Visible-light-assisted multimechanism design for one-step engineering tough hydrogels in seconds.

Tough hydrogels that are capable of efficient mechanical energy dissipation and withstanding large strains have potential applications in diverse areas. However, most reported fabrication strategies are performed in multiple steps with long-time UV irradiation or heating at high temperatures, limiting their biological and industrial applications. Hydrogels formed with a single pair of mechanisms are unstable in harsh conditions.

First-principles calculations and experimental investigation on SnO@ZnO heterojunction photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic performance.

In this study, branch-like SnO@ZnO heterojunction photocatalyst was successfully fabricated via a simple two-step hydrothermal process. The optical and electronic properties were characterized in detail and the results indicated that SnO@ZnO nanocomposites (TZNCs) exhibited superior photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation as compared to pure SnO and ZnO. The excellent photocatalytic performance of TZNCs can be ascribed to the heterojunction structure between ZnO and SnO which depresses the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.