Rapid recombination and sluggish kinetics are the main issues hindering the efficiency of BiVO4 for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. Herein, we propose an innovative one-step electrochemical treatment method to construct a novel heterojunction composed of electrochemically reduced BiVO4 and V doped g-C3N4 (E-BVO/VCN). After one-step electrochemical treatment in mixed solution of H3BO3 and VCN, oxygen vacancies (Ov) and VCN layer can be simultaneously introduced into the BVO. Benefitting from the appropriate regulation of the bandgap position by E-BVO and VCN, a type II heterojunction is built in the E-BVO/VCN photoanode, which favors the charge separation/transfer processes. The results indicate the role of E-BVO plays in promotion of PEC activity in high potential region. VCN can further facilitate the charge separation and transfer process, particularly for improving the charge transfer process in all potential region. Owing to the collaborative promotional effect of E-BVO and VCN, the optimized E-BVO/VCN photoanode improves the PEC performance, following with a 1.8-fold increased photocurrent density and a negative shift onset potential of 12 mV in contrast to BVO. This work proposes a novel one-step electrochemical treatment method that simultaneously implements interface engineering and vacancy defect engineering, which can be widely applied to various composite photoelectrodes.

Battery packaging capable of autonomous temperature regulation is a highly attractive strategy for thermal management systems, as it directly enhances safety by mitigating thermal runaway risks. In this work, an...

Welding plays a vital role in the fabrication and repair of steel structures. However, current operations still rely heavily on manual intervention, resulting in challenges such as inconsistent quality, low efficiency, poor working conditions, and elevated safety risks. Humanoid welding robots (HWR) have emerged as a potential solution, though they face challenges in environment modeling and path planning, particularly in narrow spaces. This paper presents a novel path optimization approach for HWR systems, integrating environment modeling with local obstacle avoidance to enable autonomous exploration of the welding area. First, the three-dimensional (3D) point clouds captured by binocular images are transformed into two-dimensional (2D) grids to identify narrow passages. Then, dynamic obstacles are detected through a 3D point cloud frame matching. The global path planning employs an enhanced A* algorithm, while local path planning utilizes an improved RRT* algorithm to ensure a short, smooth, and safe trajectory. The proposed method's feasibility and effectiveness are validated through HWR experiments. Finally, the welding results of HWR was provided through right-angle welding, butt welding, and welding patches, further confirming the practicality of the method proposed in this paper. Note to Practitioners-HWR offer a key advance for automating steel structure welding, reducing reliance on manual work. The proposed path optimization method enables HWR to autonomously move from a starting point to welding locations-even in narrow spaces-by combining 3D environment modeling and dynamic obstacle detection. Using enhanced A* (global) and improved RRT* (local) algorithms, it ensures safe, efficient trajectories. Validated in right-angle, butt, and patch welding tests, this approach makes HWR a practical solution to boost automation, quality, and safety in welding operations.

Superhydrophobic surfaces frequently exhibit performance degradation in practical applications owing to the simultaneous deterioration of low-surface-energy components and micro-nano structures under chemical and mechanical stresses. To address this issue, designing self-repairable structures has emerged as a pivotal strategy for enhancing the long-term durability of superhydrophobic materials. However, the development of superhydrophobic materials capable of concurrently repairing both chemical damage and microstructural defects remains a formidable challenge. Furthermore, the repair mechanisms employed in existing microstructurally repairable superhydrophobic materials often compromise their heat resistance and chemical durability, thereby limiting their applicability in harsh environments. Herein, we propose a bio-based durable superhydrophobic composite coating with dual repairability for surface chemistry and microstructure. Furan-functionalized heterogeneous cellulose nanocrystals (FHCC) and maleimide-functionalized polydimethylsiloxane (MPDMS) were synthesized and crosslinked to form the FHCC-MPDMS coating via Diels-Alder (DA) cycloaddition reaction. Subsequent 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (PFDTS) modification yielded the superhydrophobic F-FHCC-MPDMS coating with a WCA of 157o. DA covalent network endowed the coating with exceptional chemical stability against temperature, solvents, and acid/base. Importantly, the plasma-etched F-FHCC-MPDMS coating (superhydrophilicity with a WCA of 0o) was fully restored through thermal-driven rotation and rearrangement of MPDMS and PFDTS. Moreover, the retro-DA reaction triggered by both solvent and heat enabled localized MPDMS dissolution, regenerating hierarchical micro/nanostructures after abrasion damage and thereby efficiently recovering superhydrophobicity upon tetrahydrofuran immersion. This work demonstrates a bio-derived superhydrophobic coating with dual self-repair capability, offering a promising solution for durable applications in harsh environments.

