Efficient and durable seawater electrolysis with a VO-protected catalyst.

The ocean, a vast hydrogen reservoir, holds potential for sustainable energy and water development. Developing high-performance electrocatalysts for hydrogen production under harsh seawater conditions is challenging. Here, we propose incorporating a protective VO layer to modulate the microcatalytic environment and create in situ dual-active sites consisting of low-loaded Pt and NiN.

Modeling and optimization of triclosan biodegradation by the newly isolated Bacillus sp. DL4: kinetics and pathway speculation.

Triclosan is a widely used antibacterial agent and disinfectant, and its overuse endangered ecological safety and human health. Therefore, reducing residual TCS concentrations in the environment is an urgent issue. Bacillus sp.

Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction Using Metastable Zirconium Suboxide.

Strategies for discovery of high-performance electrocatalysts are important to advance clean energy technologies. Metastable phases such as low temperature or interfacial structures that are difficult to access in bulk may offer such catalytically active surfaces. We report here that the suboxide ZrO, which is formed at Zr-ZrO interfaces but does not appear in the experimental Zr-O phase diagram exhibits outstanding oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance surpassing that of benchmark Pt/C and most transition metal-based catalysts.

A high-fidelity DNAzyme-assisted CRISPR/Cas13a system with single-nucleotide resolved specificity.

A CRISPR/Cas system represents an innovative tool for developing a new-generation biosensing and diagnostic strategy. However, the off-target issue (, mistaken cleavage of nucleic acid targets and reporters) remains a great challenge for its practical applications. We hypothesize that this issue can be overcome by taking advantage of the site-specific cleavage ability of RNA-cleaving DNAzymes.

Efficient electro-Fenton degradation of organic pollutants via the synergistic effect of O and OH generated on single FeN sites.

The electro-Fenton with in situ generated O and OH is a promising method for the degradation of micropollutants. However, its application is hindered by the lack of catalysts that can efficiently generate O and OH from electrochemical oxygen reduction. Herein, N-doped stacked carbon nanosheets supported Fe single atoms (Fe-NSC) with FeN sites were designed for simultaneous generation of O and OH to enhance electro-Fenton degradation.

Uptake, biotransformation and physiological response of TBBPA derivatives in Helianthus annus.

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and its derivatives are widely used as brominated flame retardants. Because of their high production and wide environment distribution, TBBPA derivatives have increased considerable concern. Previous studies have primarily focused on TBBPA, with limited information available on its derivative.

Synergistic Catalysis of SO/TiO-CNT for the CO Desorption Process with Low Energy Consumption.

To address the issue of high energy consumption associated with monoethanolamine (MEA) regeneration in the CO capture process, solid acid catalysts have been widely investigated due to their performance in accelerating carbamate decomposition. The recently discovered carbon nanotube (CNT) catalyst presents efficient catalytic activity for bicarbonate decomposition. In this paper, bifunctional catalysts SO/TiO-CNT (STC) were prepared, which could simultaneously catalyze carbamate and bicarbonate decomposition, and outstanding catalytic performance has been exhibited.

Applying metabolic modeling and multi-omics to elucidate the biotransformation mechanisms of marine algal toxin domoic acid (DA) in sediments.

Domoic acid (DA)-producing algal blooms are a global marine environmental issue. However, there has been no previous research addressing the question regarding the fate of DA in marine benthic environments. In this work, we investigated the DA fate in the water-sediment microcosm via the integrative analysis of a top-down metabolic model, metagenome, and metabolome.

Self-Assembly of Single-Virus SERS Hotspots for Highly Sensitive Detection of SARS-CoV-2 on Solid Surfaces.

Microbial surface transmission has aroused great attention since the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Developing a simple detection method for viruses on solid surfaces is of great significance for timely public health surveillance. Taking advantage of the natural structure of SARS-CoV-2, we reported the assembly of Au@AgNPs on the surface of a single virus by the specific aptamer-spike protein interaction.

A New Family of High Oxidation State Antiperovskite Nitrides: LaMN (M=Cr, Mn and Mo).

Three new nitrides LaMN (M=Cr, Mn, and Mo) have been synthesized using a high pressure azide route. These are the first examples of ternary CsCoCl-type nitrides, and show that this (MN)NLa antiperovskite structure type may be used to stabilise high oxidation-state transition metals in tetrahedral molecular [MN] nitridometallate anions. Magnetic measurements confirm that Cr and Mo are in the M state, but the M=Mn phase has an anomalously small paramagnetic moment and large cell volume.

Mechanism of tartaric acid mediated dissipation and biotransformation of tetrabromobisphenol A and its derivatives in soil.

Biotransformation is a major dissipation process of tetrabromobisphenol A and its derivatives (TBBPAs) in soil. The biotransformation and ultimate environmental fate of TBBPAs have been widely studied, yet the effect of root exudates (especially low-molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs)) on the fate of TBBPAs is poorly documented. Herein, the biotransformation behavior and mechanism of TBBPAs in bacteriome driven by LMWOAs were comprehensively investigated.

Treating reverse osmosis brine of petrochemical wastewater using preparative vertical-flow electrophoresis (PVFE) with multi-objective optimization by response surface method.

