It is widely considered that photocatalysis is an effective and eco-friendly method of dealing with organic pollutants dissolved in water. Nonetheless, photocatalysts still have some drawbacks, such as poor visible-light absorption, easy recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, and limited active sites. In this study, bismuth ferrite coupled with biochar material (BiFeO₃/BC) was simply synthesized, and its photocatalysis reactivity was systemically examined under an irradiation of λ > 400 nm. The experimental results showed that under a relatively acidic environment, the removal rate of tetracycline hydrochloride reached 95%. Using a variety of characterization investigations, we analyzed the morphology structure and chemical composition of BiFeO₃/BC. In consideration of simple preparation and high respondence toward visible light, further explorations of BiFeO₃/BC and its properties and optimized degradation conditions are worthwhile.

A readily available effective adsorbent is necessary to adsorb heavy-metal ions from aqueous solutions. In this study, a novel adsorbent with good adsorption properties [Al³⁺–oligomer–pillared diatomite (Al³⁺–oligomer–PD)] was prepared and was used to adsorb Cd²⁺ ions in a solid/liquid system. The property and nature of the Cd²⁺ ions adsorbed on the surface of the Al³⁺–oligomer–PD were studied by performing a series of adsorption tests and related surface property analyses. Our study results show that owing to a more favourable pore structure, the PD has a higher adsorption property compared with natural diatomite (ND) and most other common adsorbents. The adsorption capacity of PD is 27.36% greater than ND and also achieves an optimal value of 10.05 mg/l. Certain parameters have a significant effect on Cd²⁺ ion adsorption. The most suitable isotherm and kinetics models for describing the adsorption of Cd²⁺ ions are the Freundlich and pseudo-second-order models. The nature of Cd²⁺ ion adsorption on PD is favourable, physical, spontaneous, exothermic and disorder increasing. The results of the study suggest that PD is an ideal adsorbent for the removal of cadmium ions from aqueous solutions.

Precisely delineating the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of water conservation services function (WCF) holds paramount importance for watershed management. However, the existing assessment techniques exhibit common limitations, such as utilizing only multi-year average values for spatial changes and relying solely on the spatial average values for temporal changes. Moreover, traditional research does not encompass all WCF values at each time step and spatial grid, hindering quantitative analysis of spatial heterogeneity in WCF. This study addresses these limitations by utilizing an improved water balance model based on ecosystem type and soil type (ESM-WBM) and employing the EFAST and Sobol’ method for parameter sensitivity analysis. Furthermore, a space–time cube of WCF, constructed using remote-sensing data, is further explored by Emerging Hot Spot Analysis for the expression of WCF spatial heterogeneity. Additionally, this study investigates the impact of two core parameters: neighborhood distance and spatial relationship conceptualization type. The results reveal that (1) the ESM-WBM model demonstrates high sensitivity toward ecosystem types and soil data, facilitating the accurate assessment of the impacts of ecosystem and soil pattern alterations on WCF; (2) the EHSA categorizes WCF into 17 patterns, which in turn allows for adjustments to ecological compensation policies in related areas based on each pattern; and (3) neighborhood distance and the type of spatial relationships conceptualization significantly impacts the results of EHSA. In conclusion, this study offers references for analyzing the spatial heterogeneity of WCF, providing a theoretical foundation for regional water resource management and ecological restoration policies with tailored strategies.