Facet Engineering Boosts Interfacial Compatibility of Inorganic-Polymer Composites.

The interfacial compatibility between inorganic particles and polymer is crucial for ensuring high performance of composites. Current efforts to improve interfacial compatibility preferentially rely on organic modification of inorganic particles, leading to their complex process, high costs, and short lifespans due to aging and decomposition of organic modifiers. However, the fabrication of inorganic particles free from organic modification that is highly compatible in polymer still remains a great challenge.

In Situ Evolution of Ionic Sites at Clay Mineral Interfaces Facilitates Fluoride and Phosphorus Mineralization.

Soil minerals influence the biogeochemical cycles of fluoride (F) and phosphorus (P), impacting soil quality and bioavailability to plants. However, the cooperative mechanisms of soil minerals in governing F and P in the soil environment remain a grand challenge. Here, we reveal the essential role of a typical soil mineral, montmorillonite (Mt), in the cycling and fate of F and P.

Facet-engineering strategy of phosphogypsum for production of mineral slow-release fertilizers with efficient nutrient fixation and delivery.

Phosphogypsum (PG) presents considerable potential for agricultural applications as a secondary primary resource. However, it currently lacks environmentally friendly, economically viable, efficient, and sustainable reuse protocols. This study firstly developed a PG-based mineral slow-release fertilizer (MSRFs) by internalization and fixation of urea within the PG lattice via facet-engineering strategy.

Differential Adsorption of Dissolved Organic Matter and Phosphorus on Clay Mineral in Water-Sediment System.

Lake sediments connection to the biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus (P) and carbon (C) influences streamwater quality. However, it is unclear whether and how the type of sediment controls P and C cycling in water. Here, the adsorption behavior of montmorillonite (Mt) with different interlayer cations (Na, Ca, or Fe) on dissolved organic matter (DOM) and P was investigated to understand the role of Mt in regulating the organic carbon-to-phosphate (OC/P) ratio within freshwater systems.

Twin boundary defect engineering in Au cocatalyst to promote alcohol splitting for coproduction of H and fine chemicals.

The microstructure of Au metal cocatalyst has been shown to significantly influence its optical and electronic properties. However, the impact of Au defect engineering on photocatalytic activity remains underexplored. In this study, we synthesize different Au-TiO composites by in-situ hybridizing face-centered cubic (F-Au) and twin boundary defect Au (T-Au) nanoparticles (NPs) onto the surface of TiO.

Effect of microstructure in mesoporous adsorbents on the adsorption of low concentrations of VOCs: An experimental and simulation study.

This study evaluated the adsorption of five volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on Opoka, precipitated silica, and palygorskite, to elucidate the effect of their pore size on VOCs adsorption. The adsorption capacity of these adsorbents is not only highly correlated with their surface area and pore volume, but also notably improved by the presence of micropores. The variation in adsorption capacity for different VOCs was primarily influenced by their boiling point and polarity.

Nanoclay-Modulated Interfacial Chemical Bond and Internal Electric Field at the Co O /TiO p-n Junction for Efficient Charge Separation.

To achieve a high separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers in semiconductors, constructing high-quality heterogeneous interfaces as charge flow highways is critical and challenging. This study successfully demonstrates an interfacial chemical bond and internal electric field (IEF) simultaneously modulated 0D/0D/1D-Co O /TiO /sepiolite composite catalyst by exploiting sepiolite surface-interfacial interactions to adjust the Co /Co ratio at the Co O /TiO heterointerface. In situ irradiation X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the interfacial Co OTi bond (compared to the Co OTi bond) plays a major role as an atomic-level charge transport channel at the p-n junction.

Clinoptilolite mediated activation of peroxymonosulfate through spherical dispersion and oriented array of NiFeO: Upgrading synergy and performance.

Inspired by the features of both transition metal oxide and natural clinoptilolite (flaky structure with suitable pore diameter and open skeleton structure), we adopted a robust strategy by immobilization of nickel ferrite nanoparticles (NiFeO) on the clinoptilolite surface via typical citric acid combustion method. The hybrid catalyst exhibited enhanced peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation efficiency and bisphenol A (BPA) degradation performance. Calculated by effective equivalent of NiFeO, it is found that the reaction rate constant (k) of NiFeO/clinoptilolite/PMS system (0.

Synergistic activation of peroxymonosulfate via in situ growth FeCoO nanoparticles on natural rectorite: Role of transition metal ions and hydroxyl groups.

Developing low-cost, high-efficiency catalysts for advanced oxidation processes remain a key issue for the degradation of organic pollutants. In this study, a novel FeCoO/rectorite composite was synthesized via a facile combustion process and employed to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for dealing with atrazine (ATZ). The addition of rectorite could result in higher specific surface area, smaller pore size and more hydroxyl groups, which were beneficial to enrich pollutants to the adsorption sites and provide sufficient reactive sites.

Facile Synthesis of Visible Light-Induced g-C₃N₄/Rectorite Composite for Efficient Photodegradation of Ciprofloxacin.

A novel kind of g-C₃N₄/rectorite composite with high visible-light photoactivity was developed via a mild and cost effective two-step process. Ciprofloxacin (CIP), a typical antibiotic, was applied to evaluate the photoactivity of the received catalysts. Furthermore, the by-products of CIP photodegradation were analyzed and the possible degradation pathways were also discussed.