Electrochemical desalination is an effective method for recovering salts from reverse osmosis (RO) brine. However, traditional technologies like bipolar membrane technology often face challenges related to membrane blockage. To overcome this issue, a preparative vertical-flow electrophoresis (PVFE) system was used for the first time to treat RO brine of petrochemical wastewater.

Anchored Cobalt Nanoparticles on Layered Perovskites for Rapid Peroxymonosulfate Activation in Antibiotic Degradation.

In the Fenton-like reaction, revealing the dynamic evolution of the active sites is crucial to achieve the activity improvement and stability of the catalyst. This study reports a perovskite oxide in which atomic (Co) in situ embedded exsolution occurs during the high-temperature phase transition. This unique anchoring strategy significantly improves the Co/Co cycling efficiency at the interface and inhibits metal leaching during peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation.

Wasted Food, Wasted Resources? A Critical Review of Environmental Impact Analysis of Food Loss and Waste Generation and Treatment.

Food loss and waste (FLW) comes with significant environmental impacts and thus prevents a sustainable food system transition. Here we conducted a systematic review of 174 screened studies that assessed the environmental impacts of FLW generation and treatment. We found that the embodied impacts of FLW along the supply chain and impacts from FLW treatment received equal attention, but few studies have included both.

Local Structure and Crystallization Transformation of Hydrous Ferric Arsenate in Acidic HO-Fe(III)-As(V)-SO Systems: Implications for Acid Mine Drainage and Arsenic Geochemical Cycling.

Hydrous ferric arsenate (HFA) is a common thermodynamically metastable phase in acid mine drainage (AMD). However, little is known regarding the structural forms and transformation mechanism of HFA. We investigated the local atomic structures and the crystallization transformation of HFA at various Fe(III)/As(V) ratios (2, 1, 0.

Promoting CO Electroreduction to Ethane by Iodide-Derived Copper with the Hydrophobic Surface.

Electrochemical reduction of CO to value-added products provides a feasible pathway for mitigating net carbon emissions and storing renewable energy. However, the low dimerization efficiency of the absorbed CO intermediate (*CO) and the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction hinder the selective electroreduction of CO to ethane (CH) with a high energy density. Here, we designed hydrophobic iodide-derived copper electrodes (I-Cu/Nafion) for reducing CO to CH.

Vertical Cross-Alignments of 2D Semiconductors with Steered Internal Electric Field for Urea Electrooxidation via Balancing Intermediates Adsorption.

Single-component electrocatalysts generally lead to unbalanced adsorption of OH and urea during urea oxidation reaction (UOR), thus obtaining low activity and selectivity especially when oxygen evolution reaction (OER) competes at high potentials (>1.5 V). Herein, a cross-alignment strategy of in situ vertically growing Ni(OH) nanosheets on 2D semiconductor g-CN is reported to form a hetero-structured electrocatalyst.

A data-driven approach for revealing the linkages between differences in electrochemical properties of biochar during anaerobic digestion using automated machine learning.

Biochar is commonly used to enhance the anaerobic digestion of organic waste solids and wastewater, due to its electrochemical properties, which intensify the electron transfer of microorganisms attached to its large surface area. However, it is difficult to create biochar with both high conductivity and high capacitance, which makes selecting the right biochar for engineering applications challenging. To address this issue, two Auto algorithms (TPOT and HO) were applied to model the effects of different biochar properties on anaerobic digestion processes.

Spontaneous Degradation of the "Forever Chemicals" Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) on Water Droplet Surfaces.

Because of their innate chemical stability, the ubiquitous perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been dubbed "forever chemicals" and have attracted considerable attention. However, their stability under environmental conditions has not been widely verified. Herein, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a widely used and detected PFAS, was found to be spontaneously degraded in aqueous microdroplets under room temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions.

Insights into feasibility and microbial characterizations on simultaneous elimination of dissolved methane from anaerobic effluents and nitrate/nitrite reduction in a conventional anoxic reactor with magnetite.

Discovery of nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) challenges the conventional biological treatment processes, since it provides a possibility of simultaneously mitigating dissolved methane emissions from anaerobic effluents and reducing additional carbon sources for denitrification. Due to the slow growth of specialized DAMO microbes, this possibility has been just practiced with biofilms in membrane biofilm reactors or granular sludge in membrane bioreactors. In this study, simultaneous elimination of dissolved methane from anaerobic effluents and nitrate/nitrite reduction was achieved in a conventional anoxic reactor with magnetite.

The dissipation of organophosphate esters mediated by ryegrass root exudate oxalic acid in soil: Analysis of enzymes activities, microorganism.

Complex rhizoremediation is the main mechanism of phytoremediation in organic-contaminated soil. Low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) in root exudates have been shown to increase the bioavailability of contaminants and are essential for promoting the dissipation of contaminants. The effects of root exudates on the dissipation of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in soil are unclear.

Electrochemical coalescence of oil-in-water droplets in microchannels of TiO/Ti anode via polarization eliminating electrostatic repulsion and ·OH oxidation destroying oil-water interface film.

Electrochemistry is a sustainable technology for oil-water separation. In the common flat electrode scheme, due to a few centimeters away from the anode, oil droplets have to undergo electromigration to and electrical neutralization at the anodic surface before they coalesce into large oil droplets and rise to water surface, resulting in slow demulsification and easy anode fouling. Herein, a novel strategy is proposed on basis of a TiO/Ti anode with microchannels to overcome these problems.