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The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction (ECR) into high-value-added chemicals is a promising approach to alleviate the energy crisis and greenhouse effect. However, the lack of efficient, highly selective, and durable electrocatalysts limits the further application of ECR. Herein, a molecular linking strategy is developed to anchor the monodispersed Bi nanoparticles on a carbon matrix, enabling the durable and efficient CO2 reduction into formate. Systematic characterizations and experimental measurements reveal that tetra-aminophenyl porphyrin (TAPP) can act as an effective molecular linker to secure Bi nanoparticles on porous carbon matrix (Bi NPs/TAPP-PC) via its strong interaction with both the support and nanoparticles, resolving the issues of their peel-off and agglomeration during ECR. Benefiting from the linkage of TAPP molecules, Bi NPs/TAPP-PC exhibits significantly improved ECR performance with a Faradaic efficiency of 92.1% and partial current density of 55.8 mA cm–2 as well as a long-term durability of over 20 h, compared with Bi NPs/PC without TAPP. This strategy using a molecular linker to enhance the activity and durability of the host catalyst provides new insights for developing applicable catalysts for diverse electrocatalytic applications.

Nowadays, multi-functional materials are desperately required for adapting the complex environment, which urges us to take more factors into consideration. Here, we proposed a broadband microwave absorber with multi-functionality such as optically transparent, thermal insulating and soundproof properties. Using indium tin oxide (ITO) based metamaterial, the device can achieve above 90% microwave absorption from 5.6 GHz to 23 GHz (cover X and Ku band). Moreover, with designed vacuum structure inside, the device is thermal insulating and soundproof. These multi-functional advantages give the absorber more flexibility in electromagnetic shielding and stealth application, which can be potentially applied in windows related industry.

In this study, a Fe-Ni-S/NF hybrid electrode with a hierarchical structure was fabricated via a simple hydrothermal and ion exchange method, and it exhibited remarkable OER performance in an alkaline solution at an ultralow overpotential (1000 mA cm-2@384 mV) and outstanding operational stability.

Four novel polyoxouranium-based uranyl carboxylates have been constructed by using a combination of three silicon-centered carboxylate ligands and polyoxouranium building blocks. Interesting oligomerization of the uranyl groups from three types of tetrameric units in 1 and 2 to octameric [(UO2)8(μ3-OH)6(μ2-OH)2(H2O)4]8+ in 3 and ultimately infinite polyoxouranium chains in 4 was observed. The 3D structure of 2 contains two different linear tetramers, whose structures are totally different from seven types of tetranuclear motifs previously observed in uranyl carboxylates. Compound 3 displays a rare octanuclear polyoxouranium brick; it is fabricated by the association of eight uranyl units in pentagonal-bipyramidal geometry that involves the edge-sharing polyhedral connection mode, which are further linked by four isolated UO7 pentagonal bipyramids to create a complicated 3D framework. These newly synthesized hybrid materials were extensively characterized by single crystal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and different spectroscopic techniques (IR, UV-vis, and luminescence spectroscopy), which show well-resolved characteristic "five-finger" emission of the uranyl ions under excitation at 420 nm. Relativistic density functional theory (DFT) was used to explore five model compounds that theoretically simulate experimental real compounds. Experimental spectroscopy was rationalized by electronic-structure analysis.

Although the significance of charge diffusion has been recognized in many high-performance energy devices, it has received very less attention in the design of electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is particularly crucial for highly active but less conductive OER electrocatalysts, such as two-dimensional metal hydroxides (MHs) with anisotropic conductivity. Herein, we report the elaborate design of a series of CoFe hydroxide nanosheets on graphene (CFH@G) composites to demonstrate the importance of charge diffusion regulation in improving the OER activity of MHs. It was discovered that the few-layer-thick CFH nanosheets lying on the graphene substrate provided an effective in-plane charge diffusion pathway, while keeping the substrate surface entirely covered by the laid nanosheets is necessary for providing sufficient active sites. The overly thick or stacked nanosheets are not favourable for charge diffusion, especially at large current outputs. By regulating the charge diffusion properties, the best-performing CFH@G-based material can deliver a steady OER current density of 2000 mA cm−2 at a cost of only 1.507 V under near-industrial conditions (6 M KOH and 60 °C). A practical water electrolyzer also demonstrated an impressive current output of 400 mA cm−2 at 1.694 V as well as a steady solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 17.41%. These findings provide new insights into the role of charge diffusion in water oxidation and may open up an avenue for developing low-cost, stable and efficient electrocatalysts for practical water electrolysis and diverse energy devices.

