Mussel-Inspired One-Step Copolymerization to Engineer Hierarchically Structured Surface with Superhydrophobic Properties for Removing Oil from Water

In the present study, a superhydrophobic polyurethane (PU) sponge with hierarchically structured surface, which exhibits excellent performance in absorbing oils/organic solvents, was fabricated for the first time through mussel-inspired one-step copolymerization approach. Specifically, dopamine (<i>a small molecular bioadhesive</i>) and <i>n</i>-dodecylthiol were copolymerized in an alkaline aqueous solution to generate polydopamine (PDA) nanoaggregates with <i>n</i>-dodecylthiol motifs on the surface of the PU sponge skeletons. Then, the superhydrophobic sponge that comprised a hierarchical structured surface similar to the chemical/topological structures of lotus leaf was fabricated. The topological structures, surface wettability, and mechanical property of the sponge were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, contact angle experiments, and compression test. Just as a result of the highly porous structure, superhydrophobic property and strong mechanical stability, this sponge exhibited desirable absorption capability of oils/organic solvents (<i>weight gains ranging from 2494% to 8670%</i>), suggesting a promising sorbents for the removal of oily pollutants from water. Furthermore, thanks to the nonutilization of the complicated processes or sophisticated equipment, the fabrication of the superhydrophobic sponge seemed to be quite easy to scale up. All these merits make the sponge a competitive candidate when compared to the conventional absorbents, for example, nonwoven polypropylene fabric

Monolithic Macroporous Carbon Materials as High-Performance and Ultralow-Cost Sorbents for Efficiently Solving Organic Pollution

Carbon materials have shown great potential in solving environmental problems resulting from the pollution from oils or organic solvents. However, developing low-cost and high-performance carbon-based three-dimensional (3D) frameworks is still a great challenge and highly desired. Herein, monolithic macroporous carbon (MMC) materials have been synthesized through the pyrolysis of kapok wadding materials (ultralow-cost fibrous materials, those comprised of fibers with the highest hollow degree in nature). Owing to their unique and superior properties, such as tubular structure, light weight, high porosity, desirable flexibility, and strong thermal/mechanical stability, the MMC materials exhibit a high loading capacity for organic solvents and oils (87–273 times their own weight) and excellent recyclability. Coupled with the easy, economical, and environment-friendly synthesis process, MMC materials will be promising candidates for industrial application for removing organic pollutants. Hopefully, the MMC materials and the corresponding synthesis approach will be further applied to wider applications (e.g., energy storage, synthesis of composite materials, and so on)

Superhydrophobic Particles Derived from Nature-Inspired Polyphenol Chemistry for Liquid Marble Formation and Oil Spills Treatment

Nature has given us great inspirations to fabricate high-performance materials with extremely exquisite structures. Presently, particles with a superhydrophobic surface are prepared through nature-inspired polyphenol chemistry. Briefly, adhering of a typical polyphenol (tannic acid, widely existed in tea, red wine, chocolate, <i>etc</i>.) is first conducted on titania particles to form a multifunctional coating, which is further in charge of reducing Ag⁺ into Ag nanoparticles/nanoclusters (NPs/NCs) and responsible for grafting 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol, thus forming a lotus-leaf-mimic surface structure. The chemical/topological structure and superhydrophobic property of the as-engineered surface are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), water contact angle measurements, and so on. On the basis of the hierarchical, superhydrophobic surface, the particles exhibit a fascinating capability to form liquid marble and show some possibility in the application of oil removal from water. After particles are <i>in situ</i> adhered onto melamine sponges, the acquired particle-functionalized sponge exhibits an absorption capacity of 73–175 times of its own weight for a series of oils/organic solvents and shows superior ease of recyclability, suggesting an impressive capability for treating oil spills

Superhydrophobic Particles Derived from Nature-Inspired Polyphenol Chemistry for Liquid Marble Formation and Oil Spills Treatment

