Haoguan Gui

Nitroaromatic compounds are persistent environmental pollutants whose large-scale, efficient remediation remains challenging. Herein, we fabricate high-performance porous monoliths (PMs) via kinetics-regulated interfacial redox polymerization of polydivinylbenzene (PDVB) in high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) for the continuous-flow reduction of nitroarenes. By strategically selecting oxidant/reductant pairs (e.g., benzoyl peroxide/vitamin C) to initiate polymerization at the oil-water interface, hierarchically porous structures were achieved with specific surface areas (SSA) reaching up to 467 m²·g^-1. Rapid interfacial initiation kinetics proved critical for generating abundant micro- and mesopores. Subsequent sulfonation introduced anchoring sites for the in situ deposition of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), yielding highly active PMs. The optimized monolithic catalyst exhibited exceptional activity and stability, maintaining over 90% conversion in the continuous-flow reduction of 4-nitrophenol for more than 24 h. This work demonstrates the efficacy of polymerization kinetics in tailoring porous architectures and underscores the promise of emulsion-templated monoliths in sustainable flow chemistry.

A high-energy ball milling strategy was developed to optimize nano titanium dioxide (nano-TiO₂) through sodium lignosulfonate (SL)-mediated electrostatic surface modification. At 20 wt % nano-TiO₂ and 5 wt % SL, the colloidal system achieved optimal stability with a sun protection factor (SPF) elevation from 15 to 17. Subsequent emulsion formulation with various aqueous phase to oil phase mass ratios (κ) yielded a Pickering emulsion at different pH values, demonstrating exceptional interfacial stabilization via nano-TiO₂ and SL electrostatic assembly. The optimized TSL-4 emulsion (κ = 1:1, pH = 4) exhibited remarkable storage stability (keeping over 25 SPF value after 6 weeks of accelerated test) and thermal resilience (maintaining above 91% SPF retention through 10 freeze-thaw cycles.). Biological evaluations of TSL-4 (κ = 1:1) emulsion demonstrated no phototoxicity (irradiated vs nonirradiated viability difference < 2%), low cytotoxicity (90% HaCaT cell viability), and minimal cutaneous permeation (no nanoparticle accumulation in subcutaneous layers). The biomass-compound-modified nano-TiO₂ system establishes a multifunctional sunscreen platform that synergistically integrates UV attenuation, colloidal stability, and biosafety.

The rapid development of the battery industry has brought about a large amount of waste battery pollution. How to realize the high-value utilization of waste batteries is an urgent problem to be solved. Herein, cobalt and titanium compounds (LTCO) were firstly recovered from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using the carbon thermal reduction approach, and plasmonic attapulgite/Co(Ti)Ox (H-ATP/Co(Ti)Ox) nanocomposites were prepared by the microwave hydrothermal technique. H-ATP had a large specific surface area and enough active sites to capture CO₂ molecules. The biochar not only reduced the spinel phase of waste LIBs into metal oxides including Co₃O₄ and TiO₂ but also increased the separation and transmission of the carriers, thereby accelerating the adsorption and reduction of CO₂. In addition, H-ATP/Co(Ti)Ox exhibited a localized surface plasmon resonance effect (LSPR) in the visible to near-infrared region and released high-energy hot electrons, enhancing the surface temperature of the catalyst and further improving the catalytic reduction of CO₂ with a high CO yield of 14.7 μmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹. The current work demonstrates the potential for CO₂ reduction by taking advantage of natural mineral and spent batteries.

Simultaneous conversion of CO₂ and biomass into value-added chemicals through solar-driven catalysis holds tremendous importance for fostering a sustainable circular economy. Herein, plasmonic Bi quantum dots were immobilized on phosphoric acid modified attapulgite (P-ATP) nanorod using an in-situ reduction–deposition method, and were employed for photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ coupled with oxidation of biomass-derived benzyl alcohol. Results revealed that Bi atoms successfully integrated into the basal structure of P-ATP, forming chemically coordinated Bi–O–Si bonds that served as efficient transportation channels for electrons. The incorporation of high-density monodispersed Bi quantum dots induced a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect, expanding the light absorption range into the near-infrared region. As a consequence, the photo-thermal transformation was significantly accelerated, leading to enhanced reaction kinetics. Notably, 50% Bi/P-ATP nanocomposite exhibited the highest plasmon-mediated photocatalytic CH₄ generation (115.7 µmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹) and CO generation (44.9 µmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹), along with remarkable benzaldehyde generation rate of 79.5 µmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹ in the photo-redox coupling system under solar light irradiation. The hydrogen protons released from the oxidation of benzyl alcohol facilitated the incorporation of more hydrogen protons into CO₂ to form key CH₃O⁻ intermediates. This work demonstrates the synergistic solar-driven valorization of CO₂ and biomass using natural mineral based catalyst.