Cost-effective oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts with both superb activity and stability are crucial for practical electrocatalytic water splitting. We herein come up with a metal carbonate hydroxide and metal sulfide (MS/MCH) heterostructure via in situ generating MS on MCH to tackle the conflict between activity and durability. The heterostructure in a unique “nanoparticle-in-nanosheet” configuration features abundant hetero-interfaces between MS and MCH, allowing for effective electron transfer from the antibonding orbital of M–S in MS to M–O in MCH and thus improving the stability of sulfides during water oxidation. Simultaneously, such coupling is able to modulate the electronic structure of the metal centre, thus enhancing the intrinsic activity. The coupled heterostructure therefore exhibits steady OER performance with an ultrasmall overpotential of 226 to deliver a current of 10 mA cm−2 and can output an industrial-level current of 1000 mA cm−2 at an overpotential of only 367 mV. Furthermore, the overall water electrolyzer with such a heterostructure as an anode presents stable hydrogen production at 100 mA cm−2 with a small cell voltage of 1.62 V and a high solar to hydrogen efficiency of 16.99%. Such superior catalytic performance demonstrates the feasibility of introducing a heterostructure to tailor the local electrocatalytic properties and opens up an avenue toward designing efficient OER catalysts for clean hydrogen production and diverse energy conversion devices.

Doping unary transition-metal phosphides (TMPs) by secondary metal is a powerful method to improve their catalytic activity for electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the composition-activity relationship of such doping has not been systematically investigated yet because of the challenge in constructing bimetal TMPs with continuously variable composition while keeping homogenous elemental distribution. Herein, we develop a strategy of using bimetal Prussian blue analogues with homogenous elemental distribution at molecular scale as an ideal platform to achieve bimetal cobalt-iron phosphides (Co1- xFe xP) with a continuously changeable Co/Fe ratio (0 < x < 1) and uniform metal distribution. Such a system allows us to draw out a composition-activity volcano profile of Co1- xFe xP for OER. By optimizing the composition, the best catalytic activity is obtained at the Co/Fe ratio of 1.63 in Co1- xFe xP with small overpotentials of 230 and 268 mV at 10 and 100 mA cm-2, respectively, which outperform most of the reported TMPs. These results may inspire the use of multicomponent molecular platforms to understand composition-dependent performance and explore highly efficient catalysts for diverse applications.

In this article, phosphonic acid silver-graphene oxide nanomaterials (Nano-PAS-GO) was synthesized from silver nitrate (AgNO3) solution and phosphoric graphene oxide (PGO) via the convenient ultrasonic-assisted method, and the structure and morphology were characterized, and the photocatalytic activity and recyclability were evaluated through photocatalyzing degradation of Rhodamin B (RhB) aqueous solution, and the possible photocatalytic mechanism was also discussed. Based on those, it was confirmed that Nano-PAS-GO has been synthesized from AgNO3 solution and PGO colloidal suspension under ultrasonic-assisted condition, and Nano-PAS-GO has consisted of phosphoric acid silver nanoparticles and GO with 2D lattice (2D GO lattice) connected in the form of C-P bonds, and the photodegradation rate of Nano-PAS-GO for RhB aqueous solution has reached 93.99%, and Nano-PAS-GO has possessed the nicer recyclability when the photocatalytic time was 50 min. From those results, the strong and stable interface .between PAS nanoparticles and 2D GO lattice connected in the form of the covalent bonds has effectively inhibited the occurrence of the photocorrosion phenomenon.

In the article, graphene oxide (GO) was prepared by flake graphite, nitric acid and peroxyacetic acid via the sonochemical method and characterized, and polyvinyl alcohol carbonate/GO composite (PVAC/GO composite) was synthesized by polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and GO via the approach of transesterification in the case of ultrasonic-microwave synergistic effects and characterized, and three-dimensional PVAC/GO sponge (3D PVAC/GO sponge) was manufactured by PVAC/GO composite via the foaming approach and characterized, and the thermal stability and surface resistivity of 3D PVAC/GO sponge were investigated. Based on those, it had been attested that PVAC polymer was structured by DMC and PVA and had the six-membered lactone rings and the ether bonds, and PVAC/GO composite was constituted by 2D GO lattice and PVAC polymer, and 3D PVAC/GO sponge was constructed by PVAC/GO composite, and the surface resistivity of 3D PVAC/GO sponge with 0.00, 0.60, 1.20, 1.80 and 2.40 g of GO were 9.07 × 107, 6.02 × 107, 4.65 × 107, 2.47 × 107 and 1.06 × 107 O/sq, and the thermal stability of 3D PVAC/GO sponge had improved.