Nature has given us great inspirations to fabricate high-performance materials with extremely exquisite structures. Presently, particles with a superhydrophobic surface are prepared through nature-inspired polyphenol chemistry. Briefly, adhering of a typical polyphenol (tannic acid, widely existed in tea, red wine, chocolate, <i>etc</i>.) is first conducted on titania particles to form a multifunctional coating, which is further in charge of reducing Ag⁺ into Ag nanoparticles/nanoclusters (NPs/NCs) and responsible for grafting 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol, thus forming a lotus-leaf-mimic surface structure. The chemical/topological structure and superhydrophobic property of the as-engineered surface are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), water contact angle measurements, and so on. On the basis of the hierarchical, superhydrophobic surface, the particles exhibit a fascinating capability to form liquid marble and show some possibility in the application of oil removal from water. After particles are <i>in situ</i> adhered onto melamine sponges, the acquired particle-functionalized sponge exhibits an absorption capacity of 73–175 times of its own weight for a series of oils/organic solvents and shows superior ease of recyclability, suggesting an impressive capability for treating oil spills

Superhydrophobic Particles Derived from Nature-Inspired Polyphenol Chemistry for Liquid Marble Formation and Oil Spills Treatment

Nature has given us great inspirations to fabricate high-performance materials with extremely exquisite structures. Presently, particles with a superhydrophobic surface are prepared through nature-inspired polyphenol chemistry. Briefly, adhering of a typical polyphenol (tannic acid, widely existed in tea, red wine, chocolate, <i>etc</i>.) is first conducted on titania particles to form a multifunctional coating, which is further in charge of reducing Ag⁺ into Ag nanoparticles/nanoclusters (NPs/NCs) and responsible for grafting 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol, thus forming a lotus-leaf-mimic surface structure. The chemical/topological structure and superhydrophobic property of the as-engineered surface are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), water contact angle measurements, and so on. On the basis of the hierarchical, superhydrophobic surface, the particles exhibit a fascinating capability to form liquid marble and show some possibility in the application of oil removal from water. After particles are <i>in situ</i> adhered onto melamine sponges, the acquired particle-functionalized sponge exhibits an absorption capacity of 73–175 times of its own weight for a series of oils/organic solvents and shows superior ease of recyclability, suggesting an impressive capability for treating oil spills

Fabrication of a Superhydrophobic, Fire-Resistant, and Mechanical Robust Sponge upon Polyphenol Chemistry for Efficiently Absorbing Oils/Organic Solvents

In this study, a superhydrophobic, fire-resistant, and mechanical robust sponge was fabricated through a two-step polyphenol chemistry strategy for efficiently absorbing oils/organic solvents (<i>rapidness in absorption rate and large quantity in absorption capacity</i>). Specifically, the Fe^(III)–polyphenol complex is formed upon the metal–organic coordination between tannic acid (TA, a typical polyphenol) and Fe^(III) ions, which is spontaneously coated on the surface of the pristine melamine sponge. Then, free catechol groups in the polyphenol are applied for grafting 1-dodecanethiol, thus generating the superhydrophobic sponge. Several characterizations have confirmed the chemical/topological structures, superhydrophobicity, fire-resistant merits, and mechanical robust property of the sponge. As a result, this sponge exhibits excellent absorption capacities of oils/organic solvents up to 69–176 times its own weight, indicating promising sorbents for removing oily pollutants from water. Meanwhile, owing to the facile fabrication process and inexpensive/easy available raw materials, the large-scale production of this sponge will be convenient and cost-effective

Insight into the Tunable CuY Catalyst for Diethyl Carbonate by Oxycarbonylation: Preparation Methods and Precursors