Organic thermoelectric materials demonstrate significant application potential for remote temperature monitoring during the fire incubation period and early fire-warning. Nevertheless, their low thermoelectric efficiency compromises the sensitivity, reliability and accuracy of sensing signal. Herein, heterogeneous thermoelectric nanowires (HTN) and thermoelectric graphene (TEG) were synthesized, and they were subsequently coassembled to construct a thermoelectric nanocoating featuring multiple heterostructure and ordered layered structure. Thanks to the synergistic effect of the two structures, the thermoelectric-response temperature-sensing of the nanocoating demonstrated exceptional sensitivity, accuracy, and stability. The nanocoating swiftly triggered a fire-warning within 1.3 s upon exposure to flame, and even in the event of secondary burning, the firewarning trigger time was only extended to 1.5 s. The output voltage of the nanocoating exhibited a precise and repeatable linear functional relationship (U = 0.0248 T-0.779) within the temperature range of 50-300 degrees C, enabling remote real-time temperature monitoring when integrated with a wireless signal transmitter. Moreover, the ordered layered structure endowed the nanocoating with excellent flame-retardancy, enabling it to selfextinguish during the flame-retardant tests. Thus, this thermoelectric nanocoating opened a new pathway for intelligent fire safety protection of flexible electrical materials.

The low thermoelectric efficiency of organic thermoelectric materials severely limits the sensitivity and stability of their temperature-sensing applications. The ion-electron synergistic thermoelectric response is regarded as an effective approach to overcome this challenge, yet it remains a formidable task. Herein, a flexible flame-retardant nanocoating with a layered heterostructure was prepared by the synergistic assembly of the synthesized thermoelectric graphene (TEG) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) with ionic liquid (IL). The coating demonstrated precise, sensitive, and stable temperature sensing capabilities coupled with efficient flame-retardant performance, enabled by the synergistic effects of ion-electron interaction, heterostructure, and layered ordered structure. Before a fire occurred, the nanocoating could accurately monitor the heating phase (50-300 degrees C) before the fire, because the maximum output voltage (Umax) of the nanocoating exhibited a linear functional relationship (Umax = 0.0197 T-0.5583) with the heat treatment temperature (T). Based on the function, the nanocoating was connected to a wireless signal transmission module, enabling remote real-time temperature monitoring and fire warning to detect potential fire hazards earlier. Under open flame conditions, the nanocoating triggered a fire warning within only 2.1 s. Meanwhile, the nanocoating exhibited a UL-94 V-0 level flame-retardant effect on flexible flammable materials. The nanocoating provides a new strategy to improve the fire safety of flexible electronic materials.

Underwater superoleophobic coatings, known for their anti-oil-fouling properties, have garnered significant interest in the context of oily wastewater remediation. However, these coatings encounter challenges in preventing viscous oil contamination and structural damage, and easily become ineffective when treating crude oil/water pollutants. Additionally, the non-renewable and non-biodegradable components pose a huge risk to environmental safety and sustainable development. Herein, a cellulose-based coating that combines robust underwater superoleophobicity with anti-viscous oil-fouling characteristic is designed via the extraction of micro/nanoscale heteromorphic cellulose crystals (EHCC) and subsequent crosslinking with carboxymethyl chitosan (CCS). Leveraging the hierarchical micro/nanostructures constructed by EHCC and intensified hydration capability facilitated by multiple hydrogen bonding interactions, the EHCC-CCS coating demonstrates excellent superhydrophilicity/underwater superoleophobicity and ultralow-viscous oil-adhesion property. Moreover, the EHCC-CCS coating exhibits robust chemical resistance and mechanical tolerance. Importantly, it adapts effectively to various flat and porous substrates, offering outstanding anti-oil-fouling and self-cleaning performances. Notably, the EHCC-CCS-coated textile is applied in separating immiscible oil/water mixtures with varying oil viscosities, and the EHCC-CCS-coated PVDF membrane achieves to purify surfactant-stabilized crude oil/water emulsion. The findings provide a straightforward and cost-effective approach for large-scale production of fully biobased coatings with durable underwater superoleophobicity and excellent anti-viscous oil-fouling capability for complex oily wastewater remediation.