A facile and scalable solid-state synthesis strategy is developed to produce hierarchical coralline-like nanostructured electrocatalysts with cobalt nanoparticles and Co-NX sites for efficient oxygen reduction reaction, opening up an avenue for the mass production of non-precious metal catalysts for metal-air batteries and fuel cells, etc.

Summary Highly efficient and robust non-noble bifunctional electrocatalysts with excellent stability are essential for practical large-scale application of hydrogen energy. Here, we design a hybrid nanostructure of Co2P nanoparticles encapsulated uniformly within N, P co-doped carbon layers that are then integrated into conductive carbon cloth (N-Co2P/NPC). As expected, the developed electrode exhibits very low overpotentials of 68 and 230 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction, respectively. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the electronic structure of Co2P can be tailored effectively via the N-doping effect, with the d-band center shifting to a negative position compared with that at the Fermi level, leading to optimized adsorption interaction with hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)/oxygen evolution reaction (OER) intermediates. Furthermore, a stable solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 17.9% is achieved with a solar-driven water splitting electrolyzer.

The exploration of new efficient OER electrocatalysts based on nonprecious metals and the understanding of the relationship between activity and structure of electrocatalysts are important to advance electrochemical water oxidation. Herein, we developed an efficient OER electrocatalyst with nickel boride (Ni3B) nanoparticles as cores and nickel(II) borate (Ni-Bi) as shells (Ni-Bi@NB) via a very simple and facile aqueous reaction. This electrocatalyst exhibited a small overpotential of 302 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and Tafel slope of 52 mV dec−1. More interestingly, it was found that the OER activity of Ni-Bi@NB was closely dependent on the crystallinity of the Ni-Bi shells. The partially crystalline Ni-Bi catalyst exhibited much higher activity than the amorphous or crystalline analogues; this higher activity originated from the enhanced intrinsic activity of the catalytic sites. These findings open up opportunities to explore nickel(II) borates as a new class of efficient nonprecious metal OER electrocatalysts, and to improve the electrocatalyst performance by modulating their crystallinity.

In this article, the low toxicity of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) were used to synthesize polyvinyl alcohol carbonate (PVAC) sponge via a simple transesterification-foaming approach, and the structure and morphology of PVAC sponge were characterized; moreover, the influence of dosage of K2CO3, PVA, distilled water and n-pentane on the water retention capacity of PVAC sponge were investigated, and the influence of reaction temperature and reaction time on the water retention capacity of PVAC sponge were also surveyed. Based on those, it was confirmed that 9.00 g PVA and 5.00 mL DMC in the presence of 2.00 g K2CO3 and 50.00 mL water could be used to synthesize PVAC polymer at 75 °C and for 2.5 h via the transesterification approach, and PVAC polymer in the presence of 5.00 mL n-pentane could be used to synthesize PVAC sponge at 55 °C and for 10 h via the foaming approach, and PVAC sponge owned the structure of six-membered lactone ring and the polyporous morphology, and the maximal water retention capacity was 21.50 g/g.

Herein, we discuss the facile and general protocol to construct monodisperse chitosan-coated selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs@CS) without the need for dialysis in wet-chemical system and also investigate the toxicity of SeNPs@CS on enterocyte cells. The crystalline structure, morphology, and composition of the obtained product were examined by XRD, SEM-EDX, TEM, XPS and FT-IR, respectively, which indicates uniform and strong stability performance of the non-dialysis requiring SeNPs@CS. Intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) were conducted to compare the cytotoxicity of SeNPs@CS and selenite at desired concentrations (ranging from 0.625 to 100 μM) for 4, 8, 12, and 24 h. The cytotoxicity study reveals that SeNPs@CS exhibited lower cytotoxicity than selenite in IPEC-J2 cells. From the further cell apoptosis examination, high concentration of SeNPs@CS (100 μM), compared with the selenite, did not affect related protein expressions in JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway, which is critical in predisposing mammalian cells to apoptosis. All the physio-chemical characterization and biological determination demonstrated that the non-dialysis requiring SeNPs@CS possesses the potentials to serve as safe and effective pharmaceutical or nutritional application. Keywords: Selenium nanoparticles, Non-dialysis requiring, Characterization, Cytotoxicity, Apoptosis, IPEC-J2 cells

