The conversion of CO2 through photoreduction into renewable and sustainable solar fuels, such as alcohols and hydrocarbons, is an attractive approach for addressing environmental issues and energy crises. In this study, we successfully prepared a series of BiSeX (X = Cl, Br, I) photocatalysts by using a simple hydrothermal method that involves dissolving BiX3 and Se powder in toluene. The binary composite photocatalyst BiSeX/g-C3N4 was synthesized by mixing BiSeX with varying quantities of g-C3N4 to identify the optimal material for photocatalytic activity. The BiSeX/g-C3N4 photocatalyst converted CO2 into CH4, and the photocatalytic conversion rate of BiSeCl/50 wt% g-C3N4 was as high as 1.92 μmol/g · h. The optimized BiSeX/g-C3N4 photocatalysts exhibit gradual selective transition from CO2 to CH4 and eventually high-value hydrocarbons (C2+). Furthermore, because of the ability of these photocatalysts to reduce CO2, they are promising materials for mitigating environmental pollution.

Flexible free-standing blended solid biopolymer electrolytes (BSBEs) were developed using chitosan (CS) and potato starch (PS) as the host biopolymers for the biopolymer matrix. Potassium thiocyanate (KSCN) was used as the cation provider, while non-toxic glycerol (GCL) was employed as a plasticizer to reduce resistance and enhance the amorphousness of the BSBE films. The structural, morphological, and electrical analyses demonstrated encouraging properties for the BSBE films. The addition of GCL resulted in increased dissociation of KSCN. Deconvoluted Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was utilized as an accurate method for extracting ion transport parameters. The highest ambient temperature conductivity of 1.40×10−3Scm−1 is recorded at 36 wt.% of GCL. The best ion conducting film exhibited a wide potential stability of 2.72 V and an ion transference number (tion) close to unity, with a value of 0.978. The fabricated EDLC demonstrated approximately rectangular cyclic voltammetry (CV) performance and fast-rate charge-discharge behavior with a specific capacitance (Cspc) of 42.11Fg−1. The galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) test confirmed the capacitive characteristics of the cell, exhibiting good cyclic stability and excellent outcomes in terms of energy (Ed) and power (Pd) densities over numerous cycles.

The development of earth-rich, noble-metal-free, and highly electroactive catalysts to accelerate the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a formidable challenge for the establishment of water-splitting technologies. Here, a solid-solution nickel-iron oxide (NiFeOx) electrocatalyst is readily grown on a Ni-foam (NF) substrate by a rapid and economical aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition process. In particular, the NiFeOx thin film fabricated in 40 min acquires a distinctive nanorod structure and proves to be stable and efficient for OER in alkaline solutions. It is shown that the catalyst needs a low over-potential of 226 mV to reach the typical current density of 10 mA/cm2, and it can approach a remarkable current density level of 1000 mA/cm2 by taking a slightly higher over-potential of 139 mV. The small Tafel slope of 64 mv.dec−1 and splendid electrochemical stability of 40 h at high current densities outperform many known FeNi-based anodes as well as commercial IrO2 and RuO2. The unique structure of the thin film offers many electroactive sites and a high surface area in combination with an improved electrical conductivity of NF, which is believed to play an imperative role in the excellent activity of the catalyst. The cost-effective and simple strategy to fabricate NiFeOx nano-fibrous is very attractive for the development of electrocatalysts for water splitting.

