafine Ag nanoparticles and mixing low-quality graphite. The large specific surface area, Ag nanoparticles and graphite provide multiple electron transport pathways in Ag-pSi/G, so they greatly increase the conductivity of the Ag-pSi/G and effectively reduce its volume expansion. The Ag-pSi/G composite shows high initial charging capacity (3313 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1) and initial coulombic efficiency (82.2%), and stable reversible specific capacity of 770 mAh g−1 over 300 cycles at 1 A g−1. This simple and scalable preparation process provides a new thought for the broad application of micron silicon materials in the high-performance LIBs.

Recently years, hydrogels have received increased attention due to their promising applications in wound dressing, tissue engineering, biosensors and human-machine interfaces. However, designing hydrogels with good mechanical strength and self-healing ability remains a challenge. As a novel strategy, functional Janus nanosheets (JNs) were used as reinforcement to develop self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels. Herein, the silica Janus hollow spheres were prepared by a sol-gel process, modified with poly(2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl ferrocenecarboxylate)(PMAEFc)/polydopamine(PDA) to the internal/external surfaces and then crushed to fabricate the SiO2@PMAEFc/PDA JNs. The SiO2@PMAEFc/PDA JNs were then used as robust reinforcement to design self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels. Based on multiple effects of metal–coordination and host–guest interactions, the mechanical strengths and self-healing properties of hydrogels were both enhanced. Specially, after introducing JNs, the rupture stress of hydrogels increased from 1.27 MPa to 2.23 MPa, and the self-healing efficiency improved from 66.7% to 92.4%. These results demonstrate that JNs can be used as robust reinforcement to fabricate self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels, which enriches the design of self-healing hydrogels and broadens the application prospects of Janus nanomaterials.

Triphosphonic acid modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (TPA-MWCNTs) have been developed in a facile method and then characterized and used for gold ion adsorption. The adsorption behaviors of TPA-MWCNTs for Au(III), including the effect of pH, adsorption isotherm, adsorption kinetics, adsorption thermodynamics, and regeneration properties have been investigated, and the maximum adsorption capacity of TPA-MWCNTs obtained from the Langmuir isotherm is 980.39 mg/g at 35 °C. Moreover, the adsorption process optimization has been conducted by using response surface methodology (RSM) and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Therefore, TPA-MWCNTs can be used as an efficient adsorbent in wastewater treatment and gold uptake.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) microstructures were successfully prepared by hydrothermal synthesis with PEG4000 at 120°C for 24 h. The crystalline phase and morphology of ZnO microstructures were characterised by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the rod-like, flower-like and dumbbell-shaped ZnO microstructures can be easily controlled by varying the amount of PEG4000. The photoluminescence spectra of ZnO microstructures with different morphology at room temperature show four emission peaks at about 362, 389, 421 and 487 nm. The photocatalytic activities of ZnO microstructures are evaluated by degradation of methylene blue (MB) under ultraviolet light irradiation, and the degradation rates of MB with rod-like, flower-like and dumbbell-shaped ZnO microstructures reached 94.8, 95.4 and 70.9%, respectively.

In this paper, by using a self-made hydrogen-containing polymethylhydrogensiloxane having a hydrogen content of 0.20%, a polyether of F-6 and α-olefin having a carbon chain length of even numbers in 6–18 as main raw materials, polyether and long-chain alkyl co-modified polydimethylsiloxane having different molecular structures were successfully prepared via hydrosilylation reactions. 1H-NMR, TGA, DLS, fluorescence spectroscopy and surface tension measurements were used to characterize their structures and properties. The results shows that when the molar ratio of polyether to α-olefin is 5:1, an emulsion type anti-foaming agent with polyether and long-chain alkyl co-modified polydimethylsiloxane as active ingredient was successfully prepared, it basically maintains 90% quality at 300 °C, indicating good heat resistance, and the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of polyether and long-chain alkyl co-modified polydimethylsiloxane is 8.55 mg/L. The surfactant has good dilution stability compared to other small molecule. When the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) is equal to 10, the compound emulsifier is made of Span 80 and Tween 80, the emulsification method is a phase inversion method, and the obtained emulsion has the smallest particle size and an average particle diameter of 134.4 nm, the emulsion shows good stability and uniformity, and the particle size distribution is narrow. In summary, the polyether and long-chain alkyl co-modified polydimethylsiloxane synthesized in this work have potential applications in the fields of anti-foaming agent.

