Despite extensive prior research to understand the aging mechanism of aqueous supercapacitors with porous carbon electrodes, direct nanoscale observation of degradation phenomena related to nano pore blockage is lacking. This prevents the field from fully understanding the onset of capacitance loss due to solid biproduct nucleation and deposition at the electrode/electrolyte interface. To address this, we applied post-mortem high resolution (scanning) transmission electron microscopy imaging and spectroscopy along with multi-scale physicochemical characterization following life cycle testing of aqueous Na2SO4 electrolyte supercapacitor cells with activated carbon (AC) and vulcan carbon (VC) electrodes. Detailed analyses revealed the nanoscale phase and morphology of side reaction byproducts formed on the electrode surface after cell operation at 1.7 V. Our findings include direct observation of ~7 nanometer monoclinic Na2CO3 crystallites on degraded VC associated with confirmed local Na enrichment. Raman and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping also revealed ~10 nm carbon-rich crystallites in the degraded VC, indicating carbon bond reorganization and varied defect concentration during cell operation. The nucleation of highly soluble Na2CO3 on the carbon electrode surface suggests the nucleation mechanism involves a local pH change where hydroxide ions from solution reacts with carbon dioxide to form carbonate ions. Our findings highlight the deleterious role of <10 nm carbonate crystals in degrading aqueous supercapacitors using alkali metal-based electrolytes, such as Li2SO4 and Na2SO4.

Currently, biomimetic mineralised materials were utilised in various engineering applications, yet their broader implementation is hindered by challenges such as long processing times, high costs, and potential environmental concerns. Drawing inspiration from natural nacre, renowned for its optimal strength-toughness balance, and wood, which exhibits a hierarchical porous structure and renewability, a rapid, eco-friendly, and economical route to fabricate a wood-based biomimetic mineralised material (WBMM) with a nacreous "brick-and-mortar" architecture, measuring 1-3 mm in thickness, was developed. The WBMM demonstrates a high toughness of approximately 5.4 MJ/m3 and a tensile strength of approximately 36 MPa. It exhibits progressive failure behaviour under tension rather than abrupt fracture, achieving a tensile fracture work of 0.68 MJ/m3. Moreover, the flexural strength reaches approximately 125 MPa, representing an approximately sixfold enhancement over conventional mineralised materials. In addition to its rapid mineralisation process, the WBMM also exhibits excellent flame retardancy. This work paves the way for broader application of biomimetic mineralised materials in structural and engineering contexts.

Conventional life cycle assessment (LCA) of wood products often lacks a dynamic representation of biogenic carbon flows, leading to an oversimplified account of their climate impact. This study introduces a novel methodological framework by integrating a four-stage carbon storage cycle (carbon sequestration, first carbon emission, extension of carbon storage, and second carbon emission) with the ISO 14067:2018 standard for product carbon footprinting. We developed a transparent calculation model to partition CO2 emissions across production, transportation, and disposal stages using a representative medium-density fiberboard (MDF) production case in China for empirical validation. The results reveal a total emission of 32.8135 kg CO2/m(2), with a striking 59% originating from the disposal and recycling stage, overshadowing production (39%) and transportation (2%). This finding underscores the critical, yet often neglected, role of end-of-life management in the carbon footprint of manufactured wood panels. The study provides a replicable template for dynamic carbon accounting of wood products.

