Eco-friendly textiles with wash-regenerable superhydrophobicity are prepared using a fluorine-free emulsion by a pad–dry–cure process, exhibiting superhydrophobicity, wetting resistance, durability, universal applicability, and scalability.

SiOx anodes are highly promising for next-generation lithium-ion batteries due to their superior theoretical capacity. However, issues such as drastic volume expansion and low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) impede their practical use. While macroporous architectures can mitigate these challenges, traditional fabrication often depends on tedious hard templating methods and significant organic solvent consumption. In this work, we report a sustainable, emulsion-self-templated and organic solvent-free strategy to synthesize a carbon-coated 3D macroporous SiOx/C composite (3DM-SiOx/C@C). Our approach uniquely integrates radical polymerization with a water-in-oil emulsion and sol-gel process, followed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The 3D macroporous framework is generated via in-situ emulsion droplets acting as self-templates, effectively eliminating the need for external sacrificial templates and toxic etchants. Notably, this organic solvent-free process achieves an exceptional precursor to (precursor + organic solvent) mass ratio of 1.0, contrasting sharply with conventional methods (0.0044-0.17). The resulting hierarchical structure, characterized by interconnected macropores and a uniform carbon coating, significantly enhances structural integrity and electronic conductivity. Electrochemical evaluations reveal that 3DM-SiOx/C@C exhibits an improved ICE of 74.32% and long-term cycling stability even at a high current density of 1.0 A g-1 compared to non-porous and uncoated counterparts. This integrated synthesis offers a green and scalable pathway for developing high-performance silicon-based anodes for large-scale energy storage.

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) proceeds with either active metal sites or lattice oxygen species serving as the redox centres for electron transfer and transformation of intermediates. Concurrently accelerating the redox cycles of these centres can effectively accelerate the reaction kinetics for a catalyst, but such promotion is often constrained by thermodynamic barriers. Herein, we circumvent this challenge by introducing spin-dependent electronic modulation for Ni-based oxide hydroxides (Ni(OH)x) via Fe and Bi co-doping. Such manipulation synergistically enhances the redox reversibility of active Ni sites and activates the reactivity of lattice oxygen in the resultant sponge-like NiFeBi(OH)x electrocatalyst, which substantially boost the OER kinetics by simultaneously accelerating both the adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) and lattice oxygen mechanism (LOM) pathways. The dual-pathway synergy, combined with the hierarchical sponge-like architecture that ensures abundant active sites and efficient mass transfer, endows the electrode with exceptional OER performance. Consequently, industrial-level current densities of 500, 1000, and 2000 mA cm-2 are delivered at overpotentials of only 270, 297, and 356 mV, respectively, positioning NiFeBi(OH)x among the most efficient Ni-based OER electrocatalysts. This work provides new insights into dual-pathway synergistic catalysis enabled by spin-dependent redox electrochemistry engineering, paving the way for designing advanced oxidation electrocatalysts.

Superhydrophobic cotton fabrics demonstrate significant application potential across various fields because of their exceptional self-cleaning and anti-icing capabilities. However, their practical implementation remains constrained by inadequate durability and complex fabrication methodologies. This study employed a composite suspension of modified TiO2, waterborne polyurethane (WPU), and gamma-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (KH550) for spray-coating onto polydopamine (PDA) modified cotton fabrics. This modified fabric demonstrates exceptional superhydrophobicity, exhibiting a static WCA of 160.5 degrees and a SA of 2.2 degrees. Compared with the original fabric, the modified fabric has superior durability, anti-icing property, and low adhesion strength (24 kPa), while maintaining its breathability and flexibility. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic cotton fabric maintains its excellent water repellency (WCA >150 degrees) even after rigorous durability testing, including abrasion test, tape-peeling tests, and immersion in corrosive solutions (pH 1-13). More importantly, its delayed freezing time is 9 times that of the original fabric. The superhydrophobic fabric developed in this study is expected to expand the application scope of traditional textiles in areas such as stain resistance, safety protection and anti-icing, providing new ideas for the development of a new generation of multifunctional textiles.