Controlling micropore size is the core for synthesizing highly efficient adsorbents for gas adsorption and separation engineering. Porous carbon prepared by traditional methods usually lacks competitiveness due to the random micropore size or complex process. Herein, we report a novel strategy for synthesizing nitrogen doped carbons nanosheets (Cu-NDPCs) with unimodal ultra-micropore based on the metal-organic covalency and the anion regulated in situ copper template. The thickness of single Cu-NDPCs is about 4.2 nm. In the presence of Cl−, the porosity of Cu-NDPCs can be tuned at 4.1–4.8 A by adjusting the pyrolysis temperature. Among them, Cu-NDPC-800 has unique carbon nanosheets networks structure, ultrahigh surface area (2150 m2 g−1), large micropore volume (0.92 cm3 g−1) and abundant surface N doping (5.33%). As an adsorbent, it exhibits superhigh C2H2, C2H6, C3H8 and CO2 uptakes (6.7, 7.0, 11.4 and 4.4 mmol g−1) and corresponding x/CH4 or CO2/N2 IAST selectivities (12.9, 17.8, 468.6, 4.3 and 17.1) under ambient conditions. Meanwhile, the Cu-NDPC-800 possesses excellent cyclic stability.

Cheap and excellent conductive substrates with large and manipulated geometric area have become an indispensable research object for non-self-supporting OER electrode materials to achieve the practical application. In this study, low-crystallinity 2D morphology iron hydrogen phosphate material (FPO3) with thickness of 12–16 nm is obtained by an easy polyol refluxing method. Its overpotential drop-casted on nickel foam (FPO3/NF) for OER is just 309 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm−2. Through the detailed comparative analysis, its number and the intrinsic activity of active sites for OER effectively enhanced because of the two-dimensional morphology, the low crystallinity, the excellent redox activity of iron, and the more beneficial synergy between NF and FPO3. Those results also indicate that using NF as the substrate is a high-efficiency method to realize the practical application of non-self-supporting electromaterials by a simple drop-casted treatment.

The development of highly efficient and robust bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts is of great importance for optimizing the performance of rechargeable Zn-air batteries. In this study, Co Ni phosphides encapsulated in N, P co-doped carbon (CoNiP/PNC) were prepared by a simple one-step pyrolysis method. The obtained catalyst exhibited outstanding oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reaction (ORR and OER) activities in alkaline media. It exhibited a positive half-wave potential of 0.84 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode for ORR, as well as a low overpotential of 470 mV to achieve 10 mA cm−2 for OER, comparable with the benchmark Pt/C and IrO2 catalysts. Furthermore, the rechargeable Zn-air battery was fabricated, which showed a high specific capacity of 729.3 mAh gZn-1, a high peak power density of 171.0 mW cm−2, and good stability. It reveals that the interplay between heteroatom-doped carbon layers and Co Ni phase leads to the high ORR activity, and the in-situ formed bimetallic hydroxides/oxides contribute to the great OER performance. This work would inspire the future development of bifunctional electrocatalysts towards electrocatalysis in energy conversion and storage fields.

The Ni-based catalysts have a wide range of industrial applications due to its low cost, but its activity of CO2 methanation is not comparable to that of precious metal catalysts. In order to solve this problem, Ni-based mesoporous Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 solid solution catalysts doped with rare earth were prepared by the incipient impregnation method and directly used as catalysts for the methanation of CO2. The catalysts were characterized systematically by x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), N2 physisorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersed spectroscopy (EDS) mapping, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H2 temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR), CO2 temperature programmed desorption (CO2-TPD), and so on. The results show that Ni is highly dispersed in the mesoporous skeleton, forming a strong metal–skeleton interaction. Therefore, under the condition of CO2 methanation, the hot sintering of metallic Ni nanoparticles can be effectively inhibited so that these mesoporous catalysts have good stability without obvious deactivation. The rare earth doping can significantly increase the surface alkalinity of catalyst and enhance the chemisorption of CO2. In addition, the rare earth elements also act as electron modifiers to help activate CO2 molecules. Therefore, the rare earth doped Ni-based mesoporous Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 solid solution catalysts are expected to be an efficient catalyst for the methanation of CO2 at low-temperature.

A new colorimetric “off-on” chemosensor based on rhodamine derivative bearing thiophene group has been synthesized. The chemosensor shows an excellent sensitivity and selectivity for Cu2+ over competing metal ions (Pb2+, Hg2+, Fe3+, Fe2+, Zn2+ Cd2+, Mn2+, Ba2+, Ag+ and Cr3+) in H2O-EtOH solution (1/4, v/v). A distinctive peak at 561 nm appears in the UV–vis absorption upon the addition of Cu2+ in the rhodamine derivative solution and an obvious color change to be pink from colorless. The interaction of Cu2+ and the chemosensor are proven to adopt a 1:1 binding stoichiometry, and the recognition process is expected to be completed within 1 min. With a detection limit of 1.7 × 10−7 mol/L, the chemosensor shows great potential to monitor Cu2+ in environmental analysis systems.