Passive daytime radiative cooling, requiring zero external energy consumption, is a promising cooling strategy achieved by simultaneously reflecting solar irradiance and thermally radiating heat into the cold outer space (∼ 3 K) through the atmospheric transparency window. However, current materials for passive radiative cooling face huge challenges, such as complicated fabrication approaches, expensive raw materials, and environmental requirements for practical applications. In line with the urgent need for plastic recycling to curb global environmental pollution, the recycled plastics are used to fabricate a passive radiative cooling material. Herein, the foam-paper composite (FPC) with excellent self-cooling capability is fabricated by a simple crushing-and-mixing procedure using recycled polystyrene (PS) foam and printer paper. The superhydrophobic PS foam particles not only protect the FPC from water damage for field applications but also reinforce its solar reflectivity via their porous structure. The cellulose fibers in printer paper can efficiently emit infrared thermal radiation into the cold outer space and bond dispersed PS foam particles together, further increasing its mechanical strength. The combination of highly diffusely reflective PS foam particles and fiber-based printer paper results in a reflectivity of 96% in the solar spectrum, a sub-ambient cooling performance of 8.4 °C, and a maximum radiative cooling power of 90 W/m2 during a 24-h cycle. Meanwhile, the FPC with high humidity can maintain its high solar reflectivity, which promotes its application in humid subtropical areas. Furthermore, the low material cost and ease of fabrication will provide a path for effective daytime radiative cooling, especially in less developed areas.

Solar evaporation can be enhanced by incorporating carbon dots (CDs) decorated onto base materials. However, existing literature primarily focuses on multi-step synthesis methods involving separate preparation of CDs and base materials. This study proposes a novel one-step method for synthesizing CDs decorating carbonized pomelo peel (CDs@CPP) composites for solar evaporation. The pomelo peel itself acted as the carbon source and base material. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, the properties of CDs@CPP were compared with those of another CDs-decorated carbonized pomelo peel composite (CDs-CPP) prepared through the conventional multi-step method. Additionally, the role of CDs was also demonstrated by comparing carbonized pomelo peel (CPP) and its CDs-based composites (CDs-CPP). The resultant three different materials (CPP, CDs-CPP, and CDs@CPP) were then characterized to identify their structure, chemical components, wettability, and other properties. The results demonstrate significant improvements in sample properties due to the introduction of CDs and the advantages of the proposed one-step method. The resultant materials were then tested in solar evaporation experiments, revealing that CDs-CPP observed an increase of around 3 times and 1.5 times in the evaporation rate compared with the pure water system and CPP system, respectively. Notably, these values increased to 5 and 2.2, respectively, in the CDs@CPP system. Moreover, CDs@CPP exhibited a solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency of 120%, with an evaporation rate of 2.43 Kg·m−2·h−1 at one sun illumination. This work highlights the performance of our proposed one-step method and provides new insights for synthesizing CDs decorated biomass composites for efficient solar evaporation.

Solar irradiation-based CO2 conversion to energy-rich products is an efficient way to reduce excessive CO2 emissions and solve resource depletion. Unfortunately, achieving a cost-effective and dependable method for converting CO2 is still a significant challenge. Here, we introduce a hydrothermal approach followed by calcination to design a new-fashioned 3D S-doped g-C3N4/2D O-doped g-C3N4 (3D/2D SOCN) based step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction as an efficient photocatalysts for CO2 reduction. The adjusted sample demonstrated significantly greater CO2 photoreduction conversion rates compared to the blank control, including 3D S-doped g-C3N4 (3D SCN), 2D O-doped g-C3N4 (2D OCN), and bulk g-C3N4 (CN). The exceptional photocatalytic performance can be ascribed to multiple factors, including the S-Scheme isotype heterojunction that suppresses the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, the material's high specific surface areas, which highly enhance the abundance of active sites, and the synergistic effect of the heteroatom as a dopant. The validity of the S-Scheme photogenerated charge transfer process is supported by measuring the work function and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). This research presents a practical method for fabricating multi non-metal-doped S-scheme isotype heterojunction photocatalysts that display remarkable efficiency for solar fuel conversion.