In recent years, the exploration of superhydrophobic surface technology in the field of functional textiles has been continuous deepened. Among these advancements, fluorine-based coatings, once widely used to enhance the wetting and contamination resistance of textiles due to their excellent hydrophobic properties, have come under scrutiny. However, the persistent accumulation of fluorocarbons in the environment and their associated biotoxicity risks have spurred global regulatory responses, highlighting an urgent and critical need across international markets to develop green, safe, and fluorine-free alternatives for textile water repellency. This paper systematically reviews the innovative designs and application prospects of fluorine-free superhydrophobic textiles. First, it focuses on fluorine-free low-surface-energy materials such as organosilicon-based, polyurethanebased, and polyacrylate-based substances, analyzing their synergistic relationships with rough microstructures. Second, it elaborates on the core preparation strategies for fluorine-free superhydrophobic textiles, encompassing both conventional methods and novel cutting-edge technologies. Finally, by integrating typical application scenarios-including self-cleaning, oil-water separation, and smart response-it outlines the technical challenges and industrialization opportunities for environmentally friendly superhydrophobic textiles within the framework of sustainable development, providing valuable insights for future research and practical applications.

Developing exceptional and economically viable electrocatalysts is crucial for advancing overall water splitting (OWS). Herein, a self-supporting electrode of Co/Co2N0.67/CeOx/coal-based porous carbon fibers (Co/Co2N0.67/ CeOx/C-PCFs) is synthesized via electrospinning, hydrothermal reaction, and pyrolysis. The pore-creating strategy applied to coal-based carbon fibers (C-CFs) enhances the internal and external synergy between cerium oxide and cobalt nitride, and effectively modulates the electronic structure, promoting both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), thereby improving OWS performance. Moreover, by using acid-and alkali-tolerant C-PCFs as a support, the prepared electrode has a self-supporting structure, enabling it to undergo HER in both acidic and alkaline electrolyte solutions. The resulting Co/Co2N0.67/CeOx/C-PCFs electrode exhibits prominent electrocatalytic performance, with a low overpotential of 73 mV for HER in acidic media at 10 mA cm(-2), and in alkaline media, requiring only 93 mV for HER, 193 mV for OER, and a low cell voltage of 1.52 V for OWS at 10 mA cm(-2), with excellent stability over 240 h. In-situ Raman spectroscopy reveals that CeOx facilitates the reconstruction of cobalt species into CoOOH, thereby boosting OER activity. This study offers a reliable strategy for oxide/nitride composite catalysts and a new route converting coal to valueadded carbon fibers.

This study developed an urushiol-based bio-inspired composite coating incorporating synergistic SiO2@BN hybrids to achieve high thermal conductivity and superior corrosion resistance. Conventional resin coatings (e.g., epoxy, polyurethane) exhibit excellent barrier properties but suffer from low thermal conductivity (<0.2 W/(mK)), limiting heat dissipation and promoting corrosion under thermal cycling. To address this, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) was modified via a sol-gel process with a silica (SiO2) layer, followed by functionalization with methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane (MPS) and grafting with natural urushiol (Ur) to form a hydrophobic and highly dispersible hybrid filler (USB). The USB filler was incorporated into a waterborne epoxy (WEP) matrix at various loadings (0.5-2.0 wt%). The optimal composite coating (USB/WEP-1.5 %) demonstrated a thermal conductivity of 0.4712 W/(mK) (86 % improvement over pure WEP), excellent mechanical properties, and outstanding corrosion resistance with a low-frequency impedance modulus of 2.33 x 10(10) Omegacm(2) after 270 h immersion in 3.5 % NaCl. The enhancement is attributed to the synergistic effect of urushiol's catechol groups and long alkyl chains, which improve dispersion, interfacial compatibility, and electrochemical passivation.

