A hydrophilic/hydrophobic switch on polymer surface triggered by calcite towards separation of hazardous PVC from plastic mixtures.

Hydrophilic modification of polymer surfaces is crucial for the emerging flotation separation of plastic waste towards resources recycling. In this study, we investigated a novel hydrophilic regulation induced by calcite to modify the surface wettability of PVC, ABS, PS, PC, and PET. The interactions between calcite and plastic molecules contributed to the selective formation of hydrophilic calcite shells on plastic surfaces.

The cellulose nanocrystal jammed interfaces induced by CO-assisted self-assembly for enhancing oil recovery.

Stability of displacement front is of great importance in the immiscible fluid displacement for enhancing oil recovery. Here, a CO-strenghened assembly approach is demonstrated for the fabrication of highly jammed CNSs (cellulose nanocrystal surfactants) with EPD (N'-ethylpropane-1,3-diamine) and TOCNC (TEMPO oxidized cellulose nanocrystal), which produce a structured film at the oil-water interface to counteract the capillary force, and thus governing the local displacing pattern. In this approach, EPD molecules can be deeply protonated in the presence of CO, favoring their binding forces with TOCNC at the interface to produce more CNSs.

Differential pulse voltammetry detection of Pb(ii) using nitrogen-doped activated nanoporous carbon from almond shells.

Almond shell-based charcoal was prepared by carbonizing almond shells in a nitrogen atmosphere. Nanoporous carbon (NPC) was formed activating the obtained charcoal using potassium hydroxide as an activating agent, followed by the synthesis of nitrogen-doped nanoporous carbon (N-NPC) a hydrothermal reaction using urea as the nitrogen source. The obtained N-NPC possessed a large surface area (1075 m g), narrow pore-size distribution (1-2 nm) and nitrogen content reaching 2.

Taraxacum-like Mg-Al-Si@porous carbon nanoclusters for electrochemical rutin detection.

The authors describe a method for synthesis of a nanomaterial consisting of porous carbon encapsulated Mg-Al-Si alloy (denoted as Mg-Al-Si@PC) nanocluster. The nanocluster was synthesis by a solvothermal reaction, followed by high-temperature annealing. The nanoclusters were used as a novel immobilization platform for electrochemical sensing of rutin.

Synthesis of an iron-nitrogen co-doped ordered mesoporous carbon-silicon nanocomposite as an enhanced electrochemical sensor for sensitive and selective determination of chloramphenicol.

In this study, we developed a sensitive electrochemical sensor for the detection of chloramphenicol (CAP). An iron-nitrogen co-doped ordered mesoporous carbon-silicon nanocomposite (Si-Fe/NOMC) was prepared as follows. First, an SBA-15 surface was treated with an iron and nitrogen co-doped carbon framework obtained from the polymerization of ethylenediamine and carbon tetrachloride via the hard templating method.