Super-wetting interface materials have shown great potential for applications in oil–water separation. Hydrogel-based materials, in particular, have been extensively studied for separating water from oily wastewater due to their unique hydrophilicity and excellent anti-oil effect. In this study, a superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic bamboo cellulose hydrogel-coated mesh was fabricated using a feasible and eco-friendly dip-coating method. The process involved dissolving bamboo cellulose in a green alkaline/urea aqueous solvent system, followed by regeneration in ethanol solvent, without the addition of surface modifiers. The resulting membrane exhibited excellent special wettability, with superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity, enabling oil–water separation through a gravity-driven “water-removing” mode. The super-wetting composite membrane demonstrated a high separation efficiency of higher than 98% and a permeate flux of up to 9168 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹ for numerous oil/water mixtures. It also maintained a separation efficiency of >95% even after 10 cycles of separation, indicating its long-term stability. This study presents a green, simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approach for fabricating superhydrophilic surfaces to achieve oil–water separation. It also highlights the potential of bamboo-based materials in the field of oil–water separation.

In this study, we report a novel three-component luminescent hydrogel, which is composed of amino acid derivatives (N,N′-di valine-3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic acid, NVPD), riboflavin (RF), and melamine (MM). The three-component hydrogel is attributed to multiple hydrogen bonds and the strong π-π stacking interaction between these molecules. Based on the strong hydrogen bonding of the gelator, when the reversible process between the gel and the solution take places it changes the pH of the system from 6.1 to 10.6. In addition, green fluorescence could be the emissive of the hydrogel under 498 nm and the conversion process of the aggregation state repeated reversibly by altering the value of ambient pH. This pH-responsive luminescent gel may display potential for use in nano pH sensors.

Nitrate, as a core component of water pollution, poses a severe threat to the ecological environment and human health. Electrochemical ammonia synthesis via nitrate reduction (NO₃RR) is a highly promising sustainable technology, yet the simultaneous achievement of high activity and high selectivity remains a critical challenge in this field. Conventional Cu-based catalysts suffer from insufficient intrinsic activity and sluggish reaction kinetics. Moreover, the Cu^δ+ active sites are prone to valence evolution and structural reconstruction during electrocatalysis, making it difficult to meet the demands of long-term industrial-scale operation. To break through the aforementioned bottlenecks, this study proposes a rare-earth-regulated electronic structure engineering strategy. By constructing a Cu 3d–O 2p–La 4f gradient orbital coupling system, the surface chemisorption behavior of transition metals is precisely optimized, and the electron transfer pathway is efficiently modulated. The introduction of La not only strengthens electron delocalization and transport through the gradient orbital channel to enhance the adsorption and activation capability of NO₃⁻, but also stabilizes the Cu^δ+ active sites via its unique 4f electronic structure, optimizes the adsorption energy of key intermediates, and synergistically boosts the catalytic performance. Experimental results demonstrate that the optimized La_0.02-CuO_x electrode exhibits no obvious performance degradation after continuous operation for 30 h at a large current density of 2.5 A cm⁻², delivering an ammonia yield of 186.99 mg·h⁻¹·cm⁻² and a Faradaic efficiency of 94.39%. This rare-earth orbital coupling strategy provides a new research insight for the rational design of highly stable Cu-based NO₃RR catalysts.