Cascade catalysis integrates multiple reaction steps into a single system, offering enhanced efficiency and selectivity for complex molecular transformations. Here, we report a hollow nanoreactor composed of ZIF-8 microspheres with a single through-pore and Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) anchored on the inner surface (Au NPs@H-ZIF-8), designed to facilitate the Knoevenagel condensation-hydrogenation cascade reaction. This architecture enables a synergistic interplay between basic sites of ZIF-8 and the metallic Au NPs, allowing both reaction steps to proceed efficiently under unified conditions. The open-shell structure overcomes diffusion limitations for macromolecular substrates, while the inner surface provides stable anchoring sites for Au NPs, ensuring high activity and durability. In the model reaction, converting p-nitrobenzaldehyde to 2-(4-aminobenzylidene) malononitrile, the catalyst achieves a 99% yield within 30 min. Control experiments using ZIF-8 single crystals grown in situ on Au NPs confirm that the micropores of ZIF-8 are too small to accommodate the intermediates, underscoring the importance of the hollow architecture. Furthermore, DFT calculations revealed that the position of the nitro group (para > meta > ortho) affects reaction energy barriers, thereby dictating product yields. This study provides mechanistic insight and design principles for developing efficient cascade catalysts for macromolecular transformations.

Cotton fabrics are soft, comfortable, and hydrophilic. However, the fabric's poor wear resistance and tendency to ice at low temperatures restrict its applications. Superhydrophobic cotton fabric has a unique hydrophobic surface, which can effectively delay the freezing of the fabric surface. Herein, superhydrophobic cotton fabric was prepared through the application of a suspension comprising silicon dioxide (SiO2), cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and gamma-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (KH550). The combination of PTFE and KH550 could significantly improve its mechanical properties and stability. When the proportion of SiO2 to CeO2 was 2:3, the cotton fabric demonstrated exceptional superhydrophobicity and anti-icing performance. It is noteworthy that the cotton fabric retained excellent superhydrophobicity after undergoing 80 cycles of abrasion, 60 cycles of tape stripping, 1 h water of impact, 30 min of sand impact, prolonged immersion (pH 3-13), and 5 days at -30 degrees C/120 degrees C. Furthermore, the freezing time of the superhydrophobic cotton fabric was prolonged to 489 s, and adhesion strength of ice was reduced to 11.56 kPa at -10 degrees C. This study provides a straightforward method for preparing superhydrophobic cotton fabrics, which significantly enhances their practical applications.

The "one-pot" cascade process involves multiple catalytic conversions followed by a single workup stage. This method has the capability to optimize catalytic efficiency by reducing chemical processes. The key to achieving cascade reactions lies in designing cascade catalysts with well-dispersed, stably immobilized, and accessible noble metal nanoparticles for multiple catalytic conversions. This work presents a strategy for creating long-lasting cascade catalysts by encapsulating Ru and Pd nanoparticles within multi-shell spongy-core porous microspheres (MS-SC-PMs). This cascade catalyst strategy enables the continuous hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline and further to cyclohexylamine, demonstrating both high selectivity and conversion rates. Notably, this approach overcomes the typical challenges associated with noble metal nanoparticles, such as poor stability and recyclability, as it maintains its performance over ten consecutive cycles. Additionally, the MS-SC-PMs have the versatility to encapsulate various metal nanoparticles, providing catalytic versatility, scalability, and a promising avenue for designing long-lasting catalysts loaded with nanoparticles.

Background Despite being viewed as a potent analytical methodology for imaging disease biomarkers in live organisms, DNA circuit-dependent biosensors are impeded by inadequate detection sensitivity, unsatisfactory bio-uptake efficiency, and measurement inaccuracies. In an endeavor to overcome these challenges, we herein introduce several effective resolutions. Results First, a hybridization chain reaction is combined with catalytic hairpin assembly to carry out a self-feedback cascading mechanism, offering two rounds of signal amplification to enhance biosensing performance. After that, nucleic acid modules are encapsulated within a gene-modified virus-inspired nanovector equipped with both bio-targeting and cytomembrane-penetrating functions, significantly improving the biosensor's uptake by biological media. Additionally, a photocleavage-linker is inserted into this assay system to facilitate a light-gated spatiotemporal pattern, preventing the biosensor from remaining in an always-active status throughout bio-delivery to promote imaging accuracy. For the intent of conceptual demonstration, our DNA circuit permits ultra-sensitive and specific detection of microRNA-21, a potential biomarker for a range of cancers, in solution analysis. Of greater importance, we present a biosensing toolbox that has impressive imaging capabilities for measuring low-abundance analytes in live cell lines as well as animal models. Significance This work makes a meaningful contribution to the progress of DNA circuits for use in disease diagnostics.

