Developing highly efficient and stable BiVO4 photoanodes facilitates high-efficiency photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, offering a promising pathway for converting solar energy into hydrogen energy. Our study focuses on the rational loading and modification of photoanodic cocatalysts to address the inherent limitations of pristine BiVO4. Specifically, Ni active sites were introduced onto the surface via a vapour-phase cation substitution strategy following the photo-assisted electrodeposition of uniformly loaded FeOOH. The substituted Ni:FeOOH/BiVO4 photoanode achieves a significantly enhanced carrier injection efficiency of 94.5% at 1.23 VRHE, with the photocurrent density increasing from 1.4 mA cm-2 to 5.7 mA cm-2, approximately quadrupling the original photoanode's performance. The Ni substitution of FeOOH overcomes the traditional performance limitations of BiVO4 by simultaneously enhancing catalytic activity and charge transport kinetics. Consequently, this precise construction of active sites and the synergistic design of charge transport channels substantially improve the intrinsic activity of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), providing a versatile and novel strategy for developing highly efficient and stable photoanodes.

Conventional high-voltage poling hinders the scalable production of piezoelectric hollow-fiber membranes (Pi-HFMs) due to its incompatibility with continuous wet-spinning. Here, a shear-flow-templating strategy is reported that enables one-step self-poling of PVDF hollow fiber membranes via alignment of platelet-like BaTiO3 fillers during dry-jet wet-spinning. The aligned fillers not only elevate the electroactive beta-phase content to 92.45%, but also template macroscopic dipole orientation, yielding an open-circuit voltage of 16 V without any external poling-comparable to conventionally poled membranes. The self-poled membranes exhibit superior antifouling performance against charged organics, organic-inorganic composites, and multi-component mixtures. Using particles with contrasting dielectric constants (SiO2, epsilon similar to 3.9 vs. BaTiO3, epsilon similar to 1000), the antifouling mechanism maybe originates from the negative dielectrophoretic (nDEP) effect. This work provides a scalable fabrication route for self-poled piezoelectric hollow fiber membranes and demonstrates a physical antifouling mechanism based on intrinsic dielectric properties, offering a robust and energy-efficient approach for membrane fouling control in water treatment.

Silicon carbide is favored for its promising material properties but it suffers from poor machinability. Aiming to achieve high-precision and high-efficiency machining of SiC, a novel Graphene-oxide-enhanced Photocatalysisassisted Polishing (GPP) was developed. A series of experiments were conducted to reveal the characteristics and machining principle of GPP in terms of polishing performance, tribological properties and chemical features. GPP shows superior processing capabilities, achieving a 66% reduction in surface roughness Sa and a 52% increase in material removal rate compared with the traditional abrasive polishing. The influencing mechanism of GPP parameters on the machining results were systematically investigated to provide process optimization. Under the optimal condition, the best polishing performance (Sa: 1.138 nm, MRR: 1.725 mu m/h) of GPP is achieved. GPP is essentially a photocatalysis-assisted chemical mechanical polishing process. However, it exhibits superior processing efficacy, which is attributed to the introduction of graphene oxide, whose lubrication characteristics and unique lamellar structure improves the efficiency of photocatalysis and the material removal interaction during the polishing.

Photocatalytic peroxymonosulfate (PC-PMS) activation is a promising yet challenging strategy for wastewater purification, particularly in metal-free systems plagued by sluggish charge kinetics and ill-defined active sites. Herein, we engineered carbonyl (C=O) bridged graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) to achieve rapid sulfamethoxazole (SMX) degradation in a PC-PMS system and unravelled structure-activity relationships. Combined experimental and theoretical calculations unveil the tripartite functionality of the C=O groups, which enhances the separation of photogenerated charge carriers via an in-plane S-scheme homojunction during photocatalysis,

Coal has been recognized as an alluring precursor of hard carbons (HCs) as the anodes of sodium-ion batteries owing to its great advantages of cost-effectiveness, high carbon yields, and rich resources. However, high-temperature pyrolysis of coal suffers dense and ordered rearrangement of carbon layers, which significantly degenerates sodium-ion storage properties. Herein, a phosphate-mediated strategy is demonstrated to remodify the microcrystalline structure of coal-derived HCs. It is revealed that coal molecules are chemically intra-linked through P-O bonds, which not only impede carbon restacking by steric hindrance but also create ample pores by phosphate activation. A desirable pseudographitic carbon structure is delicately constructed with extended interlayer spacings and abundant closed pores/ultramicropores. The as-designed HC anode achieves an elevated capacity of 355 mAh g−1 at 20 mA g−1 along with a superb initial Coulombic efficiency of 89.5%, excellent rate capability and long-term working durability over 10000 cycles. Underlying insights into the enhanced electrode kinetics and reaction mechanism are elaborately clarified. This work offers a powerful dual-functional tactic for regulating HC microstructure toward high-performance batteries beyond sodium chemistry.