Designing the electrode materials with high energy density is crucial to improve the total performance of supercapacitors. In this work, we report V-doped MoS2/Ni3S2 nanosheets grown on nickel foam by a convenient hydrothermal route. Due to the large specific surface area and rapid ion migration rate, the obtained 0.07V–MoS2/Ni3S2 composites deliver a specific capacitance of 960C/g at 1 A/g. After cycling 10,000 times, they still remain at 71.65% of the initial capacity. Several asymmetric supercapacitors are assembled using the above samples as cathode materials. They achieve an energy density of 75 Wh/kg at a power density of 2700 W/kg. This work provides a feasible strategy to construct high-performance transition metal compound electrode materials in future flexible energy storage electronics.

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage techniques are required to address concerns related to global warming resulting from the rising atmospheric CO2 concentration. Currently, amine-based solvents are commonly used for post-combustion CO2 capture. The amine-based (liquid) sorption technology has numerous disadvantages including the perilous by-products and a high-energy prerequisite for their regeneration. Thus, extensive research is ongoing worldwide to develop cost-effective, sustainable, environmentally friendly, and effective sorbents for post-combustion CO2 capture. The distinctive features of clay-based materials make them particularly promising for CO2 adsorption. This critical review explores the current technology, adsorbents, and challenges associated with CO2 capture and finding answers in exploring exfoliated clay-based adsorbents as porous, high-surface area, inexpensive, efficient, and compatible materials for CO2 capture. Specifically, the review narrates a summary of various procedures useful for clay exfoliation and discusses a variety of chemical, inorganic, and organic modifications for designing exfoliated clay-based nanocomposites for CO2 capture. Further, the review touches upon various practical ways to prepare exfoliated clay-based composites, as membranes, aerogels, and nanofluids, for CO2 capture.

Organic dyes and pigments are common examples of pollutants that have been drained to water resources. Subsequently, chemists searched for novel and efficient adsorbents for treatment of sewage water from coloring compounds. Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs), which displayed high Brunauer Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area and porous morphology, beside other unique merits, solve this challenging situation by consuming dye molecules into their large and permanent pores, and degrading them in the presence of light. In this paper, we adopt a designed synthesis of new thiazolyl-linked CMPs containing bicarbazole, bifluorenylidene, and biphenylethene building blocks, namely: BC-TT, BF-TT, and BIPE-TT CMPs, respectively. All the common characterizations including chemical, physical, and photophysical were conducted for the as-synthesized CMPs. In addition to their significant surface areas that reach 522 m2/g and maximum pore volumes (up to 0.50 cm3/g), they possessed good thermal stabilities with the highest values (degradation temperature = 460 °C; char yield = 67 wt%). Furthermore, the produced polymers have been proven to have adsorption capability as well as photocatalytic degradation for both Rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) dyes. BC-TT CMP exhibited the highest adsorption efficiency among others toward the RhB dye with a capacity of 228.83 mg/g, as well as the maximum performance for MB dye uptake (up to 232.02 mg/g). After measuring the photocatalytic degradation of dyes using these CMPs, BC-TT-CMP also showed the top value of catalytic efficiency at all, either for RhB (rate constant: 2.5 × 10−2 min−1) or MB dye (rate constant: 3.5 × 10−2 min−1).

In this study, a practical use-suited highly porous zinc oxide/polyacrylamide hydrogel composite photocatalyst (ZnO/PAM) was successfully synthesized by varying the precursor ratio upon photoinitiated polymerization of acrylamide (AM), N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (NMBA) and zinc oxide (ZnO). The photocatalytic treatment of real wastewater was investigated. The results revealed that porous ZnO/PAM was effective for the removal of color, BOD and COD in the Mae Kha canal and industrial wastewater. Furthermore, it showed good long-term stability and recycling performance, as the degradation efficiency remained up to 81.55% for MB and 75.4% for MO after 50 degradation cycles. Based on the results, the highly porous zinc oxide/polyacrylamide hydrogel composite prepared by using a specific precursor ratio has good potential for use in real wastewater treatment. Separation of the porous hydrogel from wastewater can be achieved by the preparation of a floatable porous ZnO/PAM hydrogel.