The development of super-wetting membranes has become a promising treatment material for the emulsions separation and heavy metals absorption. However, it is often limited by the slow separation flux and the nondegradable material in practical applications. Based on this, this paper proposed a superhydrophobic biodegradable zein/chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol @ carnauba wax modified titanium dioxide (ZCP@CW/TiO2-s) composite membrane for emulsion separation and heavy metal adsorption. The prepared ZCP@CW/TiO2-s membrane demonstrated outstanding superhydrophobicity, featuring a WCA of 154 degrees and a rolling angle as low as 3 degrees. Surprisingly, the composite membrane exhibited rapid emulsion separation performance under the low pressure (0.1 bar), with a flux of 23,524 L center dot m-2 center dot h-1 center dot bar-1 and separation efficiency exceeding 98.2 %. The ZCP@CW/TiO2-s membrane achieved a high heavy metal adsorption capacity, particularly for Cu2+ ions, with an adsorption capacity of 149.93 mg/g. The composite membrane also maintained a stable separation performance under 25 times of wear resistance test. In addition, the ZCP@CW/TiO2-s membrane had a great photodegradation ability, which could remove organic pollutants adsorbed on the composite membrane. Meanwhile, the composite membrane could be buried in soil after disposal, enabling rapid degradation and preventing secondary pollution. Moreover, the composite membrane is capable of effectively separating emulsions and removing heavy metal ions, thereby tackling the problem of complex oily wastewater pollution. Therefore, the biodegradable composite membrane can be used as candidate materials for future sustainable development.

Aerogels are widely used in environmental remediation, but their application is hindered by brittleness, limited oil absorption and poor separation of viscous crude oil. In this study, a multifunctional superhydrophobic aerogel with electrothermal and photothermal effects was prepared from bacterial cellulose (BC), methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS), and hydroxylated carbon nanotubes (HCNT) by soft-hard synergistic and directed freezing. The prepared aerogel exhibited an oriented layered porous structure with excellent compressibility and oil retention capacity. The aerogel maintained 250 cycles of 25 % strain compression without structural degradation. Because of the presence of Si-CH3, the aerogel maintained a water contact angle above 153° across pH 1-13 and retained superhydrophobicity (WCA ≥ 150°) even after severe abrasion. The prepared aerogel exhibited excellent absorption capacities for various organic solvents and oils, ranging from 45 g/g for n-hexane to 112 g/g for dichloromethane, and retained 96 % of dichloromethane through capillary locking. The well-dispersed HCNT enabled efficient photothermal (117.7 °C) and electrothermal (126.7 °C) conversion, facilitating rapid and continuous separation of crude oil/water mixtures at high fluxes (4.47 × 104 kg·m-3·h-1 and 8.15 × 104 kg·m-3·h-1 under photothermal and electrothermal conditions, respectively). This material holds great potential for practical application in high efficiency oil-water separation, particularly in challenging conditions involving viscous crude oil.

In recent years, intelligent response membrane materials have aroused considerable interest in controllable oil–water separation. However, challenges such as unstable response repeatability and easy bacterial contamination continue to hinder their effective use. Herein, a superhydrophobic fabric with pH responsiveness and antibacterial property were synthesized by combing (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane with AgNPs and pH-responsive polymer on a fabric substrate. The fabric persisted superhydrophobicity with a WCA of 156° under natural conditions, while underwent a controlled transition of surface wettability in acidic environments. Heavy oil–water mixtures and light oil–water mixtures achieved controllable separation both before and after pH response. The fabric exhibited outstanding oil–water separation capability, achieving a separation efficiency of 98.0

