Lignocellulose hydrogels fabricated from corncob residues through a green solvent system.

It is still a challenge to find an effective solvent system that can simultaneously dissolve the cellulose and lignin in biomass residues to fabricate lignocellulose hydrogels (LHs). Herein, corncob residues from furfural production were pretreated with alkaline peroxide to regulate the lignin content. The lignin/cellulose composites with various lignin content were then dissolved and regenerated by a green and facile ZnCl2/CaCl2 solvent system. The inorganic salt solvents were served as linkers and flexible LHs were obtained. Substrate material containing 10.75% lignin shows the best compressive stress (76.71 kPa). Inspired by its superior ionic conductivity, the hydrogels were assembled into a solid-state electrolyte for a zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitor. This research develops a feasible, simple, and low-cost route for lignin-containing hydrogel preparation and offers insights into the high-value application of agro-industrial lignocellulosic wastes.

Metal ion-assisted conversion of Co-ZIF-L to CoNi-layered double hydroxides with high electrochemical properties for supercapacitors.

Metal ion-induced etching can effectively convert zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) to CoNi-layered double hydroxides (LDH). Here, different metal-ion-assisted etching methods are utilized to convert Co-ZIF-L to CoNi-LDH with various morphologies and electrochemical properties. The resultant CoNi-LDH (CoNi-1) with a composition of Co0.7Ni0.3(OH)2 displayed a high electrochemical performance when Co-ZIF-L was treated in N, N-dimethylformamide-ethanol solution containing Co2+ ions followed by Ni2+ ion-induced etching under hydrothermal condition. The improved electrochemical performance of CoNi-1 can be attributed to structural advantages, where the well-dispersed ultrathin CoNi-LDH layers favor the exposure of surface active sites and promote ion diffusion to maximize electrochemical properties.

Inlaying metal-organic framework derived pancake-like TiO2 into three-dimensional BiOI for visible-light-driven generation of vanillin from sodium lignosulfonate.

Pancake-like TiO2 (M-TiO2) derived from the metal-organic framework was inlaid into three-dimensional flower-like BiOI through a facile solvothermal method. M-TiO2 supplies large surface area and mesoporous structure for attachment and transfer of the substrates and products, while BiOI acts as a photosensitizer to absorb visible light and generates electrons and holes. The distinct structure of M-TiO2/BiOI gives a favorable contact between the two monomers, and promotes the transfer of charge carriers. In conjunction with the proper band positions of M-TiO2 and BiOI, the efficient separation of electron-hole pairs is attained. Benefiting from the above cooperative effects of M-TiO2 and BiOI, the performance for the vanillin generation from sodium lignosulfonate (SLS) over M-TiO2/BiOI composites has a prominent improvement under visible light. Specifically, the yield over optimal M-TiO2/BiOI sample is about 5.8 mg/gSLS, obviously superior to that over pristine M-TiO2 (~1 mg/gSLS) and BiOI (~1.1 mg/gSLS). It is found that h+ and O2- play the key role for vanillin generation from sodium lignosulfonate, and the low vanillin generation under UV-vis light sheds light on that OH is an adverse factor. We hoped that this work could inspire the studies on the photocatalytic valorization of biomass using noble metal-free catalysts.

Constructing Cd0.5Zn0.5S@ZIF-8 nanocomposites through self-assembly strategy to enhance Cr(VI) photocatalytic reduction.

A novel and highly efficient photocatalyst of Cd0.5Zn0.5S@ZIF-8 nanocomposite has been developed by a facile self-assembly strategy. This is the first report on the application of CdxZn1-xS and metal-organic framework (MOF) nanocomposite as photocatalysts for the reduction of Cr(VI). The resulting Cd0.5Zn0.5S@ZIF-8 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than that of pristine Cd0.5Zn0.5S and ZIF-8. Particularly, the CZS@Z60 composite with 60 wt% of ZIF-8 exhibited a photocatalytic activity that is about 1.6 times as high as that of Cd0.5Zn0.5S. The dominant reason for the improved photocatalytic reduction potential is proved to be the newly-formed interfacial SZn bonds that firmly connect Cd0.5Zn0.5S and ZIF-8 and substantially improve the separation efficiency of photo-excited electrons and holes. The newly-formed chemical bonds are confirmed by XPS analyses, and the prolonged lifetime of photo-excited electrons is evidenced by the electrochemical measurement of photocurrent, which shows that the photocurrent on Cd0.5Zn0.5S@ZIF-8 is much higher than that of Cd0.5Zn0.5S and ZIF-8. This study clearly demonstrates that the MOF-based composite nanomaterials hold great promises for applications in the field of environmental remediation and for design of novel photocatalytic materials.