Iron-based materials functionalized with carbon and phosphorus recovered from sludge enhanced the formation of stable minerals to passivate lead and chromium in wastewater and soil.

The bioaccumulation and toxicity of heavy metals are serious threats to human activities and ecological health. The exploitation of environmentally friendly passivated materials is major importance for the remediation of heavy metal contaminated soil. This research developed a new type of environmental functional material with a core-shell structure, which is an iron-based material functionalized with phosphorus and carbon from sludge for heavy metal pollution remediation. The results indicated that the C/P@Fe exhibits excellent heavy metal removal ability, and the maximum removal rates of the two heavy metals in simulated wastewater could reach 100% under optimum reaction conditions. It also effectively converts the labile Cr/Pb into the stable fraction after 28 days of incubation, which increased the maximum residual fraction percentage of Cr and Pb by 32.43% and 160% in soil. Further analysis found that the carbon layer wrapped around the iron base could improve the electron transport efficiency of reducing iron, phosphorus and ferrum could react with heavy metal ions to form stable minerals, such as FeCr2O4, FeO·Cr2O3, Pb5(PO4)3OH, PbCO3, 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2 and PbS, after reacting with C/P@Fe. The study demonstrated that the Iron-based materials functionalized with carbon and phosphorus from sludge provided a more efficient way to remove heavy metals.

A Metastructure Based on Amorphous Carbon for High Efficiency and Selective Solar Absorption.

Efficient solar thermal conversion is crucial for renewable clean energy technologies such as solar thermal power generation, solar thermophotovoltaic and seawater desalination. To maximize solar energy conversion efficiency, a solar selective absorber with tailored absorption properties designed for solar applications is indispensable. In this study, we propose a broadband selective absorber based on amorphous carbon (a-C) metamaterials that achieves high absorption in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (Vis) and near-infrared (NIR) spectral ranges. Additionally, through metal doping, the optical properties of carbon matrix materials can be modulated. We introduce Ti@a-C thin film into the nanostructure to enhance light absorption across most of the solar spectrum, particularly in the NIR wavelength band, which is essential for improving energy utilization. The impressive solar absorptivity and photothermal conversion efficiency reach 97.8% and 95.6%, respectively. Notably, these superior performances are well-maintained even at large incident angles with different polarized states. These findings open new avenues for the application of a-C matrix materials, especially in fields related to solar energy harvesting.

Bioremediation system consisted with Leclercia adecarboxylata and nZVI@Carbon/Phosphate for lead immobilization: The passivation mechanisms of chemical reaction and biological metabolism in soil.

Bioremediation is one of the most promising strategies for heavy metal immobilization. A new remediation system was demonstrated in this research, which combined phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) with nZVI@Carbon/Phosphate (nZVI@C/P) composite to remediate lead contaminated soil. Experimental results indicated that the new system (nZVI@C/P + PSB) could effectively convert the labile Pb into the stable fraction after 30 days of incubation, which increased the maximum residual fraction percentage of Pb by 70.58%. The characterization results showed that lead may exist in the forms of Pb5(PO4)3Cl, PbSO4 and 3PbCO3·2Pb(OH)2·H2O in the soil treated with nZVI@C/P + PSB. Meanwhile, soil enzyme activities and Leclercia abundance were enhanced in the treated soil compared with CK during the incubation time. In addition, the specialized functions (e.g. ABC transporters, siderophore metabolism, sulfur metabolism and phosphorus metabolism) in PSB and nZVI@C/P + PSB group were also enhanced. These phenomena proved that the key soil metabolic functions may be maintained and enhanced through the synergistic effect of incubated PSB and nZVI@C/P. The study demonstrated that this new bioremediation system provided feasible way to improve the efficacy for lead contaminated soil remediation.