ABSTRACT Polymeric photocatalysts show great promise for solar-driven H2O2 production, yet their structural-electronic correlations and scalability remain insufficiently elucidated. Herein, we reveal the pivotal role of the inductive effect in polymeric semiconductors. Cyano groups polarize the π-conjugated network in crystalline carbon nitride (CCN), generating a negative inductive effect that enhances charge dynamics and O2 adsorption but limits electron availability for oxygen reduction. Introducing ether linkages into ordered CCN chains (OCCN) reverses this effect, further facilitating charge separation and lowering the barrier for *OOH intermediate formation. Notably, the resulting positive inductive effect enables efficient photocharging of cyano groups with hot electrons. Consequently, OCCN delivers a remarkable H2O2 yield of 13 136.4 µmol g−1 h−1 in water, even higher performance in seawater, and sustains 110.4 µmol h−1 generation in continuous flow. These findings establish inductive effect engineering as a powerful approach for advancing polymeric photocatalysts toward scalable solar-to-chemical conversion.

Although ReS2/TiO2 heterostructures have attracted increasing attention in photocatalysis, their performance is still limited by inefficient interfacial charge transfer and severe charge carrier recombination. Herein, ReS2/TiO2 composites were successfully synthesized through a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method, in which ReS2 nanosheets were in situ grown on the (101) facets of TiO2 nanosheets with co-exposed (101) and (001) facets. The optimized composite achieved a H2 evolution rate of 1.473mmol·h-1·g-1 and achieved 96.3% degradation of Rhodamine B within 60min. The superior photocatalytic performance is attributed to the structural coupling between the ReS2/TiO2 (101) heterojunction and the intrinsic (101)/(001) facet homojunction of TiO2, enabling charge regulation at both interfaces through direct Ti-S interfacial bonding without noble metal mediators. Electrochemical analysis combined with density functional theory calculations revealed interfacial electron redistribution, while radical scavenging experiments elucidated the charge transfer pathway and dominant reactive species. This work offers new insights into the rational design of interface-engineered photocatalysts by structurally integrating heterojunctions with facet homojunctions.

Aqueous zinc metal batteries are attractive for safe and low-cost energy storage, yet their practical development remains constrained by water-induced interfacial degradation and nonuniform Zn deposition. Here, we report a carbon quantum dots (CQDs)-enabled structured electrolyte, in which acetone facilitates the homogeneous incorporation of CQDs into an aqueous Zn(TFSI)2 electrolyte, thereby reorganizing the local electrolyte environment and regulating the precursor state for Zn deposition. The resulting electrolyte exhibits measurable mesoscale heterogeneity, suppressed water reactivity, reduced corrosion tendency, and improved interfacial charge-transfer characteristics. Consequently, Zn deposition evolves from loose protrusive growth to dense and flat deposition, accompanied by a markedly enhanced Zn(100) texture. The Zn//Zn symmetric cell cycles stably for 1100 h at 1 mA cm-2 and 1 mAh cm-2, while the Zn//Cu cell shows substantially improved reversibility under deep-utilization conditions. More importantly, the Zn//Prussian blue analogue full cell with the pristine electrolyte undergoes obvious capacity decay within the first 50 cycles and fails after about 200 cycles, whereas the corresponding cell with the CQD-structured electrolyte maintains stable capacity retention and coulombic efficiency over 500 cycles. The effectiveness of this electrolyte design is further validated in pouch-cell configurations, highlighting the practical promise of CQD-induced electrolyte structuring for reversible aqueous zinc metal batteries.