Developing low-cost, highly efficient, and durable electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is essential for the practical application of electrochemical water splitting. Herein, it is discovered that organic small molecule (hexabromobenzene, HBB) can activate commercial transition metal (Ni, Fe, and NiFe) foam by directly evolving metal nanomeshes embedded in graphene-like films (M-NM@G) through a facile Br-induced solid-phase migration process. Systematic investigations indicate that HBB can conformally generate graphene-like network on bulk metal foam substrate via the cleavage of CBr bonds and the formation of CC linkage. Simultaneously, the cleaved CBr fragments can efficiently extract metal atoms from bulk substrate, in situ producing transition metal nanomeshes embedded in the graphene-like films. As a result, such functional nanostructure can serve as an efficient OER electrocatalyst with a low overpotential and excellent long-term stability. Specifically, the overpotential at 100 mA cm-2 is only 208 mV for NiFe-NM@G, ranking the top-tier OER electrocatalysts. This work demonstrates an intriguing general strategy for directly transforming bulk transition metals into nanostructured functional electrocatalysts via the interaction with organic small molecules, opening up opportunities for bridging the application of organic small molecules in energy technologies.

Electroless deposition via a spontaneous redox reaction between the metal precursor and support is believed to be a promising approach for the syntheses of supported metal nanoparticles (SMNPs). However, its widespread applications are significantly prohibited by the low reductivity and high cost of support. To overcome these shortcomings, a porous carbon (PC) is herein developed as a promising matrix for the electroless deposition of metal NPs. Benefiting from abundant oxygen-based surface functional groups, the PC shows stronger reducibility (low redox potential) than conventional carbon substrate such as carbon nanotubes or graphene oxide, enabling a facile electroless deposition of Ir, Rh, and Ru NPs on its surface. These SMNPs exhibit an impressive electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) or hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR). For example, the Rh NP/PC can deliver an HER current density of 10 mA cm-2 with a small overpotential of 21 mV in 0.5 m H2 SO4 , while the Ru NP/PC exhibits excellent HOR activity in 0.1 m KOH in terms of high mass and surface specific exchange current density of 263 A g-1 Ru and 0.227 mA cm-2 Ru . The present strategy may open up opportunities for mass production of efficient supported NPs for diverse applications.

With the rapid development of detection technologies, compatible stealth in the infrared and radar ranges has become increasingly essential not only for military application but also for personal privacy protection. In this study, we design a metamaterial window that possesses stealth ability in both the thermal infrared and broadband microwave ranges, using a particle swarm optimization algorithm to realize multi-band optimization. We experimentally verify that the proposed structure can achieve over 90% microwave absorption in the range 5.1 to 19.2 GHz (covering the X and Ku bands), with low infrared emissivity (∼0.15), and also maintain visible transmittance above 60%. Moreover, the window retains good performance up to 200 °C owing to the intrinsic properties of the material. Our multi-band optimization method enables the application of the transparent metamaterial windows in electromagnetic shielding and stealth and can potentially be applied in smart window related industries.

Highly efficient and stable bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and evolution are essential for aqueous rechargeable Zn-air batteries, which require highly active sites as well as delicate structural design for increasing effective active sites and facilitating mass/electron transfer. Herein, a scalable and facile self-catalyzed growth strategy is developed to integrate highly active Co-N-C sites with 3D brush-like nanostructure, achieving Co-N-C nanobrushes with Co,N-codoped carbon nanotube branches grown on Co,N-codoped nanoparticle assembled nanowire backbones. Systematic investigations suggest that nanobrushes deliver significantly improved electrocatalytic activity compared with nanowire or nanotube counterparts and the longer nanotube branches give the better performance. Benefiting from the increase of accessible highly active sites and enhanced mass transfer and electron transportation, the present Co-N-C nanobrush exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity and durability when used as a bifunctional oxygen catalyst. It enables a rechargeable Zn-air battery with a high peak power density of 246 mW cm-2 and excellent cycling stability. These results suggest that the reported synthetic strategy may open up possibilities for exploring efficient electrocatalysts for diverse applications.