In recent years, the rapid development of 5G/IoT has placed increasing demands on adaptable and sustainable energy harvesting devices and sensors. Triboelectric nanogenerators have emerged as new energy harvesting and self-powered sensing devices in the field of IoT and wearable electronics due to their clean, sustainable, low-cost, and high-performance characteristics. However, as energy harvesting devices, triboelectric nanogenerators are limited by the instability and unpredictability of mechanical energy as well as their high impedance and output signal randomness, which impedes efficient energy transmission. Furthermore, also as sensors, triboelectric nanogenerators require integration with computers to process signals from various scenarios, increasing energy consumption and device size, exacerbating the difficulty of system design. Hence, there is a need to use management and processing circuits efficiently to transfer and store mechanical energy, simplify processing tasks and build sustainable sensing systems on terminal. This review provides a detailed overview of power management and information processing circuits based on triboelectric nanogenerator technology, followed by an outlook of the field's potential.

The need to modify aquatic waste using sterile, non-hazardous, and ecological procedures has become one of the significant challenges in its disposal. Biomaterials from aquatic species and their waste or by-products are considered renewable biosources because they are highly volatile substances or high energy inputs. The biological wastes can be recovered for biomedicine, pharmacology, and other applications. This study summarizes the current groups of aquatic biomaterials, made of plants, fish species living in freshwater or marine environments, waste biomass, biopolymers, and stabilization agents. Aquatic biomaterials from several sources are discussed in some clinical and in vitro experiments for tissue engineering purposes. The near-future demands are also demonstrated, depending on biomaterial-specific problem-solving. This review may help bioengineers discover more economical and eco-compatible biomaterial options.

The rapid adoption of electric vehicles and renewable energy sources has driven the need for highly efficient battery systems. The main problem related to batteries is their self-generated heat, which hampers their working performance. Besides, elevated operating temperatures can lead to a battery thermal runaway and performance degradation. Phase change materials (PCMs) are commonly employed in Battery thermal management system (BTMS) to resolve the issue of thermal runaway. However, PCM's effectiveness in BTMS is limited by its poor thermal conductivity. The incorporation of highly conductive nanoparticles can overcome the limitation of low thermal conductivity of PCM. The nano-enhanced phase change materials (NePCMs) are the current focus of research in BTMS, numerous review articles have been published in this area, primarily emphasizing the enhancement of thermal conductivity and its impact on battery thermal performance. However, this review article focused on passive battery thermal management technique by incorporating NePCM, which indicates the novelty of the article. The current article aims to provide a review of NePCM based passive BTMS including carbon, metal and hybrid nanoparticles without secondary assisted cooling system. The key areas; NePCM preparation, thermophysical changes in NePCM, battery pack design aspects, and thermal performance of battery are extensively covered. The review analyzed that melt-blending two-step method is mostly adopted in preparation of NePCM. The NePCMs used in BTMS with a thermal conductivity of 1–2 W/(m∗k) and latent heat between 80 and 120 J/g are preferred in literature. Furthermore, the majority of studies were successful in keeping the maximum battery surface temperature below 50 °C, and the maximum temperature difference ΔTmax below 5 °C. In order to facilitate the researchers, this article includes technical challenges and future recommendations for further research gaps in the topic.

Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other parasites are the primary cause of infectious diseases. According to the World Health Organization, drug resistance will cause 10 million deaths from pathogenic infectious diseases by 2050. Antibiotics are being developed to eradicate infectious microorganisms. Continuous drug use, over time, increases drug-resistant bacteria and endangers human health. As a result, advancements in nanotechnology promise to improve the resolution of drug resistance. Nanoparticles encapsulated with antibiotic drugs are currently used as nanocarriers to eradicate bacteria and increase bioavailability. This study used microwave irradiation to create silver nanoparticles from date palm seed and leaves extract. UV-visible spectrophotometry was used to confirm the silver nanoparticle synthesis, revealing surface plasma resonance at 420 and 370 nm. The silver nanoparticles were conjugated with the antibiotic drug ampicillin to improve bioavailability. The XRD pattern confirms the formation of the crystalline nature of silver nanoparticles. The spherical morphology and size of silver nanoparticles were revealed by FESEM (50-70 nm) and TEM (14-26 nm). The in vitro antimicrobial activity of silver nanocomposites shows good zone of inhibition against the microorganisms such as E. coli, S. aures, A. flavus, and A. niger respectively. In addition, in silico molecular docking study was carried out for the twenty biomolecules of date palm. Among them, the compound tricosanoic acid have good binding affinity (-233.43 Kcal/mol) against S. typhi compared with standard ampicillin (-205.76 Kcal/mol). As a result, the current study contributes to use the drug-conjugated nanosilver particles which improves the efficacy against microbial pathogens.

