Production of Branched Alkanes by Upcycling of Waste Polyethylene over Controlled Acid Sites of SO/ZrO-AlO Catalyst.

Branched alkanes, which enhance the octane number of gasoline, can be produced from waste polyethylene. However, achieving highly selective production of branched alkanes presents a significant challenge in the upcycling of waste polyethylene. Here, we report a one-pot process to convert polyethylene into gasoline-range hydrocarbons (C-C) with yield of 73.

Upcycling of polyethylene to gasoline through a self-supplied hydrogen strategy in a layered self-pillared zeolite.

Conversion of plastic wastes to valuable carbon resources without using noble metal catalysts or external hydrogen remains a challenging task. Here we report a layered self-pillared zeolite that enables the conversion of polyethylene to gasoline with a remarkable selectivity of 99% and yields of >80% in 4 h at 240 °C. The liquid product is primarily composed of branched alkanes (selectivity of 72%), affording a high research octane number of 88.

Nanoparticles and single atoms of cobalt synergistically enabled low-temperature reductive amination of carbonyl compounds.

Low-temperature and selective reductive amination of carbonyl compounds is a highly promising approach to access primary amines. However, it remains a great challenge to conduct this attractive route efficiently over earth-abundant metal-based catalysts. Herein, we designed several Co-based catalysts (denoted as Co@C-N(), where represents the pyrolysis temperature) by the pyrolysis of the metal-organic framework ZIF-67 at different temperatures.

A bright chemiluminescence conjugated polymer-mesoporous silica nanoprobe for imaging of colonic tumors .

Hypochlorite acid (ClO) is one of the major reactive oxygen species (ROS) in colon cancer, providing an effective target for colonic tumor imaging. For detection of ClO and tumor imaging, poly[(9,9-di(2-ethylhexyl)-9-fluorene-2,7-vinylene)--(1-methoxy-4-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-2,5-phenylenevinylene)] (PFV--MEHPV, namely CP1) was encapsulated in mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) that were pre-modified with polyphenylenevinylene (PPV) polymerization to construct bright PPV@MSN-CP1 nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were size-stable and not cytotoxic as confirmed by FE-TEM, FE-SEM, and MTT assay.

Stable SERS substrate based on highly reflective metal liquid-like films wrapped hydrogels for direct determination of small molecules in a high protein matrix.

The study of the interaction between small molecules and proteins is important. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is suitable for such applications since it has the power of detecting a molecule based on its intrinsic nature and without labeling. Herein, the MeLLFs@PAAG SERS substrate supporting highly reflective metal liquid-like films (MeLLFs) with polyacrylamide hydrogels (PAAG) has high-density "hot spots" to provide excellent SERS activity.

Superior nitrogen-doped activated carbon materials for water cleaning and energy storing prepared from renewable leather wastes.

The fabrication of nitrogen-doped activated carbons (N-ACs) from leather solid wastes (LSW), a huge underutilized bioresource, by different activation methods was investigated. N-AC prepared by KOH activation (named KNAC) exhibited superior physical and chemical properties with much higher BET surface area (2247 m g) and more abundant hierarchical micropores than those activated by nano-CaCO (CNAC) or by direct carbonization (NNAC). KOH activation decreased the total nitrogen content in KNAC, but it increased the ratio of surface nitrogen species.

Photocatalytic Conversion of Lignin into Chemicals and Fuels.

Lignin, an underutilized component of lignocellulosic biomass, is regarded as a rich reservoir for the production of aromatic chemicals and fuels. Despite extensive research in recent years, lignin's potential is far from being fully unlocked. Photocatalysis that uses sustainable solar energy to drive lignin conversion under mild conditions has been identified as a promising strategy and received growing research interest.