Pine wilt disease, caused by Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, poses a serious threat to global pine forest ecosystems and forestry production. Thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs), which belong to the PR-5 family, are known to participate in plant defense, but their roles in pine have not been well characterized. In this study, a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of the TLP gene family was conducted in Pinus taeda. A total of 116 TLP genes were identified and classified into four major clades based on phylogenetic analysis. Gene structure and conserved motif analyses revealed that members within the same clade generally exhibited similar exon-intron organization patterns and conserved motif compositions. Promoter analysis identified numerous cis-regulatory elements associated with stress responses and phytohormone signaling. Transcriptome data from different stages of pine wood nematode infection identified eight TLP genes that exhibited continuous differential expression, and their expression patterns were further confirmed by qRT-PCR. A multilayer regulatory network highlighted MYB and other transcription factors as key upstream regulators, and yeast one-hybrid assays confirmed MYB-mediated regulation. Together, these findings improve our understanding of the TLP gene family in P. taeda and offer valuable candidate genes and regulatory information for future studies on pine resistance to pine wilt disease.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation technology is recognized as a promising strategy for alleviating freshwater shortages and energy crisis. Inspired by wood transpiration, this work presented a multifunctional wood-based evaporator (CB/PPy@DBW) that integrated streaming potential mechanism with interfacial evaporation, enabling simultaneous freshwater production and evaporation-induced electricity generation. CB/PPy@DBW not only displayed exceptional light absorption, superior photothermal conversion, appropriate thermal management and sufficient water supply, but also achieved significantly reduced vaporization enthalpy through regulating of water states by hydrophilic groups. Consequently, the evaporation rate of CB/PPy@DBW reached 2.23 kg m−2 h−1 under one sun irradiation. Furthermore, three-dimensional interconnected structure enabled salt dissolution and salt-water exchange within microchannels of CB/PPy@DBW, ensuring efficient evaporation in 15 wt% high-concentration brine. The highly negatively charged surface microchannels induced by dual-loading of carbon black and polypyrrole facilitated a stable and enhanced electric double layer formation, enabling stable output of 0.33 V voltage and 0.33 μA current in pure water. More importantly, CB/PPy@DBW increased its electricity output in seawater to 0.46 V and 70 μA, even allowed for electricity output without irradiation. This work proposes a novel approach that simultaneously provides freshwater and electricity by multifunctional evaporators.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation plays a pivotal role in addressing the global water shortage. Nevertheless, performance deterioration caused by scaling and intermittent solar irradiation in continuous evaporation remains a major obstacle to its application. Herein, we reported a multiple-anti-fouling wood-based evaporator (Ag/rGO@DBW) and integrated with phase change material for efficient and continuous evaporation. Ag/rGO@DBW demonstrated prominent photothermal conversion, exceptional thermal management, superior wetting characteristic and significantly reduced vaporization enthalpy, thereby reaching an impressive evaporation rate of 2.53 kg m-2 h-1 under one sun irradiation. The three-dimensional interconnected structure of Ag/rGO@DBW utilized multi-directional mass transfer mechanism to achieve continuous operation in 15 wt% NaCl solution without salt accumulation. The high-quality freshwater evaporated from seawater had the potential for agricultural irrigation and even as drinking water. Moreover, Ag/rGO@DBW demonstrated excellent anti-oil/biofouling capabilities, and was capable to purify various industrial wastewater. More importantly, solar-driven interfacial evaporation integrated with phase change material system stored reminder waste heat and released it during periods of insufficient solar irradiation to sustain evaporation. This system overcame intermittent irradiation and achieved a evaporation rate of 1.65 kg m-2 h-1 without irradiation. This work provides an expandable strategy for achieving high-performance and sustainable evaporators.

The deterioration of marine ecosystems and the growing scarcity of clean water have become critical global challenges, which can be alleviated through interfacial solar steam generation (ISSG) to produce clean water vapor by harnessing renewable solar energy. Herein, a bifunctional, self-floating water purification system is developed based on wood-derived biochar (WB), functionalized with plasmonic Ag and magnetic CoFe2O4 nanoparticles to yield Ag/CoFe2O4@WB composite capable of simultaneous solar-driven evaporation and heavy metal removal. Under 1-sun illumination, the system achieves a high evaporation rate of 1.70 kg m-2 h-1 and energy conversion efficiency of up to 97.2%, along with outstanding sorption toward Cr(VI) with a capacity of 89.85 mg g-1 and toward Cd(II) with a capacity of 100.48 mg g-1. The Ag/CoFe2O4@WB composite is capable of producing potable freshwater from non-potable wastewater sources, with maintained high evaporation performance under harsh conditions, such as organic and heavy-metal wastewater and strongly acidic/alkaline solutions. The outstanding anti-salt deposition and self-cleaning capabilities of Ag/CoFe2O4@WB also endow it with superior desalination for both synthetic seawater with varying salinities and real seawater. All collected distillates consistently maintain high quality. This work demonstrates the potential of Ag/CoFe2O4@WB composite for sustainable water purification.

