Functionalized γ-Boehmite Covalent Grafting Modified Polyethylene for Lithium-Ion Battery Separator.

In the field of lithium-ion batteries, the challenges posed by the low melting point and inadequate wettability of conventional polyolefin separators have increased the focus on ceramic-coated separators. This study introduces a highly efficient and stable boehmite/polydopamine/polyethylene (AlOOH-PDA-PE) separator. It is crafted by covalently attaching functionalized nanosized boehmite (γ-AlOOH) whiskers onto polyethylene (PE) surfaces. The presence of a covalent bond increases the stability at the interface, while amino groups on the surface of the separator enhance the infiltration of the electrolyte and facilitate the diffusion of lithium ions. The PE-PDA-AlOOH separator, when used in lithium-ion batteries, achieves a discharge capacity of 126 mAh g-1 at 5 C and retains 97.1% capacity after 400 cycles, indicating superior cycling stability due to its covalently bonded ceramic surface. Thus, covalent interface modification is a promising strategy to prevent delamination of ceramic coatings in separators.

Adsorption of two ß-blocker pollutants on modified montmorillonite with environment-friendly cationic surfactant containing amide group: Batch adsorption experiments and Multiwfn wave function analysis.

The novel environment-friendly hexadecanoamide propyltrimethy lammonium chloride (NQAS16-3) surfactant with different amounts (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2 CEC) was firstly used to modify montmorillonite, and the obtained organomontmorillonite (N-Mt) with the amount of surfactant equal to 1.0 CEC was utilized to adsorb two ß-blocker pollutants- Atenolol (ATE) and acebutolol (ACE). The experimental results indicated that the equilibrium adsorption capacity of N-Mt(the organo-montmorillonite that the amount of modifier was 1.0 CEC) for ATE and ACE was 93.47 mg/g and 84.55 mg/g, respectively, which was more than twice that of raw montmorillonite for two pollutants, the adsorption was better fitted with the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherms model, and the adsorption was the spontaneous and exothermic process. Moreover, combining with the Zeta potential values of N-Mt, and with the help of Multiwfn wave function program based on density functional theory (DFT), the electrostatic interaction and the hydrophobic partitioning between N-Mt and two pollutant molecules were verified, p-π/π interaction between NQAS16-3 and ATE (or ACE) may be contributed to the increasing adsorption capacity of N-Mt for two ß-blocker pollutants. The work provided novel organomontmorillonite for the removal of non-degradable ß-blocker pollutants and the insight of the adsorption mechanism from the atomic level.

A new alendronate doped HAP nanomaterial for Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ effect absorption.

In this paper, a new nanobiomaterial, alendronate hydroxyapatite (AL-HAP), was synthesized by the conventional co-precipitation method with alendronate (AL) as dopant, and applied in the removal of heavy metal contaminants for the first time. The characterization results showed that the crystallinity of the AL-HAP nanocomposite biomaterials after doping has been greatly deteriorated, and the pore volume and pore size increased. When the doping amount of AL was 10 %, the maximum adsorption capacity of AL-HAP for Pb2+, Cd2+ and Cu2+ can reach 1431.8, 469 and 226.6 mg/g, respectively, which was much higher than that reported in other literature. Meanwhile, the adsorption mechanism of AL-HAP for heavy metal ions was discussed from both the views of experimental and Multiwfn program theoretical calculation based on density functional theory (DFT). Quantitative molecular surface analysis was carried out for the first time to study the minimum points and the positions of electrostatic potential (ESP) and average local ionization energy(ALIE), as well as the exact values, giving more accurate and reliable analysis conclusions for the reaction sites and binding mode. In addition, the independent gradient model (IGM) method was also firstly applied to investigate the interactions between AL and HAP or AL-HAP nanocomposite with metal ions. AL-HAP is a potential adsorption material for heavy metal wastewater treatment and soil remediation because of its advantages such as convenient synthesis, excellent adsorption performance and no secondary pollution.

The facile synthesis of zoledronate functionalized hydroxyapatite amorphous hybrid nanobiomaterial and its excellent removal performance on Pb2+ and Cu2.

