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1. A ultra-large surface area of porous graphitic biochar was successfully using corn starch and ZnCl2 by a one-step method. 2. The adsorption capacity of tetracycline on the biochar could get 1122.2 mg g−1 at room temperature.

In the present study, a magnetically separable adsorbent, manganese ferrite (MnFe

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with high theoretical energy density are considered as the most promising devices for rechargeable energy-storage systems. However, their actual applications are rather limited by the shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and the sluggish redox kinetics. Here, the boron nitride nanosheets are homodispersedly embedded into N-doping porous carbon fibers (BNNSs/CHFs) by an electrospinning technique and a subsequent

By controlling the species of the organic sulfur source, CdS samples were produced with different photocatalytic performances by a low-temperature solvothermal method. Different species of the organic sulfur source were chosen as the coordination agent to control the interactions in the crystal growth process. Among them, thioacetamide was the best coordination agent. The hydrophobic chain could be good for reducing the resistance of charge transfer, and increasing the rate of surface charge transfer and the lifetime of the photoexcited electrons. Benefiting from the hydrophobic chain, CdS shows an excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 943.54 μmol h

The effects of hydrothermal temperature on the photocatalytic degradation performance of bismuth oxide formate were investigated using Bi(NO3)3·5H2O and N, N-dimethylformamide prepared by a simple hydrothermal process. Its structure and properties were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray powder diffraction, and ultraviolet and visible absorption spectra. The photocatalytic degradation performance was evaluated in tetracycline solutions. Temperature has a great influence on the morphology of BiOCOOH, and reduces the width of the energy gap. The photocatalytic degradation rate of BiOCOOH prepared at 160°C (BiO-160) with regard to tetracycline was 3.2 times that at 140°C. Within 70 min, BiO-160 can almost completely degrade 10 mg/L of tetracycline in aqueous solution. Photocatalytic mechanisms showed that ·OH plays a major role, while ·O2− plays a secondary role in the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline by BiO-160.

The sheet-like adsorbent of the eggshell wastes was prepared by the thermal hydrolysis method. The structure of the adsorbent was characterized by scanning electron microscope, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer. The adsorption capacity was investigated in a Pb2+ solution. The effects of initial pH, salt concentration, contact time, and adsorbate concentration on the adsorption of lead ions were investigated in detail. The morphology of the adsorbent was sheet-like microspheres. Zinc selenide/zinc oxide could be uniformly loaded onto the eggshell waste surface, which could effectively enhance the specific surface area of the eggshell wastes. The adsorption kinetics and isotherm followed the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir–Freundlich isotherm model, respectively. The synthesized adsorbent showed a maximum lead adsorption capacity of 1,428.78 mg/g at room temperature. Ion-exchange was the main adsorption mechanism.

The self-assembled polymer nanotubes were obtained by a simple solvothermal method. Its physicochemical properties were characterized by SEM, BET, TGA, FT-IR, XPS, and solid-state 13C magnetic resonance. The effects of initial pH, dosage, and coexisting ions were evaluated for its Cr(VI) adsorption performances. The result showed that polymer nanotubes surface had a large number of organic functional groups and porous structures. In 140 mg/L Cr(VI) solution, polymer nanotubes obtained the largest Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of 147.81 mg/g. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms agreed well with the pseudo-second-order and Redlich–Peterson models, respectively. The desorption process showed that the polymer nanotubes were easy to regenerate in strong polarity solution and had a high removal efficiency. Ionic strength played an important role in the adsorption and the adsorption interaction contained electrostatic interaction, reduction, and chelation in this work. The self-assembly method will constitute a highly efficient adsorbent.

This is the first time to report a facile strategy to fabricate galactoglucomannan-based latex with highly transparent, hydrophobic and flexible characteristics by combining etherification with subsequent emulsion polymerization. The allylated galactoglucomannans (A-GGM) and galactoglucomannan-based latexes (GGM-L) were prepared and their chemical structure, substitution degree, molecular weight, conversion rate, particle size and zeta potential were characterized by ATR-FTIR