Abstract The deterioration of marine ecosystems and the growing scarcity of clean water have become critical global challenges, which can be alleviated through interfacial solar steam generation (ISSG) to produce clean water vapor by harnessing renewable solar energy. Herein, a bifunctional, self‐floating water purification system is developed based on wood‐derived biochar (WB), functionalized with plasmonic Ag and magnetic CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles to yield Ag/CoFe 2 O 4 @WB composite capable of simultaneous solar‐driven evaporation and heavy metal removal. Under 1‐sun illumination, the system achieves a high evaporation rate of 1.70 kg m −2 h −1 and energy conversion efficiency of up to 97.2%, along with outstanding sorption toward Cr(VI) with a capacity of 89.85 mg g −1 and toward Cd(II) with a capacity of 100.48 mg g −1 . The Ag/CoFe 2 O 4 @WB composite is capable of producing potable freshwater from non‐potable wastewater sources, with maintained high evaporation performance under harsh conditions, such as organic and heavy‐metal wastewater and strongly acidic/alkaline solutions. The outstanding anti‐salt deposition and self‐cleaning capabilities of Ag/CoFe 2 O 4 @WB also endow it with superior desalination for both synthetic seawater with varying salinities and real seawater. All collected distillates consistently maintain high quality. This work demonstrates the potential of Ag/CoFe 2 O 4 @WB composite for sustainable water purification.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation has become the most promising solution to the problem of freshwater scarcity. However, challenges remain in developing evaporators that effectively generate freshwater while enabling environmental remediation. Herein, by decorating Fe3O4 and carbon nanotubes (CNT) on balsa wood, a wood-based evaporator (CCF@BW) with excellent dual-function of solar evaporation and photocatalytic purification was obtained, in which the CNT photothermal layer formed a stable interfacial adhesion with the wood substrate due to the introduction of chitosan as the "glue". Due to the non-covalent interaction between the hydrophilic groups on the evaporator and water molecules, resulting in an increase in the intermediate water ratio, thus reducing the vaporization enthalpy of water in CCF@BW (only 1549 J g-1), which significantly increase the evaporation rate (1.76 kg m-2 h-1) exceeding theoretical limit under one sun irradiation. Attributed to its unique structural design, CCF@BW remained stable in the 100-hours continuous evaporation test, and could be recycled in high concentration brine. CCF@BW had the ability to obtain clean water from various simulated sewage, and freshwater evaporated from seawater could be used for agricultural irrigation, even the quality fully met WHO and EPA drinking water standards. More notably, the presence of highly conductive CNT led to a high separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers generated by Fe3O4, which resulted in an effective photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline, proving its feasibility of cleaning water environment while producing freshwater. This study provides new insights into the design of multifunctional evaporators to realize freshwater production and environmental remediation.

Developing eco-friendly, high-performance adhesives is crucial for sustainable industrial applications but remains a significant challenge. Herein, a synergistic strategy combining core-shell hybridization and borate chemistry was employed to fabricate a multifunctional soy protein (SPI) adhesive with excellent adhesion. Specifically, a reactive core-shell hybrid (POSS-U) was synthesized via free-radical polymerization using octavinyl-POSS as the core and urushiol (U) as the shell. Sodium borate (SB) was then added as a crosslinker, along with POSS-U and SPI, to prepare the SPI/POSS-U/SB adhesive. The SPI/POSS-U/SB adhesive exhibited a 100% increase in dry shear strength (2.46 MPa) and a wet shear strength of 0.74 MPa, meeting indoor application standards. Due to the thermal shielding and char formation of POSS and SB, the peak heat release rate of the modified adhesive reduced by 25.4%, revealing excellent flame retardancy. Additionally, the modified adhesive remained mold-free for 144 h due to the antifungal properties of urushiol and boron. This work provides an innovative approach for enhancing protein-based adhesives and contributes to the advancement of multifunctional composite materials.