In recent decades, copper oxide (CuO) catalyst has shown promising results for decomposing organic water contaminants. This work aimed to optimize the different parameters linked with the fabrication of CuO to become feasible for industrial and commercial applications, meeting the technology-based treatment standards. The effects of calcination temperatures (CT) and cooling rates (CR) on the crystallographic properties were thoroughly studied employing Rietveld refinement and Statistical analysis. The phases are CuO> Cu2O > Cuo, with crystallite sizes < 80 nm. The optimum conditions are 450 oC and air quench, yielding 98.5% CuO (54 nm) and 1.3% Cu2O. The particle size distribution was found to follow the normal distribution at CT of 600 oC, indicating the maturity of the crystal system. The textural analysis exhibited Type-II adsorption. The preliminary catalytic activity results revealed high activity and room for enhancing process kinetics at mild conditions.

Novel plasmonic Ag- Bi4O5I2/carbonaceous nanocomposites (rGO/WShAC) were prepared through a sonication-mediated solvothermal process. Such materials were used for the photo-decomposition of several fluoroquinolones antibiotics, such as tetracycline hydrochloride, ofloxacin and levofloxacin under simulated solar-light conditions (average intensity 2.960 W/cm2). Results of BET-BJH in combination with FESEM, confirmed that carbonaceous materials could make suitable heterostructures with Bi4O5I2 using ultrasound waves, thereby increasing specific surface area from 20.3 m2/g for Bi4O5I2 to 35.6 m2/g for Ag-Bi4O5I2/WShAC and 40.6 m2/g for Ag-Bi4O5I2/rGO. Furthermore, the pore size of Bi4O5I2 increased from 9.1 nm to 21.6 nm when forming Ag-Bi4O5I2/rGO. Ag-Bi4O5I2/rGO indicated remarkable activity, achieving the degradation of 90.2% for tetracycline hydrochloride, 60.9% for ofloxacin and 38.5% for levofloxacin after 180 min of simulated solar irradiation that made this sample to be chosen as a standout candidate for further investigation and potential applications. Concerning constant rate for eliminating 50 mg/L of tetracycline, the constant rate was improved 2.25 and 4.75 times for Ag-Bi4O5I2/WShAC and Ag-Bi4O5I2/rGO, respectively. Also, the Ag-Bi4O5I2/rGO nano photocatalyst showed excellent stability after four cycles, in which the reusability dropped only 5%.

Bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3)-based compounds have attracted considerable research attention in recent years owing to the intriguing features and widespread applicability of Bi2S3. This paper presents a detailed discussion on the characterization methods and material properties (such as structural and chemical characteristics, electronic band energy, etc.) of Bi2S3. Furthermore, simulation and experimental approaches to determine the fundamental chemical and physical properties of Bi2S3-based materials have been discussed. Herein, the physical (hot wall, thermal, sputtering, Bridgman method, and so on) and chemical routes (sol-gel processing, mechanochemical milling, successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction, microwave deposition, pyrolysis, chemical bath deposition, etc.) for synthesizing Bi2S3 and its composites are methodically presented along with their merits and demerits. In addition, the techniques associated with the application of Bi2S3-based compounds in various fields, including chemistry, optics, electronics, biomedical and materials sciences, and so on, are highlighted. Finally, future directions for utilizing Bi2S3 are proposed. The paper cumulatively covers the mechanisms, phenomena, and properties of Bi2S3 and its composites reported in the literature to date.