Wood auto-hydrolysates (WAH) are obtained in the pulping process by the hydrothermal extraction, which contains lots of hemicelluloses and slight lignin. WAH and chitosan (CS) were introduced into this study to construct WAH-based films by the casting method. The FT-IR results revealed the crosslinking interaction between WAH and CS due to the Millard reaction. The morphology, transmittance, thermal properties and mechanical properties of composite WAH/CS films were investigated. As the results showed, the tensile strength, light transmittances and thermal stability of the WAH-based composite films increased with the increment of WAH/CS content ratio. In addition, the results of oxygen transfer rate (OTR) and water vapor permeability (WVP) suggested that the OTR and WVP values of the films decreased due to the addition of CS. The maximum value of tensile strengths of the composite films achieved 71.2 MPa and the OTR of the films was low as 0.16 cm3&middot, &mu, m&middot, m&minus, 2&middot, 24 h&minus, 1&middot, kPa&minus, 1, these properties are better than those of other hemicelluloses composite films. These results suggested that the barrier composite films based on WAH and CS will become attractive in the food packaging application for great mechanical properties, good transmittance and low oxygen transfer rate.

Bio-based composite films were produced by incorporating wood autohydrolysate (WH), chitosan (CS), and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). In this work, WH was directly utilized without further purification, and CNC was introduced as the reinforced material to prepare WH-CS-CNC composite films with excellent properties. The effects of CNC on the properties of WH-CS-CNC composite films were investigated by characterizing their structures, mechanical properties, oxygen barrier, and thermal stability properties. The results suggested that CNC could improve tensile strength of the composite films, and the tensile strain at break could be up to 4.7%. Besides, the oxygen permeability of the prepared composite films could be as low as 3.57 cm3/day·m2·kPa, making them suitable for the food packaging materials. These above results showed that the addition of CNC is an effective method to enhance the toughness of composite films. In addition, WH-CS-CNC composite films have great potential in the field of sustainable food packing materials.

In this article, flake graphite, nitric acid, peroxyacetic acid and phosphoric acid are used to prepare graphene oxide phosphonic and phosphinic acids (GOPAs), and GOPAs and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are used to synthesize polyvinyl alcohol graphene oxide phosphonate and phosphinate (PVAGOPs) in the case of faint acidity and ultrasound irradiation, and PVAGOPs are used to fabricate PVAGOPs film, and the structure and morphology of GOPAs, PVAGOPs and PVAGOPs film are characterized, and the thermal stability and mechanical properties of PVAGOPs film are investigated. Based on these, it has been proved that GOPAs consist of graphene oxide phosphonic acid and graphene oxide phosphinic acid, and there are C P covalent bonds between them, and PVAGOPs are composed of GOPAs and PVA, and there are six-member lactone rings between GOPAs and PVA, and the thermal stability and mechanical properties of PVAGOPs film are improved effectively.

In this article, polyvinyl alcohol/phytic acid polymer (PVA/PA polymer) is synthesized from PVA and PA via the esterification reaction of PVA and PA in the case of acidity and ultrasound irradiation, and PVA/PA polymer sponge is prepared via foaming PVA/PA polymer in the presence of n-pentane and ammonium bicarbonate, and the structure of PVA/PA polymer and the structure, morphology and crystallinity of PVA/PA polymer sponge are characterized, and the thermal stability and surface resistivity of PVA/PA polymer sponge are investigated. Based on these, it has been attested that PVA/PA polymer synthesized under the acidity and ultrasound irradiation and PVA/PA polymer sponge are structured by the chain of PVA and the cricoid PA connected in the form of ether bonds and phosphonate bonds, and the thermal stability of PVA/PA polymer sponge attains 416.5 °C, and the surface resistivity of PVA/PA polymer sponge reaches 5.76 × 104 ohms/sq.