In this study, a thermal-alkaline activated peroxydisulfate (TA-PDS) process with integrated degumming and bleaching functions was developed for flax fiber treatment. Under the optimized conditions of a NaOH/PDS molar ratio of 6:1, a PDS concentration of 8.8 g/L, and a reaction time of 2.7 h, the residual gum content of the treated fibers was as low as 5.8%, while the fiber retained a tenacity of 2.1 cN/dtex, a whiteness of 48.7%, and a fiber yield of 75.0%. Compared with the traditional alkaline degumming process, TA-PDS achieved more effective removal of non-cellulosic components while preserving favorable fiber properties. Mechanistic investigation demonstrated that radical oxidation and alkaline hydrolysis played synergistic roles in lignin degradation, with electrophilic center dot OH acting as the dominant oxidative species. The preferential attack of center dot OH on the electron-rich structures of lignin, together with OH--promoted cleavage of beta-O-4 ether linkages, contributed to selective lignin removal and preservation of fiber integrity. Environmental assessment further demonstrated that TA-PDS reduced water consumption from 45.0 to 15.0 m3 per ton of raw flax and lowered the global warming potential from 766.2 to 285.4 kg COQ eq, together with reductions in wastewater pollutant load, and overall environmental burdens. These findings indicate that TA-PDS provides a feasible strategy for simultaneously achieving efficient degumming and favorable fiber properties while improving the environmental sustainability of the process.

Integrating catalytic water decontamination with membranes offered an effective solution to overcome the difficult recovery of powdered catalysts. However, enhancing catalytic efficiency by simultaneously exploiting ubiquitous hydraulic energy and the intrinsic functional properties of membranes remains a grand challenge. Herein, we reported a hydraulic-driven catalytic membrane incorporating a piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane and fully-exposed BiOBr catalyst, deliberately leveraging the electromechanical coupling of the membrane to improve reaction performance. Under ultrafiltration-relevant pressures, hydraulic-induced deformation of the PVDF membrane generated a dynamic piezoelectric field that accelerated interfacial charge transfer and lowered the energy barrier for molecular oxygen activation, thereby strengthening the redox capability of BiOBr. Consequently, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly enhanced, yielding 64.5%, 70.7% and 77.4% higher concentration of center dot OH, center dot O2-, and 1O2, respectively, and resulting 3.1fold enhancement of tetracycline (TC) degradation kinetics. Beyond model pollutant removal, the membrane exhibited broad-spectrum degradation of emerging contaminants, including ibuprofen, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, carbamazepine and etc. Moreover, stable outdoor solar performance under continuous-flow conditions further substantiated its practical applicability. This study established an active catalytic membrane paradigm that harnessed hydraulic-mechano-electrical-photonic coupling to realize self-powered, high-efficiency water purification.

Permanganate (PM) oxidation is a promising advanced oxidation process for water purification. Metal-free carbocatalysts can effectively activate PM for water purification, while the active sites and mechanisms, particularly the role of three-dimensional porous structures, remain controversial and unclear. This study fabricates nitrogen-doped graphene aerogels (NGAs) with tailored surface and porous structures to activate PM for para-hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HBA) oxidation. Two distinct activation pathways are identified: Hydrothermal NGA with abundant oxygen-containing groups primarily decomposes PM to manganese dioxide (MnO2), which subsequently acts as the co-catalyst to activate PM via an indirect electron transfer pathway (ETP). In contrast, pyrolyzed NGA900 with higher specific surface area (SSA) and conductivity mainly serves as an electron shuttle to mediate direct ETP from p-HBA to PM. Furthermore, the hierarchical porous structure is crucial for providing mass transfer channels and anchoring sites for nascent MnO2, preventing active site blockage and ensuring excellent reusability and adaptability across a wide pH range and common water constituents. This work reveals the critical factors in PM activation by engineered carbocatalysts, highlighting the significance of porous structure engineering alongside surface chemistry.