In the development of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)-based polymeric composites with high thermal conductivity, it is always challenging to achieve a dense filling of h-BN fillers to form a desired high-density thermal transfer network. Here, a series of boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs)/epoxy resin (EP) bulk composites filled with ultrahigh BNNSs content (65-95 wt %) is successfully constructed through a well-designed mechanical-balling prereaction combined with a general pressure molding method. By means of this method, the highly filled BNNSs fillers are uniformly dispersed and strongly bonded with EP within the composites. As a result, the densely BNNSs-filled composites can exhibit multiple performances. They have excellent mechanical properties, and their maximum compression strength is 30-97 MPa. For a BNNSs/EP composite with filling ultrahigh BNNSs fraction up to 90 wt %, its highly in-plane thermal conductivities (TC) are 6.7 ± 0.1 W m-1 K-1 (at 25 °C) to 8.7 ± 0.2 W m-1 K-1 (200 °C), respectively. In addition, the minimum coefficient of thermal expansion of BNNSs/EP composites is 4.5 ± 1.3 ppm/°C (only ∼4% of that of the neat EP), while their dielectric constants are basically located between 3-4 along with their dielectric loss tangent values exceptionally

A novel biological magnetic adsorbent was successfully constituted with sugarcane bagasse (SCB), polyetherimide (PEI) and Fe3O4. The physicochemical properties of the adsorbent (Fe3O4@PEI/SCB) were investigated by SEM, BET, VSM, XRD, TGA, FT-IR, XPS, TEM and UV–Vis. The adsorption capacity was measured using Cr(VI) and orange II as adsorbates. The effects of initial pH, dosage, contact time, and ionic strength on the adsorption capacity were investigated in detail. Fe3O4@PEI/SCB is a mesoporous material and the mass ratio of Fe3O4:PEI:SCB is about 5:2:15. Adsorption capacity could reach 182.28 mg/g and 1893.57 mg/g for Cr(VI) and orange II at room temperature, respectively. Fe3O4@PEI/SCB is a green and economical material, which is very easily regenerated, reused, and separated in the adsorption. The most important factor is the ionic strength and major adsorption interaction was electrostatic in this work.

The positive role of water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion on recovering heavy oil during water flooding has started arousing attention. Whereas, few studies have focused on exploring its mobility control characteristics, which was greatly affected by water content(ϕ). Thus, this paper targeted the effect of water content on its bulk properties and mobility control performance. Results showed that the increase of ϕ weakened the emulsion stability and enlarged the droplet size. The viscosity of W/O emulsion was 1.23–16.57 times higher than that of original oil except a few cases (ϕ ≥ 50%, γ ˙ ≥600s−1), largely elevating the displacing-displaced phase mobility ratio. Besides, for emulsions (ϕ ≥ 40%), viscosities exhibited the strong shear rate dependence effect, and the values of flow consistency index ranged between 0.71803 and 0.83766. More obvious shear-thinning behaviors were observed in W/O emulsions with higher ϕ, which made W/O emulsion exhibit a certain self-adjustment ability to plug the layer. Compared with water-only flooding, the presence of W/O emulsion significantly increased the pressure drop, suggesting the excellent performance in permeability reduction. Due to the blocking of large-size droplets, the pressure drops in the subsequent water injection stage were significantly increased for emulsions (ϕ ≥ 70%), prolonging the duration of mobility control. Meanwhile, the presence of W/O emulsion improved fluid distribution and stabilized the flood front. Emulsions forming in higher ϕ presented stronger ability to reduce permeability and control profile. This study is helpful to clarify the key role of W/O emulsion.

Nano-CuO have been grown on the surface of CdS nanorods by a simple solution-phase reaction, which greatly enhanced the hydrogen evolution ability of CdS. The physical chemistry properties of CuO/CdS nanocomposites were investigated by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, XPS and electrochemical methods. The morphology and crystal structure of CdS were not influenced by the loading of Nano-CuO. And it was helpful to delay the time of electron recombination to the hole, and greatly improved the hydrogen evolution performance of CdS. When the loading of Nano-CuO was 1 wt%, the photocatalytic performance of CdS increases from 105 μmol g−1 h−1 to 3317.5 μmol g−1 h−1. After several cycles, the structure of CuO/CdS nanocomposites was not changed, and Nano-CuO could effectively prevent the photo-corrosion defects of CdS. This work provides a new way to improve the hydrogen evolution performance of CdS by growing nano-oxide on CdS surface.

FTY720 is an immunosuppressive agent which has been approved to treat multiple sclerosis (MS). The main object of the present study is to investigate whether FTY720 has the potential to induce the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in vitro. Using Sytox Green assay and fluorescence microscopy, our results showed that FTY720 trigged the NET formation. In contrast to classic NET formation induced by Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), FTY720-induced NETs were detected earlier and independent of NADPH oxidase (NOX) activity. Pharmacological inhibitor experiments indicated that autophagy was also required for the NET formation induced by FTY720. Moreover, p38 and AKT inhibitor significantly suppressed the NET formation by FTY720, whereas ERK inhibitor had no effect, suggesting that FTY720-induced NETs depended on the activation of p38 and AKT. We further found that citrullination of histone H3 and peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) did not mediated FTY720-induced NET formation. Interestingly, necroptosis signaling activation was involved in the vital NET formation by FTY720, however, plasma membrane rupture resulting from necroptosis was not a major component of NET formation described here. Collectively, these findings indicated that FTY720 could be a potential antibacterial drug to protect host against pathogen infection.

