The catalytic conversion of CO2 into value-added chemicals is essential for sustainable development. Herein, an oxygen-vacancy-rich WO3 catalyst (OV-WO3) was prepared via ethylene glycol-assisted hydrothermal reduction and applied to CO2 cycloaddition with styrene oxide (SO). Characterizations confirmed that OV-WO3 retains the monoclinic structure and flower-like morphology of WO3, while the introduction of oxygen vacancies enhances the electron density and Lewis basicity of the adjacent lattice oxygen atoms. Under optimal conditions, OV-WO3 achieved an 89.7 % cyclic carbonate yield, outperforming pristine WO3 (58.2 %), with a reduced activation energy (20.7 vs. 32.9 kJ·mol−1). The catalyst also exhibited excellent recyclability and stability. A synergistic acid-base mechanism is proposed wherein empty d orbitals of W5+ accept electrons from the epoxide oxygen to activate the ring, while electron-rich lattice oxygen back-donate electrons into the π* orbital of CO2 for its activation. This work provides a facile defect engineering strategy for WO3 and insights for designing efficient CO2 fixation catalysts.
Understanding how soil-plant systems regulate water use and productivity is critical for improving agricultural resilience in semiarid regions. However, the functional mechanisms linking hydrological management with rhizosphere biological processes and crop productivity remain insufficiently quantified. This study developed an integrated framework to evaluate soil-plant system functionality under ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting compacted with eco-engineered chopped straw-soil crust management. A 3-year field study was executed under randomized complete block design containing ten treatments and replicated three times. Treatments comprised three ridge widths (30 cm (W30), 45 cm (W45), and 60 cm (W60)) × three straw mulching treatments (ridges compacted with soil crust (SC0), short chopped straw-soil crust (SSC2, 2 cm), and long chopped straw-soil crust (LSC10, 10 cm)), and flat planting (FP) was control. Soil water storage, microbial biomass carbon, extracellular enzyme potential activities, nutrient availability, sainfoin water use efficiency (WUE), and fodder yield were measured to characterize hydrological, biochemical, and productivity responses. Soil health was quantified using a principal component analysis-based soil health index, while structural equation modeling identified functional pathways linking soil biological activity, water availability, and crop performance. A multi-criteria decision framework using entropy-weighted TOPSIS was applied to rank treatment performance and identify optimal management strategies. Results showed that wide ridges combined with long chopped straw-soil crust significantly enhanced soil water storage, microbial enzyme activity, and nutrient availability, resulting in improved soil health and higher WUE. Structural equation modeling revealed that ridge geometry enhanced productivity primarily through microbially mediated pathways that strengthened soil-plant functional interactions. The integrated framework explained more than 90% of yield variability and identified the 60-cm ridge width with a 10-cm chopped straw as the optimal configuration for maximizing system functionality and sainfoin productivity. These findings demonstrate that integrating hydrological management with multi-dimensional soil indicators provides a robust strategy for improving soil-plant system functionality and sustainable productivity in semiarid agroecosystems.
Stringent climate policies (SCPs) are central to decarbonization, yet their distributive impacts on energy poverty (EP) and regional inequality remain contentious, especially under growing fragmentation and weaker policy coordination. This study investigates the impact of SCPs on EP in China, examining heterogeneity across policy instruments, mechanisms, and spatial contexts. Using more than 7000 subnational policies from 2007 to 2022, we construct a text-based SCP index and apply fixed-effects and spatial econometric models. The results show that SCPs are consistently associated with lower EP, with command-and-control instruments exhibiting particularly strong effects, partly through industrial upgrading. However, once spatial dependence is considered, the effects become more uneven: Spatial Durbin Models show that SCPs reduce EP within implementing provinces but increase EP pressure in neighbouring regions. Further evidence from polluting-firm entry suggests that stricter SCPs may discourage polluting activities locally while increasing their relative entry in nearby provinces, helping to explain the observed beggar-thy-neighbour pattern. Spatial effect decomposition shows that local gains are largely offset by cross-border spillovers, leading to a small and statistically insignificant total effect. We conclude that climate policy design should account for spatial externalities and regional burden sharing to ensure a just transition across regions.
Icing of engineering equipment is widely occurring in cold and humid environments, and ice thickness is a critical parameter for determining when to activate or deactivate de-icing operations. Thermal-based ice detection methods offer numerous advantages, such as low cost and compact size. However, their application is limited by their inability to measure ice thickness. To fill this technical gap, a novel thermal pulse ice thickness detection method is proposed in this study. Through experimental analysis of the transient temperature response of uniform ice layers of varying thicknesses under thermal pulses of varying power and duration, and by incorporating changes in parameters such as ambient temperature and airflow velocity, a mathematical model relating thermal pulses to ice thickness was established, and the mapping relationship between thermal response characteristics and ice thickness was determined. The results show that this method enables high-precision detection of uniform ice thickness, with an average error of 10.11% for ice thicknesses ranging from 0 to 14 mm at −10 °C. By optimizing the model based on the coupling of the peak measured temperature and the time of its occurrence, the average error can be further reduced to 7.31% for ice thicknesses ranging from 0 to 7 mm. The results of this study provide valuable references and insights for enriching dynamic icing parameters detection methods, developing low-cost, high-precision, and highly efficient anti-icing and de-icing technologies, and enhancing the adaptability of engineering equipment to cold and humid environments.
In this study, a composite catalytic layer (CL) featuring multiple bubble nucleation sites was constructed by two-step electrodeposition and phosphorus doping to regulate bubble behavior on the electrode surface during oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Firstly, the porous nickel framework layer constructed in the first electrodeposition provided ample anchoring sites for nickel-iron layered double hydroxide precursors in the second electrodeposition, thereby increasing the loading and accessibility of active species. Secondly, the resulting CL exhibited an abundant microporous structure. On one hand, this structure was expected to enhance capillary-driven electrolyte infiltration into the CL pores, which could improve electrolyte contact with active sites, increase site exposure, and enable efficient electrolyte renewal. On the other hand, the high tortuosity of the CL may create a spatial confinement effect on dissolved oxygen (DO), slowing DO diffusion into the bulk solution during OER. This could favor local DO accumulation near the electrode surface, providing a possible condition for bubble formation. Additionally, the porous structure with ample exposed edges and defects forms discontinuous "gas-liquid-solid" three-phase interfaces, which are likely to provide favorable interfacial regions for bubble formation, weaken bubble retention, and facilitate gas release. Finally, Ni2P and Fe2P heterojunctions formed by phosphorus doping enhanced CL conductivity and facilitated electron transport during OER. Ultimately, the optimized NiFeP@NF-skeleton exhibited overpotentials of 306 and 418 mV at 100 and 300 mA cm(-2), respectively, and showed acceptable operational durability under the tested conditions, outperforming the commercial IrO2-loaded electrode.