The temperature and pH dual-responsive polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane/poly[2-(dimethylamino)-ethyl methacrylate]-b-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hybrid materials (POSS/PDMAEMA-b-PNIPAM) were synthesized via combination of thiol-ene click chemistry and reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Their structures and self-assembly behaviors were characterized via 1H NMR, TEM, UV–vis and DLS measurements. POSS/PDMAEMA-b-PNIPAM could self-assemble into thermo- and pH-sensitive micelles with the POSS heads forming as a core and the PDMAEMA-b-PNIPAM chains as a corona. In vitro drug release behavior of POSS/PDMAEMA-b-PNIPAM micelles loading camptothecin indicated that the rate of drug release could be effectively controlled by altering the temperature and pH values of the environment. As 80% of the camptothecin drug was released at pH 5.5 or temperature of 45 °C within 35 h, the excellent thermo- and pH-response ability of POSS/PDMAME-b-PNIPAM micelles makes them desirable candidates for controlled drug delivery systems.

The goals of this study were to prepare activated biochar-loaded nano zero-valent iron (A-BC-NZVI) and implemented to remove heavy metal uranium (U(VI)) in sewage water. The A-BC-NZVI composite was successfully synthesized by aqueous phase reduction using biomass longan shell as carbon source under N2 at 800 °C. The influence of solution pH, A-BC-NZVI dosage, temperature, time and U(VI) concentration on U(VI) remediation via A-BC-NZVI were investigated. The batch sorption experiments reveal that the sorption capacity of U(VI) decreases from pH 7 to 10, and the adsorption kinetic experiments of pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and reduction kinetics were conducted, pseudo-second-order kinetic model was well fitted through the correlation coefficient (R2). At pH 6.0, the maximum U(VI) adsorption amount of Langmuir model was calculated to be 331.13 mg/g, and the thermodynamic constants manifested that U(VI) removal by A-BC-NZVI is an endothermic and spontaneous system. XPS analysis displayed that A-BC-NZVI has two effects on U(VI), including adsorption and reduction. The results proved that A-BC-NZVI is considered highly desirable material on remediation of U(VI) from polluted groundwater.

Carbon/graphite carbon nitride (C/CN-T-x) hybrid composites with high photocatalytic activities under visible light irradiation were synthesized by an in-situ hard template method using the partially formaldehyde-modified dicyandiamide (PFMD) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the precursors and template, respectively. The structures of the as-prepared composites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), elemental analysis, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The composite prepared under the optimal conditions exhibits the large surface area of 174 m2･g−1 and high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The significant improvement in photocatalytic activity of the composite, as compared with the pure graphite carbon nitride (CN), is attributed to the large surface area, strong dye adsorption ability and enhanced separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.

MnO2 nanosheets were prepared by hydrothermal deposition method, and supported on biomass-derived crosslinked carbon nanosheets to form a composite material (MnO2@R). First, rambutan peels were synthesized into porous carbon by pyrolysis and activation, and then MnO2 was fixed on the carbon nanosheets by hydrothermal deposition method. The MnO2@R composite material and nitrogen-doped porous carbon were assembled into an asymmetric supercapacitor. Among them, MnO2@R composite material and nitrogen-doped rambutan peel-derived porous carbon were used as positive electrode and negative electrode. Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor has excellent cycle stability. After 5000 cycles under 0.5 A g−1, its capacitance loss is only 12%. The asymmetric supercapacitors found in these studies have excellent energy and power density characteristics, which opens up application prospects for biomass carbon-derived composite materials.

Carbon cloth (CC) is proved to be a very promising supercapacitor substrate due to its flexibility and excellent mechanical properties. In this paper, a simple and environmentally friendly hydrothermal reaction was used to construct petal-shaped Ni-doped MnO2 nano-array electrode material based on a flexible CC with strong adhesion, and PVA/Na2SO4 gel electrolyte was coordinated to assemble flexible quasi-solid-state supercapacitor. Electrochemical tests manifested that the voltage window of Ni-doped MnO2 nano-array@CC electrode materials could reach 1.2 V, especially the area specific capacitance was up to 1398.8 mF cm−2 As an assembled device,the voltage window could reach 2.2 V, the volumetric capacitance was as high as 1022.08 mF cm−3, the energy density could reach 0.6871 mWh·cm−3, and the power density could be achieved as 31.43 mW cm−3, demonstrating good prospect in applications for flexible energy storage device.