To develop a stable hydrogel drug carrier with excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability and low toxicity, a green biomass-based hydrogel was prepared as a methylene blue (MB) drug carrier model using cellulose and sodium alginate (SA) polysaccharide. The addition of nanocellulose (CNF) and hydrothermally prepared carbon microspheres to the hydrogel network formed by SA undergoing chelation with Ca2+ enhanced the multifaceted properties of the drug carrier. Additionally, the prepared SA-CNFgelCS0.1 could withstand a pressure of 8.64 N and showed good compressive and elastic properties. Meanwhile, its encapsulation rate and drug loading capacity could reach 95.5 % and 19.36 mg/g, respectively. The drug release rate reached 43.4 % at 100 h in PBS solution simulating the pH value of the gastric environment, indicating good pH-responsiveness and long-lasting release ability during the drug-carrying release process. The release mechanism of the drug carrier to MB was investigated by different release kinetic models, which was in accordance with the first-order kinetic model. SACNFgelCS0.1 at high concentration also did not affect the number of pancreatic cell survival and showed a high degree of biocompatibility. In addition to that, SA-CNFgelCS0.1 can reach 100 % degradation rate in 18 days, which has no burden on the environment during use. The present study offers a novel approach to the synthesis of a biomass drug-carrying model with enhanced performance. Furthermore, this drug carrier provides a promising foundation for the development of oral MB as a potential treatment for gastrointestinal diseases and other chronic condition.

Water-electricity cogeneration based on solar-driven interfacial evaporation technology is a prospective solution to address the shortage of freshwater and energy. However, developing efficient and anti-fouling evaporators remains a great challenge at present. In this work, the Janus structural design was introduced into wood-based evaporator to obtain MXene decorated delignified balsa wood evaporator with asymmetric wettability (JMDBW). Benefiting from the superb light absorption, excellent photothermal conversion, reasonable local thermal management and low vaporization enthalpy, JMDBW achieving an evaporation rate as high as 2.39 kg m-2 h-1 in pure water under one sun irradiation. Under the synergistic effect of the fully connected microchannels and the Janus structure, JMDBW displayed competitive salt resistance, with an evaporation rate reaching 2.01 kg m-2 h-1 in high-concentration (20 wt%) brine under one sun irradiation, and even maintaining stable in 15 h continuous evaporation without obvious salt accumulation. Surprisingly, the super-hydrophilic and underwater super-oleophobic substrate effectively prevented oil contaminants from clogging the microchannels, allowing JMDBW to operate efficiently in oily wastewater. Moreover, JMDBW not only exhibited inhibitory effects on microorganisms, but also possessed the ability to obtain clean water from wastewater containing dyes, acids and alkalis. More importantly, the system consisting of evaporator and thermoelectric module achieved the output of stable current of 3.8 mA and voltage of 47.8 mV under one sun irradiation. This wood-based evaporator offers a promising strategy for achieving efficient freshwater production and water-electricity cogeneration.

With sustainable development, wood is functionalized for use in energy-efficient buildings, lightweight vehicles, and water treatment applications. However, complex chemical or physical treatments hinder its practical application. Here, we propose a simple and efficient surface activation that uses UV-assisted hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) treatment for photoassisted oxidation in multifunctional wood manufacturing. The oxidized wood cell walls increase the number of hydroxyl groups on lignin. Combined with the aligned cellulose nanofibers, this creates strong capillary forces that enable automatic impregnation of functional precursors for nanomodification. The ammonium polyphosphate-activated wood shows enhanced fire resistance and mold prevention, with a 39% lower average heat release rate, a 1.71-fold longer ignition time, and complete resistance against typical mold species. Techno-economic analysis reveals that the preparation of surface-activated functional wood reduces 92.5% in energy, 76.8% in reagent cost, and a 169.1% increase in the market profitability than traditional impregnation. Life cycle assessment indicates that the surface activation strategy has 43% lower carbon emissions than vacuum-pressure impregnation. The surface activation is adaptable for both fluorophore nanomodification and graphite impregnation, endowing fluorescence and photothermal conversion to wood. This low-cost, efficient, and customizable surface activation approach represents a significant advance in the low-carbon manufacturing of multifunctional wood materials.