The discharge of pollutants, including oily wastewater and heavy metal ions, into water has been on the rise, posing significant risks to environmental integrity and public health. Moreover, the heavy metal ions that cause more serious damages are easily neglected in oil–water separation. Herein, a superhydrophobic wood with photocatalytic capability for fast oil–water separation and heavy metal detection was designed and prepared via coating epoxy resin (ER) and sulfhydryl modified titanium dioxide (s-TiO2) on the wood through a pre-curing method. Owing to the special porous structure and superhydrophobicity of the s-TiO2@ER wood, the oil–water mixture was successfully separated with a separation flux of 11,350 kg·m−2·h−1 and separation efficiency of 99.3 %. Due to the pre-curing method, the s-TiO2 was adhered to ER surface with the −SH groups exposed to the outermost, which was beneficial for the detection and adsorption of heavy metal ions. When adsorbing heavy ions of Cu2+, Fe3+, Co2+, and Cr3+, the s-TiO2@ER wood displayed colors of green, yellow, pink, and brown, respectively, which could be used in heavy metal detection during the oil–water separation process. Importantly, the s-TiO2@ER wood exhibited a high heavy metal adsorption efficiency with the Cu2+ ion adsorption capability reaching 137 mg/g. Furthermore, the s-TiO2@ER wood demonstrated a good photodegradation capability, and the organic pollutants adsorbed on the wood after use could be degraded to prevent secondary pollution. This work provides a porous photocatalytic superhydrophobic wood with high oil–water separation efficiency and excellent heavy metal detection and adsorption ability, which is promising in the field of treating complex oily wastewater containing heavy metals.

Electrocatalytic water splitting is a promising method for producing green hydrogen, but hinder by sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) process. It is urgent to develop highly efficient OER electrodes. Amorphous alloys are novel promising catalysts for various fields, especially amorphous alloys composites with nanocrystals exhibit superior performances in HER and OER. However, the effect of the proportion of amorphous structure versus nanocrystals on catalytic performances remain unknown. Herein, a batch of non-precious metal NiFeP composites composed by dual phase of nanostructured metallic glass and nanocrystal with various proportions were fabricated by electrodeposition facilely. Experimentally, an ultra-low OER overpotential of 248 mV at current density of 50 mA/cm2 was achieved for NiFeP-1.4 V. This work not only provides an excellent catalyst, but also a novel method to produce amorphous-nanocrystalline composites with superior catalytic performance.

The discharge of pollutants, including oily wastewater and heavy metal ions, into water has been on the rise, posing significant risks to environmental integrity and public health. Moreover, the heavy metal ions that cause more serious damages are easily neglected in oil-water separation. Herein, a superhydrophobic wood with photocatalytic capability for fast oil-water separation and heavy metal detection was designed and prepared via coating epoxy resin (ER) and sulfhydryl modified titanium dioxide (s-TiO2) 2 ) on the wood through a pre-curing method. Owing to the special porous structure and superhydrophobicity of the s-TiO2@ER 2 @ER wood, the oil-- water mixture was successfully separated with a separation flux of 11,350 kg & sdot; m- 2 & sdot; h- 1 and separation efficiency of 99.3 %. Due to the pre-curing method, the s-TiO2 2 was adhered to ER surface with the-SH groups exposed to the outermost, which was beneficial for the detection and adsorption of heavy metal ions. When adsorbing heavy ions of Cu2+, 2+ , Fe3+, 3+ , Co2+, 2+ , and Cr3+, 3+ , the s-TiO2@ER 2 @ER wood displayed colors of green, yellow, pink, and brown, respectively, which could be used in heavy metal detection during the oil-water separation process. Importantly, the s-TiO2@ER 2 @ER wood exhibited a high heavy metal adsorption efficiency with the Cu2+ 2+ ion adsorption capability reaching 137 mg/g. Furthermore, the s-TiO2@ER 2 @ER wood demonstrated a good photodegradation capability, and the organic pollutants adsorbed on the wood after use could be degraded to prevent secondary pollution. This work provides a porous photocatalytic superhydrophobic wood with high oil-water separation efficiency and excellent heavy metal detection and adsorption ability, which is promising in the field of treating complex oily wastewater containing heavy metals.