Nearly inexhaustible sodium sources on earth make sodium ion batteries (SIBs) the best candidate for large-scale energy storage. However, the main obstacles faced by SIBs are the low rate performance and poor cycle stability caused by the large size of Na+ ions. Herein, a universal strategy for synthesizing amorphous metals encapsulated into amorphous B, N co-doped carbon (a-M@a-BCN; M = Co, Ni, Mn) nanotubes by metal cation-assisted carbonization is explored. The methodology allows tailoring the structures (e.g., length, wall thickness, and metals doping) of a-M@a-BCN nannotubes at the molecular level. Furthermore, the amorphous metal sulfide encapsulated into a-BCN (a-MSx @a-BCN; MSx : CoS, Ni3 S2 , MnS) nanotubes are obtained by one-step sulfidation process. The a-M@a-BCN and a-MSx @a-BCN possess the larger interlayer spacing (0.40 nm) amorphous carbon nanotube rich in heteroatoms active sites, making them exhibit excellent Na+ ions diffusion kinetics and capacitive storage behavior. As SIBs anodes, they show high capacity, excellent rate performance, and long cycle stability.

Janus nanomaterials can be highlighted to design a series of smart materials with the remarkable characteristic of two different properties or constituents. In this manuscript, functional Janus graphene oxide-type (GO-type) nanomaterials were fabricated by Pickering emulsion template and successfully applied to develop of dual self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels. Asymmetric functionalization of Janus nanosheets were achieved in typical oil-in-water Pickering emulsion by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and mussel-inspired chemistry. Poly(2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl ferrocenecarboxylate) (PMAEFc) and polydopamine (PDA) were unsymmetrically grafted on the two sides of GO (Janus GO-PMAEF/PDA (JGNs)), which successfully applied in self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels. The collaborative effect of metal-ligand coordination and host-guest interaction make the dual self-healing hydrogels have excellent self-healing properties (self-healing efficiency can reach to 93.4% within 1 h) and mechanical strength (tensile strength of 0.94 MPa and strain of 508.5%). Therefore, these chemical asymmetric JGNs have outstandingly application prospect in the development of smart materials.

In the alkaline system, the mechanism relationships of the transition metal phosphate materials between pseudocapacitors and OER are analyzed, more active sites, excellent conductivity and enhanced intrinsic activity are important factors in enhancing their OER and capacitance performances. In this study, the capacitance of synthesized Co7(PO4)2(HPO4)4 after ultrasonic treatment with N-methyl-pyrrolidinone (NMP) improved 20.1 % (345 F g−1 at 1 A g−1), the overpotential for OER reduced 20 mV (293 mV at 10 mA cm−2). Based on detailed characterization analysis, ultrasonic treatment with NMP does not destroy the phases and the surface phosphate groups of the materials, but reduce the overall particle size, improve the pore volume and create some new interfaces originally located inside the material. These changes bring increased active sites, reduced internal resistance, enhanced charge transfer capability and improved intrinsic activity to the synthesized Co7(PO4)2(HPO4)4, enhancing its OER and capacitance efficiency. Additionally, the ultrasonic treatment can achieve those changes, which is most likely achieved by sacrificing some mesopores with small diameters, it also provides a simple and convenient method for enhancing the performance of other three-dimensional mesoporous materials.

A new polymer namely poly (N-(3-aminopropyl) methacrylamide)-b-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PAPMA-b-PNIPAM) was made for pH-triggered drug delivery by means of aqueous reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. PAPMA-b-PNIPAM was hydrophilic at 25 °C, and micelles were formed at 39 °C. The PAPMA chain was crosslinked with terephthaldicarboxaldehyde at pH = 9.0 and shell cross-linking (SCL) micelles were prepared. The sizes of the SCL micelles were 45~65 nm which can be reversible dissociated under acidic conditions. The formation of temperature-responsive SCL micelles and their cleavage behaviours were characterized.

Sn/carbon nanofibers with well dispersed Sn nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanofibers were fabricated by an electrospinning process. A SnO2 sol was used as the Sn precursor in order to improve the compatibility of tin/carbon composites and prevent Sn nanoparticles from severe agglomeration upon thermal treatment. When evaluated as a binder-free anode for lithium ion batteries, the Sn/carbon nanofibers deliver a high specific capacity of 583 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles and good cycling performance with coulombic efficiency up to 99%. The high lithium storage capability is mainly attributed to the optimized structure features including the well dispersed tin nanoparticles, high porosity, and the cushion effect of the carbon nanofibers.