Environmental issues have grown increasingly salient, and to address these environmental challenges, the development of sustainable energy systems is urgently required, and there is an urgent need to develop new energy sources to address environmental challenges. Recently, the domain of clean energy technologies has attracted heightened research interest from researchers, as the development of advanced power generation apparatus is targeted at exploiting the potential energy of water to generate electricity for daily use. Developing and utilizing biomass-based green materials for hydroelectric power generation devices are predicated on ensuring the excellent power-generation performance of devices. This study presents a wood-based transpiration generator (WTG) that exploits the capillary flow of water in carbon-black-coated natural wood due to the continuous water evaporation. A single drop of deionized water (20 mu L) on the WTG with dimensions of 30 x 15 x 0.5 mm yields a maximum open-circuit voltage of 0.63 V and a maximum short-circuit current of 4.5 mu A, depending on the loading of carbon black. By a series connection of six WTGs using copper wire clips, a continuous power supply enough to power an electronic calculator is generated, demonstrating its practical application. Achieving the conversion of water energy into electric energy is more conducive to utilizing water resources and implementing a deep excavation of water energy.

Building materials with electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, thermal insulation, and noise reduction are crucial for the development of modern green and energy-saving buildings. However, most materials struggle to balance the thermal and acoustic insulation with EMI shielding performance due to structural incompatibility. Herein, we apply a one-step carbonized strategy to manufacture conductive carbonized corn straw core (CCSC), achieving effective shielding against electromagnetic waves, heat, and noise. The CCSC inherits the honeycomb pore structure of corn straw core, achieving a large specific surface area (498.46 m2 g-1), high porosity (91.58 %), and low density (19.89 mg cm-3). As a result, CCSC demonstrates low thermal conductivity (31.74 mW m-1 K-1), leading to highly efficient thermal insulation. Meanwhile, acoustic waves can be blocked due to sound energy dissipation. CCSC exhibits an acoustic absorption coefficient that is three times that of natural corn straw core in the frequency range of 1500-4500 Hz. Thanks to the electrical conductivity (136.93 S m-1) and interconnecting porous structure, the CCSC shows an electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of up to 80.9 dB and a specific shielding effectiveness of up to 6160-11880 dB cm2 g-1 at variable thickness in the X-band. As a proof of concept, we provided a plastic-sealed method to facilely assemble CCSC into a half-meter-long corn straw panel. This work proposes a high-value utilization strategy for renewable biomass straw resources and can inspire the development of next-generation multifunctional building materials.

To solve the problem of dye contamination caused by methylene blue (MB), a one-step synthesised nanocellulose (CNF) and polyacrylamide (PAM) gel network was modified by using NaOH in this study, and the prepared samples were analysed for their micromorphology, chemical structure, and adsorption-release properties. The findings demonstrated that the maximum adsorption capacity of the CNF-PAM5% was 172.08 mg/g, which followed the quasi-second-order kinetic model and the Freundlich adsorption model. The adsorption of the gel increased with the increase of the NaOH-modified concentration. However, the adsorption efficiency of the CNF-PAM5% could still reach 85% after four cycles, and the CNF-PAM5% remained intact without signs of fragmentation after 4 h of stirring and water impact, which was attributed to the introduction of CNF into the PAM network to effectively improve the mechanical properties of the gel. Moreover, toxicity tests showed no significant difference in the amount of cellular activity, even when the volume of the CNF-PAM5% sample was increased up to 10-fold. This gel, which exhibits low toxicity and excellent recycling properties, serves to reduce environmental impact during the adsorption process. Furthermore, the potential exists for utilising the gel’s methylene blue-releasing (MB) properties as a fungicide for fish.