Nitrogen (N)-doped carbons combined with transition-metal nanoparticles are attractive as alternatives to the state-of-the-art precious metal catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we demonstrate a strategy for fabricating three-dimensional (3D) Cu-encased N-doped carbon nanotube arrays which are directly grown on Cu foam (Cu@NC NT/CF) as a new efficient HER electrocatalyst. Cu nanoparticles are encased here instead of common transition metals (Fe, Co, or Ni) for pursuing a well-controllable morphology and an excellent activity by taking advantage of its more stable nature at high temperature and in acidic or alkaline electrolyte. It is discovered that metallic Cu exhibits strong electronic modulation on N-doped carbon to boost its electrocatalytic activity for HER. Such a nanostructure not only offers plenty of accessible highly active sites but also provides a 3D conductive open network for fast electron/mass transfer and facilitates gas escape for prompt mass exchange. As a result, the Cu@NC NT/CF electrode exhibits superior HER performance and durability, outperforming most of the reported M@NC materials. Furthermore, the etching experiments together with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis reveal that the electronic modulation from encased Cu significantly enhances the HER activity of N-doped carbon. These findings open up opportunities for exploring other Cu-based nanomaterials as efficient electrocatalysts and understanding their catalytic processes.

In this paper, flake graphite, nitric acid and acetic anhydride are used to prepare graphene oxide carboxylic acid (GO-COOH) via an ultrasonic-assisted method, and GO-COOH and polyvinyl alcohol polymer (PVA) are used to synthesize graphene oxide carboxylic acid polyvinyl alcohol polymer (GO-COOPVA) via the ultrasonic-assisted method, and GO-COOPVA is used to manufacture graphene oxide carboxylic acid polyvinyl alcohol polymer film (GO-COOPVA film) via a solidification method, and the structure and morphology of GO-COOH, GO-COOPVA and GO-COOPVA film are characterized, and the thermal stability and surface resistivity are measured in the case of the different amount of GO-COOH. Based on the characterization and measurement, it has been successively confirmed and attested that carboxyl groups implant on 2D lattice of GO to form GO-COOH, and GO-COOH and PVA have the esterification reaction to produce GO-COOPVA, and GO-COOPVA consists of 2D lattice of GO-COOH and the chain of PVA connected in the form of carboxylic ester, and GO-COOPVA film is composed of GO-COOPVA, and the thermal stability of GO-COOPVA film obviously improves in comparison with PVA film, and the surface resistivity of GO-COOPVA film clearly decreases.

In this paper, polyvinyl alcohol/phytic acid polymer (PVA/PA polymer) was synthesized through esterification reaction of PVA and PA in the case of acidity and ultrasound irradiation and characterized, and PVA/PA polymer film was prepared by PVA/PA polymer and characterized, and the influence of dosage of PA on the thermal stability, mechanical properties and surface resistivity of PVA/PA polymer film were researched, and the influence of sonication time on the mechanical properties of PVA/PA polymer film was investigated. Based on those, it was concluded that the hydroxyl group on the chain of PVA and the phosphonic group on PA were connected together in the form of phosphonate bond, and the hydroxyl group on the chain of PVA were connected together in the form of ether bond after the intermolecular dehydration; in the meantime, it was also confirmed that PVA/PA polymer film prepared from 1.20mL of PA not only had the high thermal stability and favorable ductility but also the low surface resistivity in comparison with PVA/PA polymer film with 0.00mL of PA, and the ductility of PVA/PA polymer film was very sensitive to the sonication time.

Biobased nanocomposite films for food packaging with high mechanical strength and good oxygen-barrier performance were developed using a hot-water wood extract (HWE). In this work, a facile approach to produce HWE/montmorillonite (MMT) based nanocomposite films with excellent physical properties is described. The focus of this study was to determine the effects of the MMT content on the structure and mechanical properties of nanocomposites and the effects of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on the physical properties of the HWE-MMT films. The experimental results suggested that the intercalation of HWE and CMC in montmorillonite could produce compact, robust films with a nacre-like structure and multifunctional characteristics. This results of this study showed that the mechanical properties of the film designated FCMC0.05 (91.5 MPa) were dramatically enhanced because the proportion of HWE, MMT and CMC was 1:1.5:0.05. In addition, the optimized films exhibited an oxygen permeability below 2.0 cm3μm/day·m2·kPa, as well as good thermal stability due to the small amount of CMC. These results provide a comprehensive understanding for further development of high-performance nanocomposites which are based on natural polymers (HWE) and assembled layered clays (MMT). These films offer great potential in the field of sustainable packaging.

