ABSTRACT
The modification of inorganic two-dimensional (2D) materials with organic functional motifs is in high demand for the optimization of their properties, but it is still a daunting challenge. Organic metal chalcogenides (OMCs) are a type of newly emerging 2D materials, with metal chalcogenide layers covalently anchored by long-range ordered organic functional motifs, these materials are extremely desirable but impossible to realize by traditional methods. Both the inorganic layer and organic functional motifs of OMCs are highly designable and thus provide this type of 2D materials with enormous variety in terms of their structure and properties. This Minireview aims to review the latest developments in OMCs and their bulk precursors. Firstly, the structure types of the bulk precursors for OMCs are introduced. Second, the synthesis and applications of OMC 2D materials in photoelectricity, catalysis, sensors, and energy transfer are explored. Finally, the challenges and perspectives for future research on OMCs are discussed.
ABSTRACT
The development of simple and highly effective desulfurization technology is attracting more and more interest in both industrial and academic fields. Here, a new family of precursors was prepared based on hyper-cross-linked asphalt and coal tar building blocks. Thanks to the preintroduced porous structure, the precursors were converted into carbons with high surface area and large micropore volume via a uniform carbonization process. The synergistic effects of high surface area, abundant microporous structure, and the introduced polar functional groups endow the carbon materials with high desulfurization performance. The results of repeated experiments show that the adsorption capacities of five carbonized samples are higher than 40 mg S g-1, and the theoretical maximum adsorption capacity reaches 44.7 mg S g-1. Particularly, the adsorption equilibrium of all the carbonized samples can be reached in 5 min. Moreover, the recycle adsorption performance was also studied. Toluene exhibits the best elution effect among three eluents (iso-octane, para-xylene, and toluene) and the adsorption capacity remains 89% of the initial adsorption capacity after two adsorption-desorption cycles. It is believed that both innocent treatment of byproducts from petroleum industry and their high-value application for deep desulfurization in liquid hydrocarbon fuels benefit environmental protection and sustainable development.
ABSTRACT
In this work, a new type of hyper-crosslinked phosphate-based polymer (HCPP) polymerized by bis(2-methacryloxyethyl)phosphate has been developed for uranium and rare earth element (REE) extraction in an aqueous solution. The influence of the pH value, contact time, initial concentration, temperature, and competing ions on uranium adsorption of HCPP is investigated in detail. HCPP exhibits a maximum uranium adsorption capacity of up to 800 mg g-1 at pH = 6.0 and excellent selectivity toward uranium adsorption over coexisting ions, because of the high affinity between HCPP and uranium ions and dense phosphate groups on the backbone. It also demonstrates high adsorption performance in both simulated seawater with a high salt concentration and a real nuclear industrial effluent. Besides, the crosslinked network structure of HCPP endows this polymer with high chemical stability and reusability. Furthermore, the adsorption mechanism is probed by energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared measurements. It is confirmed that the adsorption of uranium on the adsorbent originates from the interaction between phosphate groups and uranium ions. Meanwhile, HCPP also displays high REE adsorption capacities. This work indicates that the phosphate-based HCPP could be utilized as a promising adsorbent for the effective removal of uranium and REEs from aqueous solution.