Superhydrophobic surfaces often fail in practical applications due to chemical and mechanical damage to both low-surface-energy components and micro-nano structures. Designing repairable structures is considered one of the most effective approaches for constructing long-term durable superhydrophobic materials. However, incorporating repair mechanisms typically compromises material stability, and surface micro-nano roughness is difficult to repair due to the embedded rigid particles. Herein, a durable superhydrophobic composite coating with dual repairability in both surface chemicals and microstructure is fabricated through synthesizing octadecylamine-modified carbon nanotubes (OCNTs) followed by spray-coating and curing a mixture of OCNTs, octadecylamine (ODA) and epoxy resin (ER). The ER-based crosslinkable network provides robust super-hydrophobicity (WCA at 156 degrees) for the composite coating, allowing it to withstand various chemical and mechanical challenges including solvent exposure, thermal variations (-5 to 100 degrees C), and tape stripping (500 cycles). The coating demonstrates outstanding photothermal conversion capability, rapidly reaching over 80 degrees C under simulated sun illumination even after 10 thermal cycles. Significantly, the dynamic behavior of melting flow and cooling crystallization of ODA molecular chains facilitates the reorganization of surface chemicals and microstructure. The dual repair mechanism, supported by sufficient ODA grafted onto the OCNTs and directly incorporated into the ER-based crosslinking system, ensures efficient and repeatable restoration of super-hydrophobicity even after plasma treatment and sandpaper abrasion. Our findings highlight an expeditious and economically viable approach to fabricate innovative superhydrophobic coatings with durable stability and superior repairability to facilitate their extended applications.

pH-Responsive superwetting materials have found increasingly extensive applications in oil-water separation. To broaden the response range of such materials, researchers have proposed dual pH-responsive materials for this application. While these materials exhibit wettability transitions under both acidic and alkaline conditions, they are still limited by poor recovery of superhydrophobicity. To address this limitation, a conductive superhydrophobic fabric with alkaline-responsive properties was fabricated by introducing silver nanowires onto the textile substrate followed by grafting hydrophobic and pH-responsive functional chemicals. The CG/Ag-S fabric exhibited excellent superhydrophobicity (water contact angle at 153.7 degrees), and presented dual-induced pH response to both alkaline conditions and electric field. Notably, the fabric maintained its superhydrophobicity and stable responsiveness after 13 response cycles, with alkaline droplets (pH at 13) fully permeating through it within 30 s. Additionally, electrolysis-induced surface alkalization enabled water to wet and permeate through the fabric within 60 s for effective light oil-water separation. In oil-water separation tests, the CG/Ag-S fabric achieved a separation efficiency of 95.4 % for heavy oil-water mixtures with a flux of 1.68 x 104 L & sdot;m- 2 & sdot;h- 1 before pH response, and a separation efficiency of 97.8 % for light oil-water mixtures with a flux of 1.72 x 104 L & sdot;m- 2 & sdot;h- 1 after pH response. The design of dual-induced pH-mono-responsiveness solves the superwettability recovery challenge of pH-dual-responsiveness materials, and the dual-induced response capability also broadens the response range of pH-responsive materials.

Wearable piezoresistive sensors have aroused considerable attention for their huge potential in emerging applications such as healthcare monitoring and intelligent electronics. However, the fabrication of piezoresistive sensors that combine excellent sensing performance with outstanding working reliability in watery environments still remains challenging. Herein, a superhydrophobic polyurethane (PU) sponge was proposed as a piezoresistive sensor through the synthesis of d-asparagine-modified MXene nanosheets (MXene-NH2) and coating of a conductive cross-linkable layer constructed by dihydroxyl-terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS(OH)) and MXene-NH2 nanosheets. The microscale sponge skeleton and nanoscale PDMS-MXene nanosheet wrinkles formed a hierarchically rough structure in support of superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 160 degrees. Benefiting from the chemically cross-linkable network and strong adhesion of PDMS-MXene nanosheet coating, the obtained PDMS-MXene@PU sponge exhibited a robust water repellency with water contact angles (WCAs) larger than 150 degrees after enduring chemical and physical damages. Owing to the synergistic effect of the production of microcrack junctions in the PDMS-MXene nanosheet layer and contact separation between conductive backbones, the PDMS-MXene@PU sensor was successfully applied in monitoring full-scale human motions (e.g., blowing, facial expression, finger and knee bending, etc.) with excellent sensing performances of the gauge factor reaching -1.9. The findings conceivably stand out as a methodology to fabricate robust superhydrophobic piezoresistive sensors with desirable sensing property for innovative and broad applications even under special working conditions.

