Xiaodong Yang

In this study, a modified corn straw hydrogel adsorbent (CSHA) was fabricated via the embedding method. The adsorbent facilitates phase separation after adsorbing lead ions (Pb²⁺) and copper ions (Cu²⁺) from wastewater. A set of experiments verified that metal ions formed coordination bonds with the carboxyl functional groups on the adsorbent surface. The influences of pH, contact time, initial metal ion concentration and temperature on adsorption performance were systematically explored. The results revealed that the adsorption capacities for Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ were 396.43 mg/g and 151.96 mg/g, respectively, under the given experimental conditions. The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model. The thermodynamic calculations indicated that the adsorption was an endothermic and spontaneous process accompanied by increased system disorder. After five adsorption–desorption cycles, the removal efficiency of CSHA remained above 65%. This work offers a low-cost, eco-friendly and high-performance adsorbent for heavy-metal-containing wastewater treatment.

Lignocellulose represents an abundant and renewable biomass feedstock; however, its intrinsically recalcitrant cross-linked network of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin poses a significant barrier to the efficient fractionation and high-value utilization of its individual components. In response to this challenge, this study established a pressurized ammonia–solvent system for lignocellulosic component separation. Single-factor exploratory experiments were performed to probe general trends of key operational parameters including reaction temperature, system pressure, and solvent composition. Among the tested ranges, the preferable conditions were identified as follows: 50 vol% ethanol aqueous solution, a reaction temperature of 200 °C, a holding time of 6 h, and an ammonia pressure of 8 MPa. Under these selected operating parameters, the cellulose purity in the cellulose-enriched fraction reached 89.6 ± 1.4% with a cellulose recovery of 85.0 ± 2.1%. Microstructural and crystalline variations, characterized by SEM and XRD, confirmed that the combined solvent system effectively disrupted the fibrous structure and native cellulose crystalline arrangement of raw biomass. Elemental analysis and XPS characterization further verified that ammonia-derived nitrogen species were preferentially incorporated into lignin-enriched fractions, occurring in both covalently bonded and adsorbed forms, while negligible nitrogen was detected in cellulose- and hemicellulose- enriched fractions. This work explores pressurized ammonia-assisted fractionation to achieve selective component separation of agricultural straw biomass and offers an approach toward graded utilization of lignocellulosic resources.

The extensive consumption of non-renewable energy resources poses significant environmental challenges. Consequently, the innovation of sustainable, secure, and high-efficiency energy storage and conversion technologies is imperative for improving energy efficiency and advancing environmental sustainability. A sustainable and renewable semi-interpenetrating double network ionogel film (AE-Cel) is fabricated using phosphorylated corn straw-derived cellulose and a polyaspartamide derivative, PolyAspAm(API/EA). The ionic liquid 1,3-dimethylimidazolium methyl phosphite [DMIM][MeO(H)PO₂] enhances the conductivity of the ionic gel and facilitates acid-induced dissolution of straw cellulose, thereby overcoming its inherent insolubility. The incorporation of glutaraldehyde (GA) as a crosslinking agent induces secondary chemical crosslinking of hydroxyl groups along the polymer chains, culminating in the development of a semi-interpenetrating double-network ionogel. The as-synthesized ionogel films as solid electrolytes demonstrate impressive ionic conductivity (2.8 mS cm⁻¹), with optimized tensile strength (529 kPa) at room temperature. Moreover, as flexible strain sensors, the AE-Cel ionogels can be seamlessly attached to human finger joints, where they adeptly transmit precise and stable changes in relative resistance signals upon joint bending.

Molecules with both aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) properties are potential organic light-emitting diode materials; however, the AIE and TADF mechanisms are still debatable. In this work, four molecules incorporating carbazole (Cz), phenoxazine (PXZ), and phenothiazine (PTZ) as donor groups to the diphenylsulfone acceptor were investigated. The experiment results indicate that a molecule containing Cz exhibits solely TADF properties, whereas molecules containing PXZ and PTZ demonstrate both TADF and AIE characteristics. As for DPS-PTZ, the result indicates that the thin-film environment restricts molecular twisting, consequently reducing nonradiative decay, thereby attributing to the AIE property by density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulation. As for DPS-PXZ, the result suggests that the restricted access to a conical intersection in a singlet excited via an expansion in the C–S–C angle is the pivotal factor for the AIE characteristic. The C–S–C angle twist of DPS-PXZ is impeded in the aggregate state and resulted in luminescence. Understanding the mechanisms serves as a valuable guide for the development of new AIE systems, enabling their application in various practical domains.