Functional cross-linked polymers (Poly(AA-co-DVB)) were synthesized using a one-step method. The properties of Poly(AA-co-DVB) were measured by SEM, FTIR, and TGA. The adsorption capacity of the Poly(AA-co-DVB) was investigated using methylene blue as an adsorbate. The effect of the mole compositions of acrylic acid and divinylbenzene monomers on the adsorption capacity was investigated in detail. The initial pH of solutions and contact time were also studied. The kinetics and isotherms of the adsorption process were also investigated. The result showed that the maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity was 1698.9 mg/g at room temperature and the adsorption kinetic was well fitted by a pseudo-second-order model and the adsorption isotherm agreed well with the Langmuir model.

A composite material poly(AA-DVB)@TiO2, which exhibits high photocatalytic activity, was prepared using poly(AA-DVB) containing the electron-withdrawing group by a sol–gel method without calcination. The physicochemical properties of poly(AA-DVB)@TiO2 were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, EDS, and XPS. Photocatalytic measurements were conducted using a xenon lamp with the aim of analyzing the degradation of methyl blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) solutions. For the photodegradation of MB and MO, poly(AA-DVB)@TiO2 exhibits photocatalytic activity significantly higher than that of TiO2 solid nanocrystals. After five cycle experiments, poly(AA-DVB)@TiO2 exhibits better efficiency. The experiments confirmed that the aromatic rings and carboxyl groups, which lead to the negative conjugation effect, synergistic effect, and higher separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes, can greatly improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. Light capture results indicate that the main catalytic factor in poly(AA-DVB)@TiO2 as the photocatalyst is the holes. Further, the high surface area and pore also improve the photocatalytic efficiency.

A series of functional cross-linked polymer (Poly(AMPS- co -DVB)) were synthesized by 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) and divinylbenzene (DVB). The physicochemical properties of the Poly(AMPS- co -DVB) were characterized by FT-IR, TGA, SEM, XRD, Zeta potential and UV–Vis. Those results showed that the Poly(AMPS- co -DVB) could provide mounts of adsorption sites from its special structure. The effects of the initial pH, dosage, contact time, and temperature on the adsorption of Rhodamine B (RhB) onto the Poly(AMPS- co -DVB) were investigated. It was found that the initial pH was an important factor for the molecules form of RhB and the surface formation of Poly(AMPS- co -DVB). With increasing of molar ratio of AMPS/DVB, the adsorption efficiency increased gradually. In the adsorption process, both physical and chemical mechanism is presence to adsorb RhB. The maximum adsorption capacity could get 407.9 mg/g within 2 h at room temperature.

A novel π-π* conjugate system photo-catalyst was successfully constructed using aniline, pyrrole and TiO2. The structures of photo-catalyst were measured by XRD, SEM, BET, TEM, FT-IR, XPS and TGA in detail. The photocatalytic properties were investigated in rhodamine B and methyl orange solution, respectively. And the enhance mechanism of π-π* conjugate system was discussed in depth. The weight percentage of Ti weight about 47% in the compound and the π-π* conjugate system did not change the crystal structure of TiO2. The photocatalytic degradation properties of the π-π* conjugate system photo-catalyst could get 99% for rhodamine B and methyl orange after 10 and 15 min, respectively. The introduction of the π-π* conjugate system into TiO2 was beneficial to improve light harvest, photoelectric response and separation of electron-holes.

A novel adsorbent consisting of polyethyleneimine-modified multi-wall carbon nanotubes (PEI-MWCNTs) was synthesized by grafting PEI on the carboxyl MWCNTs. The surface properties of the PEI-MWCNTs were measured by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared, and zeta potential. The adsorption behavior of the PEI-MWCNTs was investigated using sunset yellow FCF as adsorbate. The effects of dosage of adsorbent, the initial pH of solution, contact time and temperature on the adsorption capacity were studied. Then, the kinetics and thermodynamics of the adsorption process were further investigated. Experimental results showed that the adsorption kinetics fitted a pseudo-second-order model and the adsorption isotherms agreed well with the Langmuir model. The adsorption process occurred very fast and the adsorption capacity of PEI-MWCNTs was much higher than that of many of the previously reported adsorbents. Additionally, the plausible adsorption mechanism was discussed.