Cobalt phosphide (Co2P) and molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) have been shown to be efficient cocatalysts for photocatalytic H2O splitting reactions in hydrogen (H2) production. However, maintaining remarkable stability while obtaining high photocatalytic efficiency remains challenging due to the limited optical absorption. Herein, Co2P and MoS2 nanospecies were securely mounted as cocatalysts on phosphorous-titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanobelts to achieve increased activity and stability for photocatalytic H2 evolution. The photocatalytic H2 yield of the 2Co2P/P-TiO2/2H-1T MoS2 material driven by visible light was 4156 μmol/g, which was 129 and 2.3 times higher compared to those of TiO2 (32 μmol/g) and 2H-1T MoS2/TiO2 (1800 μmol/g), respectively. In particular, 2Co2P/P-TiO2/2H-1T MoS2 exhibited consistently stable photocatalytic H2 evolution while undergoing more than eight cycles of reactions for a total of 8 h. A thorough understanding of the modification effect of the Co2P and 2H-1T MoS2 nanospecies reveals that the modification strongly promotes the migration and separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs and increases the interaction at the heterointerfaces between the Co2P and 2H-1T MoS2 nanospecies and P-TiO2 nanobelts. This study broadens the potential use of Co2P and 2H-1T MoS2 as co-catalysts for the photocatalytic conversion of solar energy to chemical energy.

The complete removal of harmful phenolic contaminants from water remains huge challenge because of the lack of cost-effective and powerful adsorbents. Herein, a sustainable nitrogen self-doped biochar (named KBC750N) with large specific surface area (1398.44 m2/g), high adsorption capacity (606.06 mg/g) and removal ratio (99.99%) for p-nitrophenol (PNP) in real waters (Seawater, Yangtze River water, and Yellow River water) was prepared from a naturally abundant protein-rich psammophyte Caragana korshinskii (CK) by a facile one-step pyrolysis process. The in-situ nitrogen-doped biochar shows much better adsorption removal efficiency of 99.99% toward PNP than expensive commercial adsorbents (only 77.52%). The biochar still keeps high adsorption efficiency after reused more than five times. Site energy distribution analysis revealed that the biochar captures PNP mainly through n–π and π–π electron-donor–acceptor interactions among the electron-rich functional groups (N-containing moieties, –COOH, and –OH), graphite carbon, and PNP. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed that the nitrogen site in biochar helps to strengthen its adsorption capability to PNP. This work provides a sustainable platform for the development of high-performance, cost-effective materials for efficient elimination of organic pollutants from water.

Biopolymers are appealingly pleasing due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability, and they deserve further investigation due to these characteristics. Biopolymers are a general term that refers to a range of plastics made from renewable biomass sources such as pea starch, vegetable oil, corn starch, etc. When used in conjunction with bioinspired polymeric materials (as well as several biopolymers) that have been scientifically extracted from specific polymers and tailored to specific applications. On the other hand, the use of bioplastics has been associated with many environmental issues, including unfavourable land use change and greenhouse gas emissions, necessitating an assessment of the true environmental impact of bioplastic use in the first place. In this review, reactive compatibilization strategies of the most popular plant polysaccharides in blends with biobased polymers are examined critically in terms of their current state and prospects for the future. The processes for the modification and compatibilization of biopolymer-based materials, as well as their practical implementation, are reviewed. The efficacy of these strategies is examined in depth using polymer physics interpretations of blending and compatibilization as well as morphology, rheology, and mechanical properties of biopolymers. This includes a discussion of their macroscopic behaviour, rheological and mechanical properties that can be used to achieve biocompatibility and self-healing characteristics and the scientific and technological limitations and opportunities associated with these properties.