Yongjun Feng

By incorporating organic UV absorbers during the in situ growth of ZnTi-LDHs on vermiculite (VMT), five VMT-based organic–inorganic UV-absorbing composites were constructed, ZnTi-BHA-LDHs/VMT exhibits the optimal UV absorption performance.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have potential applications in gas-barrier and anti-photoaging fields, yet the fabrication of high-quality micrometer-sized LDHs with low thickness and excellent dispersibility still faces great challenges. Herein, a general green approach for preparing well-dispersed micrometer-sized LDHs is proposed by taking advantage of the easy peptization property of boehmite, the high reactivity of Ca(OH)2, and the high shearing force of a colloid mill. As a proof of concept, micrometer-sized 2-phenylbenzimidazole-5-sulfonic acid (PBSA)-intercalated hydrocalumite (CaAl-LDH) with high crystallinity is synthesized at 90 °C under atmospheric pressure. The existing strong host–guest interactions between the anionic PBSA guests and the LDH host laminates improve the antimigration performance of PBSA guests. Meanwhile, incorporating PBSA-LDH into polyurethane (PU) significantly enhances both the gas barrier and anti-photoaging performance of PU due to the micrometer size and strong ultraviolet absorption capacity of PBSA-LDH. Adding 5 wt % PBSA-LDH reduces the oxygen transmission rate of PU from 2214.3 to 1332.2 cm3·cm–2·day–1 (a decrease of 39.8%) and the photoaging degree of PU by 52.1%. Notably, this strategy can be readily extended to prepare other micrometer-sized hydrocalumite and has good scalability. Therefore, this novel mild green method is efficient in the scalable synthesis of micrometer-sized functional hydrocalumite with practical applications.

A nickel oxide/attapulgite (A-ATP/NiO) nanocomposite was synthesized and evaluated for the adsorption and Fenton-like degradation of Rhodamine B (Rh-B) in an aqueous solution. The composite was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), confirming the successful immobilization of NiO nanoparticles into the attapulgite framework. The attapulgite modification results in enhanced surface properties, including increased surface area (from 68.9 to 111.3 m² g⁻¹), pore volume, and the availability of active sites. Batch experiments demonstrated a high affinity of A-ATP/NiO toward Rh-B, achieving 52% adsorption within 60 min. Upon addition of Fenton reagent (H₂O₂), the composite exhibited excellent catalytic performance, achieving 97% Rh-B degradation in 10 min and almost complete removal (99.39%) within 60 min under optimized conditions (pH 3, 303 K, H₂O₂ 5 mmol L⁻¹, catalyst dose 0.03 g L⁻¹, dye concentration 50 ppm). The synergistic combination of adsorption and catalytic oxidation significantly enhanced dye removal, with reactive hydroxyl radicals (•OH) driving the degradation process. Kinetic analysis indicated that the removal followed a pseudo-first-order model, suggesting that physisorption and surface diffusion are the primary mechanisms for Rh-B degradation. These findings highlight A-ATP/NiO as a low-cost, environmentally friendly, and highly efficient material for the rapid and sustainable remediation of Rh-B-contaminated wastewater.