The synthesis of acetaldehyde from lactic acid over the carbon material catalysts was investigated. The carbon materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy for morphologic features, by X-ray diffraction for crystal phases, by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for functional group structures, by N2 sorption for specific surface area and by ammonia temperature-programed desorption for acidity, respectively. Among the tested carbon catalysts, mesoporous carbon displayed the most excellent catalytic performance. By acidity analysis, the medium acidity is a crucial factor for catalytic performance: more medium acidity favored the formation of acetaldehyde from lactic acid. To verify, we compared the catalytic performance of fresh activated carbon with that of the activated carbon treated by nitric acid. Similarly, the modified activated carbon also displayed better activity due to a drastic increase of medium acidity amount. However, in contrast to fresh carbon nanotube, the treated sample displayed worse activity due to decrease of medium acidity amount. The effect of reaction temperature and time on stream on the catalytic performance was also investigated. Under the optimal reaction conditions, 100% lactic acid conversion and 91.6% acetaldehyde selectivity were achieved over the mesoporous carbon catalyst.

Although acetaldehyde is a very important compound and has been utilized as a useful synthon for various important chemicals, it has been synthesized in industry through a petroleum route until now. Herein, we have successfully developed a sustainable route using a heterogeneous catalyst. In the presence of mesoporous aluminum phosphate (MAP3), the decarbonylation reaction of lactic acid proceeded efficiently, with 100% lactic acid conversion and ∼92% acetaldehyde selectivity. The catalyst shows high stability for at least 248 h. The unprecedented catalytic performance is due to rich medium acidic sites existing on the catalyst surface.

A series of novel anhydrous proton exchange membranes (poly(vinyl alcohol)–citric acid–ionic liquid (PVA–CA–IL)) were prepared using the low cost ionic liquids ethylammonium nitrate (EAN), diethylammonium nitrate (DEAN), and triethylammonium nitrate (TEAN) as conductive fillers in PVA support membrane. The properties of the PVA–CA–IL membranes can be controlled by changing the molar ratio of the PVA, ILs and CA. The thermal stability of PVA–CA–IL membrane was measured by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the microstructure was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the Anton-paar SAX Sess mc2 system (SAXS). The effects of temperature, ILs and crosslinker dosage on proton conductivity were also systematically investigated. The results showed that the PVA–CA–IL membranes had excellent performance. The proton conductivity of PVA–CA–EAN (mole ratio = 1 : 0.05 : 0.4) could reach up to 7.8 mS cm−1 at 140 °C. The introduction of ionic liquid into PVA membrane constituted a new and efficient kind of anhydrous proton exchange membrane.

To produce directional conducting and lower methanol permeable ultrathin membrane for fuel cell, the imidazolium salt as both cross-linking agent and proton donor has been designed to build a directional proton conducting channel in a poly (vinyl alcohol)-based membrane. The methanol permeability of directional conducting membrane is very low, which is about twice smaller than that of Nafion117. In addition, the membranes show a relatively high oxidative durability in H2O2 solutions, with only about 10% weight loss after the membrane being immersed in 3% H2O2 solution for 120 h. All the properties of prepared directional conducting membrane indicate their promising prospects in proton conducting membrane applications.

Poly-(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) proton-conducting composite membranes were prepared using succinic acid (SA) as a cross-linking agent and Bronsted acidic ionic liquid (BAIL) as a proton source. The incorporated BAILs resulted in a relatively high proton conductivity compared with PVA/SA membrane without BAILs. The proton conductivities of PVA/SA/BAIL composite membranes increased versus the BAIL content. In addition, the optimal resultant proton conductivity of PVA/SA/BAIL composite membrane under dry condition could reach 0.4 mS/cm at 140 °C, which was higher than that of PVA/sulfosuccinic acid (SSA) composite membrane (0.032 mS/cm), PVA/SSA/5-aminotetrazole membrane (0.022 mS/cm at 130 °C), and PVA/chlorosulfonic acid/glutaraldehyde membrane (0.0585 mS/cm at 90 °C) measured at the same condition. It was notable that the PVA/SA/BAIL composite membranes could reach high thermal stability up to 150 °C, which was higher than that of traditional PVA membranes (below 80 °C).

Decarbonylation of lactic acid to acetaldehyde over several solid catalysts was investigated. Among the tested catalysts, aluminum sulfate has an excellent activity. In order to further understand ...