Oxidative cyanation of furfural (1a) to 2-furancarbonitrile (3a) by using NH3 as a nitrogen source and O2 as an oxidant is an effective strategy for biomass-based nitrile synthesis. Herein, Co catalyst supported on a nanocomposite of nitrogen-doped carbon and TiO2 (Co/NC-TiO2) was developed for the oxidative cyanation. The multiphase interface architecture of the catalyst enriched oxygen vacancies; moreover, the electron-rich NC nanocomponent facilitated Co2+/Co3+ valence transformation, thus promoting O2 activation. The kinetic analysis demonstrated the condensation of 1a/NH3-to-(2-furanyl)methanimine (2a) as the rate-determining step, which was consecutively promoted by 2a/O2-to-3a dehydrogenation over the catalyst surface. A LangmuirHinshelwood mechanism was suggested for the oxidative dehydrogenation of the 2a/O2-to-3a step, in which O2 is activated by an associative adsorption on the Co surface yielding a superoxide radical (O2 center dot-) species for 2a dehydrogenation with the release of H2O2. This research highlights a kinetic and mechanic understanding of the catalytic oxidative cyanation.

In general, yolk-shell nanoreactors are prepared with the use of multistep sacrificial template strategy, which is a cumbersome and demanding preparation process. Moreover, these nanoreactors typically utilize a single mesopore structure on the shell, which is not enough for the transfer of reactants or products. Herein, a straightforward and gentle plasmolysis-inspired nanoengineering strategy is developed to construct an open-mouthed yolk-shell nanoreactor for deacetalization-Knoevenagel condensation reaction, which can effectively ameliorate the problems of preparation and mass transfer at the same time. Following the interfacial co-assembly of sulfonated crosslinked-polystyrene (CLPS-SO3H) with a certain degree of solubility and ZIF-8 precursors in a DMF/ MeOH mixture system, the shell openings were formed by the high swelling CLPS-SO3H in a good solvent (DMF), resulting in the formation of the open-mouthed yolk-shell nanoreactor (YS-CLPS-SO3H@ZIF-8) through the conversion of the organic solvent. The obtained YS-CLPS-SO3H@ZIF-8 displays a homogeneous and welldispersed spherical morphology, with the acidic sites of CLPS-SO3H as the inner core and the basic sites of ZIF-8 serving as the protective shell on the exterior. This nanoreactor demonstrated remarkable catalytic efficiency and recyclability in the deacetalization-Knoevenagel cascade reaction of benzaldehyde dimethyl acetal, achieving a high conversion up to 94 % and the productivity of the product benzylidene malononitrile up to 90 %. The bifunctional nanoreactor exhibits an 86 % conversion with an 85 % yield even after 10 successive cycles of reactions.

Ru-based catalysts have exhibited significant promise in converting waste plastics into valuable long-carbon chain products. However, their efficiency is hindered by the uncontrollable cascade hydrogenation, which stems from their exceptional reactivity for C─C cleavage. Herein, we reported a multi-scale regulation strategy by selectively anchoring Fe single atoms (SAs) and FeOx nanoclusters (NCs) by Ru NCs-decorated CeO2 substrates. This catalyst demonstrates an extraordinary performance, achieving nearly 100% low density polyethylene (LDPE) conversion under the conditions of 250 °C and 2 MPa hydrogen after 1 h, along with remarkably-improved liquid product selectivity of 86.4% compared to that of bare Ru/CeO2 (59.8%). Through a variety of spectroscopic studies, we revealed the unique interactions between FeOx NCs and Ru NCs, which leads to an increased Ru° content. More significantly, we also confirmed the crucial role of Fe SAs in adsorbing active hydrogen species, thereby increasing the hydrogen coverage. Such precise regulations towards both the intrinsic surface state of Ru and its adjacent chemical environment successfully inhibited the cascade hydrogenation, ultimately resulting in a significant enhancement in the selectivity of liquid products.