A novel welding current waveform has been designed to address the defects of pores and insufficient mechanical performances of 1060-Al alloy welded by conventional variable polarity tungsten inert gas welding (VPTIG). This waveform superimposes fast-frequency pulsed (FFP) current onto the conventional VPTIG current. The 1060-Al alloy plates (thicknesses 6 mm) were surface welded with conventional VPTIG and FFP-VPTIG by a self-designed FFP-VPTIG welding power source. An investigation was conducted to compare the effects of the amplitude and frequency of the FFP current on the microstructure and mechanical performances of welds. The findings indicate that the FFP-VPTIG weldments exhibited a remarkable 24.2% enhancement in weld penetration, attributed to the arc contraction effect and molten pool stirring effect of the FFP current, in contrast to the weldments produced by conventional VPTIG. The porosity had a maximum decline of 83.4%, while the average grain size showed a maximum decrease of 13.20%. Additionally, the tensile strength showed a maximum increase of 7.71%, and the elongation reached a maximum accumulation of 16.74%. The surface and cross-sectional porosity ratio of FFPVPTIG weldments did not exceed 2%, complying with the optimum level set by the international standard ISO10042. Notably, this thesis provides an essential reference for further improving the efficiency of the conventional VPTIG welding process and optimizing the porosity of Al alloy weldments.

At present, many oil-water separation membranes are being developed to purify oily wastewater. However, oily wastewater often contains heavy metal, which are often difficult to dispose during separation. Furthermore, most of the oil-water separation membranes cannot be degraded after scrap, producing pollution to environment. Herein, the polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan@carnauba wax (PCGCW) membrane with heavy metal adsorption and biodegradation performance was acquired by electrospinning and spraying process. The acquired PCGCW membrane had excellent mechanical properties after crosslinking glutaraldehyde (GA). Furthermore, the composite membrane had excellent superhydrophobic property (WCA = 154 degrees) with a rolling angle of 2 degrees, due to the introduction of carnauba wax. Exhilaratingly, for emulsions with surfactant, it had a high separation flux with 19,217 Lm(-2)h(-1)bar(-1) and splendid an oil purity over 99.9 %. Besides, the efficiency of oil purity and separation flux remained stable even after 10 separations. In addition, the PCGCW membrane had the ability to adsorb heavy metals with adsorption capacity of 51-106 mg/g for Cu2+, Fe3+, Co2+ ions. Foremost, the superhydrophobic PCGCW membrane was biodegradable, with degrading 29.76 % within 40 days. The prepared composite membrane had the advantages of low cost, high separation flux, great repeatability, adsorbable heavy metals and degradability, which had a vast application prospect.

Heterointerface engineering is a promising strategy to realize electronic redistribution and enhance oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity. However, preparing and designing heterojunction with appropriate band structures and outstanding performance remains a challenge. Herein, a novel hollow CoP/CeO2 heterojunction (h-CoP/CeO2) is constructed by electrospinning and a selective phosphorization process. Hollow structure can create more active sites and promote the intimate contact between catalysts and electrolyte to facilitate the mass and charge transfer. Mott-Schottky plots demonstrate p-n heterojunction is formed between p-CoP and n-CeO2, which induces a strong intrinsic field and redistribution of charges. Attributed to its hollow structure and p-n heterojunction, the optimal h-CoP/CeO2 prepared with appropriate PVP content and [Co/Ce] ratio exhibits remarkable alkaline OER activity (overpotential = 198 mV at 10 mA cm(-2), Tafel slope = 83 mV dec(-1)). This result is better than or comparable to previous reports. Besides, h-CoP/CeO2 acing as a co-catalyst can improve the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of TiO2 nanorods, which not only increases the photocurrent density, but also reduces the onset potential (negatively shifted 58 mV for TiO2/CoP-CeO2). This study provided a new insight for constructing hollow heterojunction with uniform distribution of each component to enhance OER and PEC performance.