Hydroxyl-functionalized ionic liquid-based cross-linked polymer is synthesized from 1-hydroxyethyl-3-vinylimidazolium chloride and divinylbenzene. The physicochemical properties of the adsorbent are investigated by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The adsorption capacity of the novel cross-linked polymer with respect to anionic azo dyes is investigated using a batch adsorption procedure and the kinetics and thermodynamics of the adsorption process are further investigated. It is found that the adsorption kinetics is well fitted by a pseudo-second-order model and the adsorption isotherms agree well with the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity after 5 h at room temperature (25 °C) could reach 2095.80 and 2100.98 mg/g for orange II and sunset yellow FCF, respectively. The adsorption capacity is much better than most of the previously reported adsorbents. The introduction of hydroxyl-functionalized task-specific ionic liquid moieties into cross-linked polymer constitutes a new and efficient kind of adsorbent.

In the present study, we have synthesized a room-temperature ionic liquid by mixing imidazolium-type zwitterions with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide. We constructed nanostructured aqueous lithium-ion conductors having hexagonal, lamellar, and bicontinuous cubic structures by the self-assembly of this amphiphilic ionic liquid. These nanostructured lithium-ion conductors exhibited an assembled-structure dependent lithium-ion conduction behavior. The introduction of highly ordered and well-defined liquid crystal structures into room-temperature ionic liquid radically changes the conduction mechanism from diffusion to hopping.

An adsorbent of magnetic polymer multi-wall carbon nanotube (MPMWCNT) nanocomposite was synthesized, which was composed of multi-wall carbon nanotubes, poly(1-glycidyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) (ionic liquid-based polyether) and ferroferric oxide. The properties of MPMWCNT were investigated by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The adsorptive capacity of MPMWCNT was examined using anionic azo dyes of orange II, sunset yellow FCF and amaranth as adsorbates. The effect of pH value was investigated and the adsorption kinetics and isotherms were also studied. It was found that a low pH value favors the adsorption of those anionic azo dyes and the adsorption kinetics and isotherms were well fitted by a pseudo second-order model and Langmuir model, respectively. The introduction of ionic liquid-based polyether and ferroferric oxide moieties into the multi-wall carbon nanotubes brings significant improvements in the adsorption and separation performance.

The phase behavior of a double chained pyrrolidinium surfactant, didecylpyrrolidium bromide (DC10PB), in aqueous solution was studied. Polarized optical microscopy (POM), cryogenic-transmission electron microscope (cryo-TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements were employed to investigate the properties of the structures formed. With increasing DC10PB concentration, isotropic solution phase, vesicle phase, and lamellar liquid crystal (LLC) phase are presented in aqueous solution. The structural parameters of the LLC phase were calculated from SAXS patterns, which show the change in detail as a function of the amount of DC10PB. The rheological measurements reveal that the viscoelasticity increases with DC10PB concentration because of the densely packing of the surfactant molecules.

A novel nanospheres adsorbent was successfully prepared using functionalized 1H-Pyrrole-1-ethanamine by homopolymerization. It could be easily protonated to form double-charged repeating structural units on the surface of nanospheres. The physic-chemical properties were characterized by SEM, TGA, XPS and Zeta potential. The effects of initial pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial concentration, and ionic strength were studied in detail. The maximum adsorption capacity of Chromium(VI) was about 729.09 mg g−1 at room temperature. Electrostatic attraction played an important role in the adsorption process and the size of the ion group had a greater effect on the adsorption performance than the charge.

The effects of ionic liquids 1-(2-aminoethyl)-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([MimAE]Cl), 1-carboxylmethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([MimCM]Cl), 1-(2-hydroxylethyl)-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([MimHE]Cl), and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Emim]Cl) on the physicochemical properties of aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solutions were studied. Compared with [Emim]Cl, the presence of amino group can further facilitate the micellization of SDS, while the opposite result is observed as carboxyl group is imparted. No obvious changes in critical micelle concentration (CMC) and $$ {\gamma_{\mathrm{CMC}}} $$ values are induced by the neutral hydroxyl group. Only the addition of [MimAE]Cl drastically increases the micellar size. Significant decrease in CMC and increase in micellar size were observed with decreasing pH of [MimAE]Cl solution. The increase in pH of [MimCM]Cl solution results in a slight increase in CMC and decrease in micellar size. 1H NMR spectra revealed the amino groups are adsorbed at the micellar surface, while the carboxyl groups/carboxylate ions and hydroxyl groups tend to point towards bulk water.