According to the comprehensive utilization of 300 series and 400 series stainless steel dust (SSD), and the dephosphorization of the reclaimed Cr-Ni contained hot metal, an experimental method of smelting reduction in iron-bath and oxidational dephosphorization was studied. The result shows: The yield rate of Cr in 300SSDand 400SSDis 98.13% and 98.39% respectively, the yield rate of Ni is almost 100%; During the dephosphorization, through the BaO and CaO-BaO based dephosphorizer has a higher Dephosphorization rate, it can bring pollution problems and the cost is too high, however, under some circumstance when the requirement of phosphorus content is not critical, the CaO based dephosphorizer can also achieved the dephosphorization goal.

Practical electrochemical water splitting requires cost-effective electrodes capable of steadily working at high output, leading to the challenges for efficient and stable electrodes for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, by simply using conductive FeS microsheet arrays vertically pre-grown on iron foam (FeS/IF) as both substrate and source to in situ form vertically aligned NiFe(OH)(x) nanosheets arrays, a hierarchical electrode with a nano/micro sheet-on-sheet structure (NiFe(OH)(x)/FeS/IF) can be readily achieved to meet the requirements. Such hierarchical electrode architecture with a superhydrophilic surface also allows for prompt gas release even at high output. As a result, NiFe(OH)(x)/FeS/IF exhibits superior OER activity with an overpotential of 245 mV at 50 mA cm(-2) and can steadily output 1000 mA cm(-2) at a low overpotential of 332 mV. The water-alkali electrolyzer using NiFe(OH)(x)/FeS/IF as the anode can deliver 10 mA cm(-2) at 1.50 V and steadily operate at 300 mA cm(-2) with a small cell voltage for 70 h. Furthermore, a solar-driven electrolyzer using the developed electrode demonstrates an exceptionally high solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 18.6%. Such performance together with low-cost Fe-based materials and facile mass production suggest the present strategy may open up opportunities for rationally designing hierarchical electrocatalysts for practical water splitting or diverse applications.

The development of cost-effective and applicable strategies for producing efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is crucial to advance electrochemical water splitting. Herein, a kinetically controlled room-temperature coprecipitation is developed as a general strategy to produce a variety of sandwich-type metal hydroxide/graphene composites. Specifically, well-defined α-phase nickel cobalt hydroxide nanosheets are vertically assembled on the entire graphene surface (NiCo-HS@G) to provide plenty of accessible active sites and enable facile gas escaping. The tight contact between NiCo-HS and graphene promises effective electron transfer and remarkable durability. It is discovered that Ni doping adjusts the nanosheet morphology to augment active sites and effectively modulates the electronic structure of Co center to favor the adsorption of oxygen species. Consequently, NiCo-HS@G exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity and durability for OER with a very low overpotential of 259 mV at 10 mA cm−2. Furthermore, a practical water electrolyzer demonstrates a small cell voltage of 1.51 V to stably achieve the current density of 10 mA cm−2, and 1.68 V to 50 mA cm−2. Such superior electrocatalytic performance indicates that this facile and manageable strategy with low energy consumption may open up opportunities for the cost-effective mass production of various metal hydroxides/graphene nanocomposites with desirable morphology and competing performance for diverse applications.

Developing highly efficient low‐cost electrocatalysts for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline electrolyte is essential to advance water electrolysis technology. Herein, Ni(OH)2 nanoplates aligned on NiAl foil (Ni(OH)2/NiAl) are developed by simply dealloying NiAl foil in KOH, which exhibits high electrocatalytic activity for OER with a small overpotential of 289 mV to achieve 10 mA cm−2 and outstanding durability with no detectable degradation during long‐term operation. Furthermore, such Ni(OH)2/NiAl can effectively act as an active and robust hierarchical scaffold to simply electrodeposit other catalysts with intrinsically higher activity such as NiMo and NiFe nanoparticles for highly efficient HER and OER, respectively. The prepared NiFe/Ni(OH)2/NiAl displays superior OER catalytic activity with overpotentials of 246, 315, and 374 mV at 10, 100, and 500 mA cm−2, respectively. While NiMo/Ni(OH)2/NiAl catalyst exhibits remarkable HER performance with a small overpotential of 78 mV to deliver 10 mA cm−2. Consequently, the electrolysis device composed of the above two electrocatalysts demonstrates superb water splitting performance with a cell voltage of 1.59 V at 10 mA cm−2. These results open up opportunities to explore and optimize low‐cost advanced catalysts for energy applications.