In this paper, a simple chemical precipitation method was proposed to obtain zoledronate functionalized hydroxyapatite (zole-HAP) hybrid nano- biomaterials (zole-HAP-HNBM) which were firstly applied to adsorption. The characterizations of materials verified that the addition of zoledronate declined the crystallinity and transformed the morphology of HAP from short rod shape to microsphere, changed micro structure of the hybrid nanobiomaterial. Adsorption experiments carried out under different conditions showed that adsorption capacity of the nanobiomaterial, enhanced by the addition of zoledronate in preparation, which is equal to 1460.14 mg/g on Pb2+ and 226.33 mg/g on Cu2+ in optimum qualifications, was elevated more than the reported values in many literatures. At last, the sorption mechanisms of HAP and zole-HAP for Pb2+and Cu2+ were probed by experiments and Multifwn program calculation in details. It suggested that the dominant sorption mechanisms of HAP for Pb2+ were ion exchange and dissolution-precipitation rather than surface complexation, while besides the dissolution-precipitation mechanism, surface complexation may contribute more in the adsorption process of 10zole-HAP for Pb2+. Once considering HAP and 10zole-HAP, removal mechanisms of Cu2+ could involve surface complexation and ion exchange.

Mechanism of carboxymethyl chitosan hybrid montmorillonite and adsorption of Pb(II) and Congo red by CMC-MMT organic-inorganic hybrid composite.

The carboxymethyl-chitosan-montmorillonite (CMC-MMT) organic-inorganic hybrid material was applied to adsorb Pb(II) and Congo red (CR) anionic dye from aqueous solution. Molecular dynamics(MD) simulation was carried out to reveal the mechanism of CMC hybrid MMT. The results suggested that CMC has been adsorbed on the interlayer space and surface of MMT, hydrogen bonds had been formed between hydroxyl & carboxyl groups of CMC with the surface of MMT, Van der Waals interaction was also existed, while amino groups of CMC hadn't obvious interaction with the surface of MMT. Batch experiments were executed to investigate the adsorption effect of CMC-MMT was compared with Na-MMT and CMC. The results showed that CMC-MMT exhibited the higher adsorption capacity than Na-MMT and CMC, The OH and COOH or NH2 groups of CMC chains may serve as electrostatic interaction active sites and coordination sites, which improved the adsorption performance of CMC-MMT on Pb(II)，and the insertion of CMC enlarged the inter-layer space of MMT, resulting in more surface active sites in the CMC-MMT hybrid composite, which increased the adsorption of organic pollutant CR. The kinetic and isotherm studies indicated that the pseudo-second-order and the Langmuir model well described the adsorption equilibrium of Pb(II) and CR on CMC-MMT.

Effective adsorption of heavy metal ions by sodium lignosulfonate reformed montmorillonite.

Sodium lignosulfonate (Na-LS) was used to modified montmorillonite to form lignosulfonate-montmorillonite (LS-MMT). The as-prepared samples were characterized by various equipment to analyze the surface morphology and structure of the pure and reformed samples. The adsorption capability (qe, mg/g) of LS-MMT or Ca/Na-MMT for Pb(II) and Cu(II) at different reaction intervals, the concentration of metal ions, temperature, and pH were studied by batch adsorption experiments. The results revealed that LS-MMT displayed a higher adsorption capacity than Ca/Na-MMT. The pH of solutions had a great influence on the qe of the two adsorbents, and the qe was slightly enhanced with temperature increasing. The isotherm and kinetic experiments studies indicated that the adsorption of heavy metal on LS-MMT or Ca/Na-MMT fit well with the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The competitive adsorption showed that LS-MMT had a stronger affinity for Pb(II) than Cu(II), which was different from Ca/Na-MMT. Additionally, the desorption experiment showed that LS-MMT had a stronger ability to lock heavy metal ions than Ca/Na-MMT in an acidic environment with pH ranging from 3 to 5.

Adsorption properties, kinetics & thermodynamics of tetracycline on carboxymethyl-chitosan reformed montmorillonite.

This paper describes a modification method of Na-montmorillonite (Na-Mt) with carboxymethyl-chitosan (CMC). The as-prepared samples were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface analyzer and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Two common tetracycline antibiotics, tetracycline (TET) and chlortetracycline (CTC), were selected as the represented pollutants and adsorbed by CMC-Mt under different experimental conditions. The intercalation of CMC obviously amplified the basal spacing of the interlayers confirmed by XRD measurements and improved the adsorption capacities of montmorillonite to some degree. The results showed that the tetracycline antibiotic sorption onto CMC-Mt was mainly dependent on pH and was not affected by temperature. Besides, the removal of TET and CTC rapidly attained an equilibrium within 2 h of contact time. The kinetic data of adsorption was determined by first-order, second-order kinetics and intraparticle diffusion models. The kinetic study indicates that the TET and CTC adsorption processes obeyed the second-order kinetics. The Freundlich isotherm study was in agreement with the practical data, suggesting a heterogeneous sorption process. Furthermore, the thermodynamic studies revealed that the removal process was more spontaneous at a lower temperature, implying it an exothermic reaction. The synthesized adsorbent CMC-Mt can be widely used in the treatment of wastewater.