Integrated N-doped carbon microcapsule bulk adsorbents with a bionic beef omasum spiny-like structure (INC-MBO) were successfully prepared using wrinkled silica mesoporous colloidal crystals (WSMs CCTs) as templates and high nitrogen content melamine-formaldehyde resin (MF) oligomer as precursors. The carbonization temperature governs the pyrolytic evolution of triazine rings in MF, directly influencing the stability and microstructure of the INCM-BO. INCM-BO-800 with the most developed interconnected macropores and robust spiny structures, achieved a maximum salicylic acid (SA) adsorption capacity of 855.1 mg center dot g(-1) at 318 K by the Liu model. For comparison, the materials with smooth pore walls (INCM-800) exhibited a lower SA adsorption capacity. Compared with the reported adsorbents, INCM-BO-800 exhibits superior adsorption efficiency due to synergistic nanostructural and compositional advantages: integrated macroporous carbon microcapsules and spiny-like structure enhance surface area and mass transfer, while N doping provides active sites to amplify adsorption capacity. After undergoing 5 regeneration cycles, the INCM-BO-800 maintains a stable adsorption capacity (RE > 87 %) and robust microscopic morphology. The integrated megalithic size of INCM-BO-800 facilitates easy recovery from the solution, preventing secondary pollution. INCM-BO-800 is expected to be an environmentally friendly and efficient adsorption material for SA.

Herein, both of the surface chemistry engineering and pore engineering strategies were adopted for macroporous cross-linked chloromethylated polystyrene (CMPS), their surface chemistry and the porosity were carefully regulated so as to improve their aniline adsorption from water. Specifically, benzoyloxy (from benzoic acid abbreviated BA) was firstly anchored on polystyrene (PS) as the chemical functionality, after that the methylene was inserted in the polystyrene chains using dimethoxymethane as the external agent, and as a result the benzoyloxy chemically functionalized hyper-cross-linked polymers (HCPs) named PS-BA-HCPs were precisely and accurately fabricated. It is proven that the synthesized PS-BA-HCPs-1 under the catalyst H 2 SO 4 owned high specific surface area (460 m 2 /g) and pore volume (0.53 cm 3 /g) with the hierarchical micro/meso porosity. It had a good adsorption to aniline from water, the maximum capacity was predicted to be 201.5 mg/g, and the adsorption reached the equilibrium in 150 min. Our study provides an effective synthesis strategy for some other chemically functionalized HCPs, which performs well for aniline removal from water.

The enlarged electrode/electrolyte contact area and high heteroatom-doping level are critical for enhancing the storage capability of carbon materials, yet achieving these properties simultaneously remains challenging. This study presents a novel nitrogen-doped carbon cathode (NC-900) synthesized from a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) via a saturated NaCl-confined strategy, significantly enhancing Zn2+ storage performance in zinc-ion capacitors (ZICs). The molten NaCl optimizes the nanostructure, creating abundant defects and ultrathin graphite-like nanosheets, which promotes charge storage and transfer. The improved electrochemical performance attributes to the ions' adsorption/desorption and pseudocapacitive reactions on material's surface. The assembled-ZICs deliver a high capacity (225.7 mAh g-1), an energy density (225.7 Wh kg-1 at 99.8 W kg-1), and exceptional cycle stability (5.7 % capacity loss after 100,000 cycles). Additionally, quasi-solid-state ZICs exhibit robust mechanical stability. This work elucidates the role of nitrogen species in Zn2+ storage and introduces a novel approach for designing high-performance carbon materials for energy storage.

Ammonia decomposition reaction (ADR) has been extensively used to generate clear hydrogen in industry. Despite ruthenium (Ru) being the most active catalyst component for ADR, its exceptionally high price imposes severe limitations on its large-scale application. Therefore, the development of cost-effective and robust noble-metal-free ADR catalysts is highly desired, but it remains a challenge. Herein, a spray pyrolysis-assisted method is reported for the ultra-fast synthesis of strongly coupled composite oxide supports and transition metal alloy centers. The optimized catalyst, La0.75Sr0.25(FeCoNi)1.7O3-delta, exhibits outstanding ADR performance, achieving approximate to 98% ammonia conversion at 600 degrees C with remarkable stability over a period of 150 h. Further investigations reveal that the composite oxide support is enriched with numerous medium to strong basic sites. These sites play a crucial role in transferring electrons to the supported transition metal alloy, thus contributing to the rapid recombination and desorption of nitrogen atoms.