Extremely Well-Dispersed Zinc Oxide Nanofluids with Excellent Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Formaldehyde and Toluene Removal Properties

Herein, a polymer dispersant is used to modify zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles with the assistance of a self-made dispersion device to produce nanofluids with excellent dispersion. The ZnO nanoparticles can be well dispersed in an aqueous solution in a high proportion (20 wt %). The average size of ZnO nanoparticles dispersed in nanofluids is 86.5 nm. After testing and analysis, the ZnO nanofluids have excellent antibacterial, antifungal, and formaldehyde and toluene removal performance. The antibacterial rate of 4% ZnO (w/v) can reach 99.99%. It has been verified in pure milk that ZnO can well inhibit fungi and deterioration. These satisfactory characteristics of the nanofluids are all attributed to the excellent dispersion of ZnO nanoparticles. In addition, the dispersed ZnO nanoparticles are used to modify polymer materials (polypropylene random and low-density polyethylene), endowing them with excellent antibacterial and mechanical properties. Therefore, they are expected to be used in food packaging materials in the future

Additional file 1 of A pyroptosis-related gene signature predicts prognosis and immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Consensus clusters by PRGs in TCGA cohort. Figure S2. DEGs and TMB scores of the clusters 1 and 2. Figure S3. Screening of four PRGs signature genes. Figure S4. The expressions of four prognostic PRGs in high- and low-risk groups. Table S1. Names of 30 pyroptosis-related genes

CO₂ Hydrogenation to Methanol over PdZnZr Solid Solution: Effects of the PdZn Alloy and Oxygen Vacancy

Utilization of CO2 with renewable hydrogen to produce value-added chemicals is highly desirable to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. Methanol is a key intermediate for hydrocarbon products as they require a high methanol selectivity at high temperature to connect the methanol-to-olefin and methanol-to-aromatic processes. To improve the performance of CO2 hydrogenation at a higher temperature, this study prepared a 0.1% Pd/ZnZr catalyst using the coprecipitation method, which showed an 87% methanol selectivity and a space time yield of 735 gmethanol kgcat–1 h–1 at 320 °C, significantly higher than that of the binary ZnZr solid solution (434 gmethanol kgcat–1 h–1). The characterization of the catalyst revealed that Pd2+ species formed a PdZn alloy from the ZrO2 lattice. More oxygen vacancies were generated on the surface, which enhanced the CO2 adsorption and activation capacity and then led to the formation of a higher amount of *HCOO species and better catalytic performance

Modulation of Electronic Metal-Support Interaction between Cu and ZnO by Er for Effective Low-Temperature CO₂ Hydrogenation to Methanol

Methanol produced by CO2 hydrogenation is an essential carrier for a sustainable carbon cycle. However, achieving an efficient methanol synthesis on traditional CuZnO catalysts at low temperatures remains challenging due to the inertness of CO2. Herein, we designed Er–CuZnO catalysts that exhibited remarkable activity for low-temperature methanol synthesis. At 170 °C, the catalyst achieved a methanol selectivity of 89.8% at a CO2 conversion of 8.5% on Er0.2CuZnO, which outperformed most CuZnO-based catalysts. The particle size of ZnO was reduced after Er was added to the lattice, which increased the Cu–ZnO interfaces and created a strong electronic metal-support interaction (EMSI) between Cu and ZnO. The electron was transferred from ZnO to Cu, forming Cuδ−. Cuδ− with more negative charges enhanced CO2 adsorbed species and intermediates activation, while facilitating surface carbonate activation and the hydrogenation of *CO intermediates into *HCO species, promoting the methanol formation at low temperatures

Revealing and Regulating the Complex Reaction Mechanism of CO₂ Hydrogenation to Higher Alcohols on Multifunctional Tandem Catalysts

Revealing and regulating the intricate reaction mechanism of direct CO2 hydrogenation to higher alcohols (C2+OH), especially for the crucial C–C coupling step, is still a great challenge. Herein, the specific reaction network on Co2C and CuZnAl multifunctional tandem catalysts is elucidated by designing subtly surface adsorption–desorption reactions, in situ chemical transient kinetics, and theory calculations. The key C–C coupling step for the formation of C2+OH over the sole Co2C catalyst was the insertion of CO into R-CHx, while the reaction mechanism can be modulated to the coupling of R-CH2 and CHO with a lower energy barrier on the tandem catalyst (Co2C||CuZnAl). R-CH2 was derived from the hydrogenation dissociation of olefins and coupled with the CHO from formate hydrogenation at the Cu/ZnAl2O4 interface. Such multifunctional tandem catalysts exhibited a high space–time yield of C2+OH of 2.2 mmol g–1 h–1. This work provides an effective strategy for studying complex mechanisms, contributing to the precise design of highly efficient catalysts and the optimization of reaction pathways

Converting Plastic Wastes to Naphtha for Closing the Plastic Loop

To solve the serious environmental problem and huge resource waste of plastic pollution, we report a tandem catalytic conversion of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) into naphtha, the key feedstock for renewable plastic production. Using β zeolite and silicalite-1-encapsulated Pt nanoparticles (Pt@S-1), a naphtha yield of 89.5% is obtained with 96.8% selectivity of C5–C9 hydrocarbons at 250 °C. The acid sites crack long-chain LDPE into olefin intermediates, which diffuse within the channels of Pt@S-1 to encounter Pt nanoparticles. The hydrogenation over confined metal matches cracking steps by selectively shipping the olefins with right size, and the rapid diffusion boosts the formation of narrow-distributed alkanes. A conceptual upgrading indicates it is suitable for closing the plastic loop, with a significant energy saving of 15% and 30% reduced greenhouse gas emissions

Morphological Modulation of Co₂C by Surface-Adsorbed Species for Highly Effective Low-Temperature CO₂ Reduction

Modulating the morphologies of transition metal carbides (TMCs) in situ in gas–solid reactions to improve catalytic performance remains a major challenge. Herein, we present a mechanism for manipulating prismatic and spherical Co2C by altering the surface energy and crystal growth rate by influencing the generation and amount of carboxylate species on hollow cubic Co3O4 (without Mn). Co2C nanoprisms delivered an excellent activity in reverse water gas shift (RWGS) at 270 °C, where CO2 conversion was close to thermodynamic limitations at a space velocity of 60 000 mL gcat–1 h–1. Furthermore, it showed a bifunctional effect that bridged RWGS and Fischer–Tropsch synthesis reactions, allowing for the direct synthesis of olefins and alcohols (C2+OH/ROH fraction of 98.4%, 4.3 mmol g–1 h–1) by adjusting reaction conditions. The catalytic performance of Co2C nanoprisms was linked to (020) and (101) surfaces with high activity as well as double reaction pathways (redox and formate routes) through reaction mechanism and kinetics studies. This investigation provides a method for designing and modulating morphologies of TMCs and exhibits great potential for bridging RWGS and sequent cascade reactions

Correction to “Converting Plastic Wastes to Naphtha for Closing the Plastic Loop”

Correction to “Converting Plastic Wastes to Naphtha for Closing the Plastic Loop