Three different methods were used to prepare CuY catalysts, which play an important role in Cu loading and ion-exchange level during the oxidative carbonylation of ethanol to synthesize diethyl carbonate. Of the prepared CuY catalysts, those synthesized by the ammonia evaporation method exhibited a significantly enhanced activity compared to those obtained by the other two methods. In addition, under optimized conditions, four different copper precursors were applied to adjust the textural properties and chemical states of the CuY catalysts. To obtain a deep understanding of their structure–performance relationship, XRD, XPS, CO adsorption, DRIFTS, and NH₃ TPD were conducted to characterize the CuY catalysts. The experimental results indicated that the catalytic performances were in line with the proportions of Cu⁺ in CuY catalysts, which can be regulated by cupric precursors. In addition, the textural structures of the catalysts and the acidity and type of Cu⁺ species influenced by the precursors were all responsible for the activity and product distribution

Deactivation Kinetics for the Carbonylation of Dimethyl Ether to Methyl Acetate on H‑MOR

The carbonylation of dimethyl ether (DME) to methyl acetate (MA) is one of the crucial steps in an indirect synthesis route of ethanol from syngas (CO+H₂). The H-MOR zeolite exhibits excellent activity and selectivity at mild conditions. However, the catalyst suffers rapid deactivation due to the carbonaceous deposits on Brønsted acid sites. In this study, the deactivation kinetics for the carbonylation of DME to MA on the H-MOR zeolite was investigated. Based on the fitting results and <i>in situ</i> FTIR analysis, a model taking into account the composition concentration was established. This deactivation kinetic model allows simulating the concentration of different compounds in the reaction medium with time on stream under different experimental conditions. In this model, coke is considered to be derived from DME and CO. Moreover, CO remarkably accelerates the coke formation, and the effect of its concentration on the deactivation rate is quantified. The establishment of deactivation kinetics will be conductive to elucidate the coke formation mechanism and optimize the process conditions

Modification of Y Zeolite with Alkaline Treatment: Textural Properties and Catalytic Activity for Diethyl Carbonate Synthesis

In this work, we modified NaY zeolite (Si/Al = 5) with NaOH solutions of different concentrations followed by ion exchange with NH₄NO₃ to the H form of the zeolite. Treated NaY was used as a catalyst support for the preparation of CuY for diethyl carbonate (DEC) synthesis through the oxidative carbonylation of ethanol. The textural and acidic properties of NaY and the catalytic performance of the corresponding CuY materials were investigated. Compared with the untreated sample, CuY catalysts using modified NaY samples as supports exhibited higher conversions of ethanol and similar selectivities to DEC. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to explore the origin of the improvement in activity. The experimental results showed that alkaline treatment induced defects in the zeolite framework and greatly promoted dealumination through ion exchange assisted by microwave radiation, which caused the generation of meso- and macropores in zeolite Y and contributed to the catalytic performance. Furthermore, the increased amount of hydroxyl species in supercages and extraframework aluminum species resulted in an increase in the number of Cu active sites and further DEC production

Zinc Blende CoO as an Efficient CO Nondissociative Adsorption Site for Direct Synthesis of Higher Alcohols from Syngas

Monometallic Co0–Coδ+ catalysts have shown considerable potential in higher alcohol synthesis (HAS) direct from syngas, however, the alcohol selectivity and catalyst stability still need to be promoted. Here, we prepared a series of cobalt silicate hydroxide-derived catalysts and surprisingly obtained tetrahedrally coordinated zinc blende CoO (Z-CoO) during reduction and reaction. The nanoscale close interacted Co0-Z-CoO achieved an ROH selectivity of 64.4%, a higher alcohol (HA) selectivity of 43.6%, and a space time yield (STY) toward HA of 42.0 mmol·gCo–1·h–1, which outperformed most of the reported Co-based HAS catalysts. In addition, as a contrast, the commonly obtained rocksalt CoO (R-CoO) with octahedral structure was prepared. It is proved that Z-CoO serves as the CO nondissociative adsorption site, which exhibits a much stronger adsorption capability compared to R-CoO and Co2C, greatly facilitating the alcohol formation. Moreover, unlike the R-CoO, there were barely no phase transition of Z-CoO during HAS reaction, contributing to the catalyst stability over 550 h reaction. This work offers a facile preparation method and insights of zinc blende CoO as promising high-performance active sites for HAS