Stabilizing high-index facets with enhanced electron density while establishing an efficient redox cycle remains a great challenge in photocatalytic degradation. In this work, enhanced exposure of the (022) facet in WO3 catalyst was achieved through Fe incorporation. Theoretical simulations revealed that the substitution of Fe atoms for W atoms lowered the surface energy of the (022) facet, stabilizing its formation relative to pristine WO3. Spectroscopic analyses confirmed that the Fe-modified WO3 (FWO) catalyst exhibited a modulated electron distribution, promoting photoinduced charge separation and accelerating electron transport, thereby improving its redox capability. When integrated with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) in the catalytic system, the FWO catalyst achieved a 6.8-fold increase in ibuprofen degradation rate (6.91 x10(-2) min(-1)) compared to pristine WO3 catalyst (8.85 x10(-3) min(-1)). Furthermore, the optimized FWO demonstrated exceptional stability, high mineralization efficiency, and robust decontamination performance across diverse pollutants. Mechanistic investigation showed enhanced generation of (OH)-O-center dot and SO(4)(center dot-)radicals over FWO catalyst, attributed to enriched electron states within (022) facet and elevated p/d-band center of FWO catalyst, facilitating moderate PMS adsorption on the (022) facet. Additionally, the Fe2+/Fe3+ redox cycle significantly lowered the energy barrier for PMS decomposition, further promoting radical production. This work offers novel insights into high-index facet engineering and its potential for photocatalytic degradation of emerging contaminants.

The accelerating global industrialization has exacerbated organic pollution in aquatic environments, rendering the treatment of refractory organic pollutants a critical and urgent environmental challenge worldwide. Persulfate-based advanced oxidation processes (PS-AOPs) have emerged as a core technical solution to address this issue. As a low-cost, eco-friendly carbon-based catalyst, biochar has garnered extensive attention in PS-AOPs, owing to its tunable physicochemical properties and abundant diverse active sites. However, existing reviews on biochar-based PS-AOPs mostly focus on fragmented mechanistic discussions. This review systematically summarizes the latest research advances in biochar-based PS-AOPs. It elaborates the catalytic mechanisms of biochar for PS activation, as well as the functional rules of different active sites in these systems. Based on the regulation characteristics of reaction pathways and multi-site synergistic effects, it provides an in-depth discussion on advanced biochar preparation and modification technologies, to support the precise design and performance optimization of biochar catalysts. On this basis, the review further strengthens the engineering application orientation, integrating pilot-scale catalytic modules including continuous pyrolysis systems and continuous-flow reactors. It also systematically illustrates the application of machine learning in catalytic mechanism analysis, catalyst performance prediction and process optimization, and recommends combining long-term stability data with comprehensive evaluation methods such as life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis to support the large-scale implementation of this technology. Ultimately, this review aims to provide a novel theoretical framework and technical reference for the technological iteration and large-scale engineering application of biochar-based PS-AOPs, to facilitate efficient treatment of refractory organic pollution and sustainable ecological development.

The rapid growth of electric vehicles (EVs) has greatly increased the demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), leading to a rising volume of spent LIBs. Due to their valuable resources and potential environmental risks, managing spent LIBs has become a key focus. This review offers a thorough assessment of current end-of-life management strategies, with an emphasis on cascade utilization and recycling/regeneration methods. First, recent advancements in battery assessment and testing techniques related to cascade utilization are systematically summarized. Then, recycling and regeneration technologies are discussed, including pretreatment, pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and direct regeneration technology. Particular attention is given to how pretreatment impacts recycling efficiency, especially concerning emerging pretreatment strategy. Although most research has centered on recovering high-value metals like cobalt, recycling lithium—an essential yet less-explored component of LIBs—deserves more focus. Additionally, the practical application of recycling methods in industrial settings is examined. Finally, the review addresses major challenges and future directions for sustainable spent LIB management. The aim is to offer both theoretical insights and practical guidance to enhance LIBs recycling and support the development of a circular economy for metal resources.

Developing bifunctional electrocatalytic materials for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and supercapacitors in acidic environments is pivotal for advancing energy conversion and storage technologies. However, this task remains challenging owing to the corrosive environment and sluggish reaction kinetics. In this study, we report a novel self-assembly in situ doping strategy to develop a metal-free phosphorus-modified nitrogen-doped carbon (P-NG) bifunctional material. The synthesis involves phytic acid-induced polymerization and carbonization, which successfully incorporates phosphorus into the carbon matrix and creates an uneven charge distribution. This unique structure efficiently facilitates electron transport, resulting in advanced performance for both OER and supercapacitors. More importantly, mechanistic insights reveal that the induced PC moieties act as key active sites for the acidic OER. Consequently, the P-NG exhibits exceptional OER performance, surpassing most carbon-based electrocatalysts and rivaling commercial RuO2. When integrated into a proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyzer, it enables a low operating voltage. Concurrently, it also shows superior energy storage capacity compared with previously reported materials. This study provides a viable design paradigm for multifunctional carbon-based materials for energy applications.

Photocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is pivotal for sustainable energy systems yet lacks high-performance catalysts capable of strong visible light absorption, robust charge dynamics, fast reaction kinetics, and high oxidation capability. Herein, we report the multiscale optimization of carbon nitride through the construction of porous curled carbon nitride nanosheets (CNA-B30) incorporating boron center/cyano group Lewis acid-base pairs (LABPs). The unique chemical and structural features of CNA-B30 extended the photoabsorption edges of pi -> pi* and n -> pi* electronic transitions to 470 nm and 715 nm, respectively. Planar distortion and LABPs induced charge redistribution, enhancing the built-in electric field to promote efficient charge dissociation and transport. Moreover, boron atoms elevated the valence band of carbon nitride and served as active oxidation sites, effectively lowering the thermodynamic barrier for water oxidation. As a result, CNA-B30 demonstrated outstanding OER activity, achieving 586.5 mu mol g(-1) h(-1) (lambda > 420 nm) without co-catalysts. With the addition of a Co co-catalyst, the oxygen evolution rate increased to 2085.5 mu mol g(-1) h(-1) (lambda > 420 nm), and an apparent quantum efficiency of 5.8 % at 420 nm, surpassing most state-of-the-art OER photocatalysts. This work offers valuable insights into designing advanced OER photocatalysts for efficient solar fuel production.

Piezoelectric membranes have attracted increasing attention due to their potential to offer pressure-responsive and electromechanical coupling functionalities in pressure-driven filtrations. Despite demonstrated antifouling effectiveness against model foulants, their practical performance within realistic and integrated treatment processes remains inadequately explored. Herein, a piezoelectric PVDF/GO ultrafiltration membrane (PEM) was fabricated and integrated into an online coagulation-ultrafiltration (C-UF) system to mitigate cake layer fouling. During pressure-driven filtration processes, the PEM not only exhibited a self-powered capability with oscillatory output signals (e.g., similar to 0.4 V at 30 kPa), but also demonstrated a tunable and markedly enhanced response under dynamic pressure gradients (e.g., similar to 1.1 V with a pressure gradient of 2 kPa/s). Based on these observations, a dynamic-pressure-control (DPC) strategy was developed for real-time regulation of piezoelectric output, adaptively responding to the stage-wise progression of cake fouling. Compared with the control membrane, the PEM under DPC operation exhibited similar to 60 % lower irreversible filtration resistance and nearly threefold greater cake porosity. Moreover, implementing the DPC procedure for just 3 min per cycle enabled the PEM to sustain robust self-cleaning performance and enhanced permeate quality throughout a multi-cycle filtration test, achieving similar to 50 % lower filtration resistance compared to physical cleaning method. Mechanistic analysis suggested that, under piezoelectric activation, the altered floc deposition dynamics and polarization-induced reorganization may act synergistically to shape both the structure and composition of the cake matrix, thereby inhibiting cake growth and subsequent compaction. This work provides a practical operational guidance for retrofitting PEM technology into existing C-UF systems, representing a viable strategy for advancing the application of piezoelectric membranes.

Understanding and leveraging non-reactive species in natural environments to modulate the active centers of geminal-atom catalysts (GACs) is crucial for enhancing their catalytic performance. Here, we develop a two-coordinated copper geminal-atom catalyst and reveal that the ubiquitous yet inert carbonate ions (CO3 2-) in seawater dynamically reorganize the coordination environment of active copper sites, thereby enhancing photo-Fenton reactivity. Control experiments, in situ spectroscopy and theoretical modeling demonstrate that CO3 2- induces reversible coordination transformations that modulate the electronic structure and facilitate interfacial charge transfer, resulting in a 17-fold increase in hydroxyl radical production. This effect enables efficient degradation of diverse marine pollutants, including effective Chlorella decomposition under natural sunlight. Life-cycle and technoeconomic assessments further demonstrate the environmental benefits and economic feasibility of this approach. Overall, this work establishes a generalizable strategy for active geminal-atom catalysts via environmentally abundant species, offering mechanistic insights and scalable pathways toward large-scale and sustainable aquatic pollution remediation.