The sluggish reaction kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) significantly limit the efficiency of electrochemical water splitting (EWS) process, making the development of efficient and stable OER electrocatalysts for sustainable EWS important but still challenging to achieve. Herein, a light-assisted improved design of low-budget carbonized wood (CW) with outstanding OER performance is developed by firmly growing CoFe2O4 nanorods and Ag nanoparticles on the CW channels to form self-supporting electrode (CoFe2O4/Ag-CW). The coordination of active CoFe2O4/Ag and porous CW framework results in substantial effective interfaces and abundant electrochemical active sites, and accelerated electrolyte diffusion, electron transfer, and oxygen escaping. Electrochemical measurements and density functional theory calculations suggest the presence of dual microparticle synergies, conducive to optimizing the electronic structure of CoFe2O4/Ag-CW and lowering the energy barrier of O-H bond breaking in H2O for remarkably enhanced OER activity. Under light field assistance, CoFe2O4/Ag-CW exhibits excellent photothermal effect and carrier separation efficiency with ultralow overpotential of 258 mV and long-term stability at 100 mA cm-2. The photothermal effect and the generation of photogenerated carriers enhance OER dynamics and charge transfer efficiency, leading to improved OER performance under light exposure. Overall, the proposed strategy looks promising for efficient and low-cost oxygen generation.

The application of hydrogels in flexible sensing has received increasing attention, but the simultaneous preparation of hydrogels with good structural stability, strain sensing sensitivity, freezing resistance, and drying resistance remains a challenge. Based on this, a GG-nanocellulose/sodium alginate/polyacrylamide composite hydrogel with a hierarchical network structure was constructed by one-step synthesis by incorporating graphene oxide (GO) and glycerol into the hydrogel. The hydrogel remained structurally intact after 100 compression cycles. In addition, the hydrogel was dried at 30 °C for 24 h. The mass retention rate was 48%, the melting peak was as low as -13.87 °C, and the hydrogel remained flexible and stable at low temperatures. GO modulated the network structure arrangement of the hydrogel through various mechanisms, thereby conferring to the hydrogel an excellent sensing performance, with a sensitivity (GF) of 2.21. In conclusion, this hierarchical network hydrogel has good drying, freezing, and sensing properties, which provides a new viable strategy for monitoring motion signals. Moreover, the hydrogel is predicted to function as a dressing, thereby facilitating the absorption of heat from the skin's surface, with the aim of alleviating the discomfort associated with joint and muscle injuries caused by strenuous exercise.

Hydrovoltaic power generation is a novel green energy device designed based on the hydrovoltaic effect generated when water droplets flow through charged nanochannels. However, constrained by seawater conductivity and the inherent limitations of biomass materials, the current fabrication of high-performance biomassbased seawater hydrovoltaic devices remains highly challenging. Herein, we developed a novel wood-based interfacial evaporation-driven hydrovoltaic generator (WIEHVG). This device leverages the natural porous structure of wood-based materials to create clustered microchannels (5 mu m in dimension) through pore reconstruction technology and utilizes gravitational forces to impart a tilted orientation to the newly aligned channels. The hydrovoltaic effect intensifies with decreasing channel size, simultaneously, the approximately 2 nm nanopores within the channel walls restrict ion movement in seawater, thereby enhancing the ion concentration gradient and promoting further separation of positive and negative charges to generate a substantial potential difference. Under one-sun illumination, the WIEHVG continuously produces voltages above 1 V in seawater with an evaporation rate of 2.01 kg m- 2 h- 1. During practical outdoor testing, it maintained a stable voltage output of 0.9-1.0 V. This research broadens the prospects for utilizing natural biomass materials in efficient hydrovoltaic power generation applications.