Lihui Chen

A NiCo-LDH/Melaleuca carbon composites with superior supercapacitive performance via a novel one-pot hydrothermal synthesis are reported.

Bamboo fiber/polypropylene composites (BPCs) have been widely used in buildings, interior decoration, and automobile components. However, pollutants and fungi can interact with the hydrophilic bamboo fibers on the surface of Bamboo fiber/polypropylene composites, degrading their appearance and mechanical properties. To improve their anti-fouling and anti-mildew properties, a superhydrophobic modified Bamboo fiber/polypropylene composite (BPC-TiO₂-F) was fabricated by introducing titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and poly(DOPAm-co-PFOEA) onto the surface of a Bamboo fiber/polypropylene composite. The morphology of BPC-TiO₂-F was analyzed by XPS, FTIR, and SEM. The results showed that TiO₂ particles covered on Bamboo fiber/polypropylene composite surface via complexation between phenolic hydroxyl groups and Ti atoms. Low-surface-energy fluorine-containing poly(DOPAm-co-PFOEA) was introduced onto the Bamboo fiber/polypropylene composite surface, forming a rough micro/nanostructure that endowed BPC-TiO₂-F with superhydrophobicity (water contact angle = 151.0° ± 0.5°). The modified Bamboo fiber/polypropylene composite exhibited excellent self-cleaning properties, and a model contaminant, Fe₃O₄ powder, was rapidly removed from the surface by water drops. BPC-TiO₂-F showed excellent anti-mold performance, and no mold was on its surface after 28 days. The superhydrophobic BPC-TiO₂-F had good mechanical durability and could withstand sandpaper abrasion with a weight load of 50 g, finger wiping for 20 cycles, and tape adhesion abrasion for 40 cycles. BPC-TiO₂-F showed good self-cleaning properties, mildew resistance, and mechanical resistance, giving it promising applications for automotive upholstery and building decoration.

In this work, a simple synthetic method was used to prepare a new type of magnetic dissolving pulp (MDP) @polydopamine (PDA) fibers. The hydroxyl groups of the fibers were converted into carboxyl groups after succinylation. Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were grown in situ on the fibers. The prepared MDP@PDA fibers have catalytic reduction efficiency and adsorption performance for methylene blue organic dyes, and it has been thoroughly tested under various pH conditions. Fe₃O₄@PDA fibers have high reusability, are easy to separate, and regenerate quickly. The catalytic and adsorption efficiency barely decreases after repeated use. The surface of dissolving pulp fibers with a functionalized multifunctional PDA coating is used to create multifunctional catalysts and adsorbent materials. This study presents a very useful and convenient method for the synthesis and adjustment of MDP@PDA fibers, which have a wide range of potential applications in catalysis and wastewater treatment.

Liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment has been considered as one of the most industrially viable and environment-friendly methods for facilitating the transformation of lignocelluloses into biofuels through biological conversion. However, lignin fragments in pretreatment hydrolysates are preferential to condense with each other and then deposit back onto cellulose surface under severe conditions. Particularly, lignin tends to relocate or redistribute under high-temperature LHW pretreatment conditions. The lignin residues on the cellulose surface would result in significant nonproductive binding of cellulolytic enzymes, and therefore negatively affect the enzymatic conversion (EC) of glucan in pretreated substrates. Although additives such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) and Tween series have been used to reduce nonproductive binding of enzymes through blocking the lignin, the high cost or non-biocompatibility of these additives limits their potential in industrial applications. Here, we firstly report that a soluble soy protein (SP) extracted from inexpensive defatted soy powder (DSP) showed excellent performance in promoting the EC of glucan in LHW-pretreated lignocellulosic substrates. The addition of the SP (80 mg/g glucan) could readily reduce the cellulase (Celluclast 1.5 L®) loading by 8 times from 96.7 to 12.1 mg protein/g glucan and achieve a glucan EC of 80% at a hydrolysis time of 72 h. With the same cellulase (Celluclast 1.5 L®) loading (24.2 mg protein/g glucan), the ECs of glucan in LHW-pretreated bamboo, eucalyptus, and Masson pine substrates increased from 57%, 54% and 45% (without SP) to 87%, 94% and 86% (with 80 mg SP/g glucan), respectively. Similar effects were also observed when Cellic CTec2, a newer-generation cellulase preparation, was used. Mechanistic studies indicated that the adsorption of soluble SP onto the surface of lignin residues could reduce the nonproductive binding of cellulolytic enzymes to lignin. The cost of the SP required for effective promotion would be equivalent to the cost of 2.9 mg cellulase (Celluclast 1.5 L®) protein (or 1.2 FPU/g glucan), if a proposed semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (semi-SSF) model was used. Near-complete saccharification of glucan in LHW-pretreated lignocellulosic substrates could be achieved with the addition of the inexpensive and biocompatible SP additive extracted from DSP. This simple but remarkably effective technique could readily contribute to improving the economics of the cellulosic biorefinery industry.

The adsorption of Rhodamine-B (Rh-B) from aqueous solutions onto spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and mushroom substrates prior to use (MSP) were comparatively studied in terms of the adsorption parameter effects, isotherms, and kinetics. It was found that an acidic pH of the dye solution was detrimental for basic Rh-B dye adsorption, which favored the electrostatic attraction between the cationic Rh-B and negative SMS and MSP. The adsorption isotherms of Rh-B onto the SMS and MSP followed the Langmuir model rather than the Freundlich or Temkin models. The fitted adsorption capacity of the SMS (107.5 mg/g) was approximately double that of the MSP (47.6 mg/g), which indicated a higher surface area and the presence of more adsorption functional sites that were created during edible fungus (Grifola frondosa) cultivation. Moreover, the experimental adsorption data of the SMS and MSP obeyed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The intraparticle diffusion plots revealed the multilinear adsorption nature of the SMS, which included boundary layer adsorption, intraparticle diffusion, and pore diffusion. However, only intraparticle diffusion played a major role in the adsorption of Rh-B onto MSP. It was concluded that the utilization of agricultural waste for edible fungus cultivation would not only improve the value of the agricultural waste itself, but can also remove Rh-B from aqueous solutions.

In this paper, water-soluble 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidized cellulose with a high degree of oxidation was prepared by a two-step process using bamboo dissolving pulp. The first step was to destroy the cellulose crystal I by NaOH/urea solution to obtain cellulose powder with decreased crystallinity. The second step was to oxidize the cellulose powder by TEMPO oxidation. The TEMPO-oxidized cellulose was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), conductimetry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), fiber analyzer, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). FTIR showed that the hydroxymethyl groups in cellulose chains were converted into carboxyl groups. The degree of oxidation measured by conductimetry titration was as high as 91.0%. The TEMPO-oxidized cellulose was soluble in water for valuable polyelectrolytes and intermediates.

A good Ag‐based SERS substrate has been prepared by one‐pot reaction using methyl cellulose as a template. Effects of methyl cellulose concentration, silver ammonia chloride solution concentration, reaction duration, and reducing agent on silver nanoparticles were discussed in this paper. The performance of the obtained Ag nanoparticles was characterized by UV‐visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Results show that the reducing agent plays a crucial role in the performance of silver nanoparticles. Optimum preparation conditions of synthesis of SERS substrates were as follows: 10 mM silver ammonia chloride and 0.2% MC at 75°C, reducing in 0.2% reducing agent at 120 min. TEM studies reveal that particles are mostly spherical and rod in shape with an average size of 80 nm. Silver nanoparticles prepared with MC as a template have been shown to provide strong SERS enhancement signals of R6G, which can be used as a good Ag‐based SERS substrate in the analytical environment for routine measurements.