Bimetallic Pd-In alloy supported on TiO nanosheets breaks the rate-limiting step for ultrafast photocatalytic denitrification.

Herein, the bimetallic PdIn alloy were deposited onto the crystal facet engineered TiO nanosheet (NS) via one-step photoreduction (PdIn/TiO-NS) for selective conversion of nitrate (NO) to N. Bimetallic PdIn provides higher affinity sites to bind NO and significantly reduces the energy barrier of the rate-limiting step (NO* + e → NO*), which is the key for the ultra-fast NO reduction kinetics. More importantly, the synergistic effect of Pd and In not only suppresses the hydrogen evolution reaction resulting in high efficiency utilization of photogenerated electrons, but also promotes the selective conversion of nitrite (NO) to N.

Environmental DNA metabarcoding revealed the impacts of anthropogenic activities on phytoplankton diversity in Dianchi Lake and its three inflow rivers.

Phytoplankton diversity is closely related to environmental variables and has been widely used in ecological health assessment of rivers and lakes. Combining advantages of DNA-based identification and high-throughput sequencing technology, environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding permits a new measurement for biodiversity monitoring in aquatic ecosystems. However, it had rarely been used to explore the variability and similarity of phytoplankton diversity between lake and its inflow rivers and the effects of environmental variables on phytoplankton.

Occurrence, sources, and risk assessment of pyrethroid insecticides in surface water and tap water from Taihu Lake, China.

Pyrethroid insecticides are one of the most widely used insecticides globally, posing a severe threat to human health and the environment. In this study, we applied high-throughput organic analysis testing combined with high-volume solid-phase extraction (Hi-throat/Hi-volume SPE) to elucidate the occurrence of 11 pyrethroid insecticides in lake water (n = 37), tributary river water (n = 15), and tap water (n = 6) in the Taihu Lake Basin. Permethrin was found to be the major contributing pyrethroid insecticide (detection rate = 100%).

Application of Hi-throat/Hi-volume SPE technique in assessing organophosphorus pesticides and their degradation products in surface water from Tai Lake, east China.

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) are among the most commonly used pesticides worldwide. However, these compounds pose a serious threat to aquatic environments. Here, thirty-seven pesticides and eight degradation products were determined in surface water samples from Tai Lake, East China, using a high-volume solid phase extraction technique (Hi-throat/Hi-volume SPE).

Sheet-on-sheet TiO/BiMoO heterostructure for enhanced photocatalytic amoxicillin degradation.

Developing sheet-on-sheet (2D/2D) heterostructure with built-in electric field (BIEF) is effective in boosting the performance of photocatalysts for emerging contaminants degradation. Herein, the 2D/2D microtopography and (-)TiO/(+)BiMoO BIEF were precisely integrated into hierarchical nanosheets, which can provide the basis and driving force for charge transfer both in in-plane and interface of heterojunction. The prepared photocatalyst (TiO/BiMoO) showed high-efficiency and stable performance for photocatalytic amoxicillin (AMX) degradation, which was 18.

Sustainable Solar Evaporation from Solute Surface via Energy Downconversion.

Solar-powered interfacial evaporation, a cost-effective and ecofriendly way to obtain freshwater from contaminated water, provides a promising path to ease the global water crisis. However, solute accumulation has severely impacted efficient light-to-heat-to-vapor generation in conventional solar evaporators. Here, it is demonstrated that an interfacial solar thermal photo-vapor generator is an efficient light-to-heat photo-vapor generator that can evaporate water stably in the presence of solute accumulation.

Carbonized Tree-Like Furry Magnolia Fruit-Based Evaporator Replicating the Feat of Plant Transpiration.

It has long been an aspirational goal to create artificial evaporators that allow omnidirectional energy absorptance, adequate water supply, and fast vapor transportation, replicating the feat of plant transpiration, to solve the global water crisis. This work reveals that magnolia fruits, as a kind of tree-like living organism, can be outstanding 3D tree-like evaporators through a simple carbonization process. The arterial pumping, branched diffusion, and confined evaporation are achieved by the "trunk," "branches," and "leaves," respectively, of the mini tree.

Shorter interval and multiple flooding-drying cycling enhanced the mineralization of C-DDT in a paddy soil.

DDT and its main metabolites (DDTs) are still the residual contaminants in soil. Sequential anaerobic-aerobic cycling has long been approved for enhancing the degradation of DDTs in soil. However, there is a lack of study investigating whether anaerobic-aerobic cycling would enhance the mineralization of DDT, and what a kind of anaerobic-aerobic management regimes would be optimal.

New insight into influence of mechanical stirring on membrane fouling of membrane bioreactor: Mixed liquor properties and hydrodynamic conditions.

Although membrane bioreactor is widely used in wastewater treatment, the problem of membrane fouling remains to be resolved. This paper focused on the influence of mechanical stirring on membrane fouling. Ammonium removal decreased with viscous bulking when stirring rates slowed down.

Adsorption of Ni(II) and Cd(II) from water by novel chelating sponge and the effect of alkali-earth metal ions on the adsorption.

Novel chelating sponge (PVA-M-H) was prepared with polyvinyl alcohol by graft polymerization and nucleophilic substitution. E.A, SEM, FT-IR, (13)CNMR, and XPS analyses were used to characterize PVA-M-H.

Degradation of diuron in aqueous solution by dielectric barrier discharge.

Degradation of diuron in aqueous solution was conducted in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor and the proposed degradation mechanism was investigated in detail. The factors that affect the degradation of diuron were examined. The degradation efficiency of diuron and the removal of total organic carbon (TOC) increased with increasing input power, and the degradation of diuron by DBD fitted first-order kinetics.