Enhanced photocatalytic activity of TiO ₂ /UiO-67 under visible-light for aflatoxin B1 degradation.

BiO_2−x/COF has abundant oxygen vacancies and photocatalyzes the degradation of diclofenac by forming heterojunctions with ˙O₂⁻ and h⁺ active substances.

Understanding the mechanism of polymer degradation is vital to the development of rational strategies for polymer management. However, conventional techniques for polymer degradation evaluation rely on the determination of functional group or molecular weight, which fail to provide kinetic information on the steps for polymer degradation. Herein, the degradation evolution and kinetics of polyoxymethylene (POM) are monitored using cataluminescence (CTL) dynamic curves of the generated formaldehyde. The two peaks in the CTL dynamic curves for POM under different atmospheres indicate the occurrence of different reaction pathways, dependent on the reaction kinetics and activation energies of the degradation steps. The activation energies of 31.44 and 48.14 kJ mol⁻¹ were attributed to the end-group rupture, and a higher activation energy of 119.52 kJ mol⁻¹ was responsible for the harsh oxidation reaction of POM. Therefore, we have demonstrated the capability of CTL for the real-time monitoring and effective differentiation of the degradation pathways for polymers. It is anticipated that this method will provide viable possibilities for the design of polymers with high reliability and sustainability.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are famous for their large surface area, which is responsible for the dispersed active sites and decent behaviors in gas adsorption, storage, and catalytic reactions. However, it remains a great challenge to acquire a cost-effective and accurate evaluation on the surface area for the MOFs. In this work, we have proposed cataluminescence (CTL) to evaluate the specific surface area for the MOFs, based on the adsorption–desorption and the catalytic reaction of ethanol. Aluminum-based MOFs with large-pore (lp), narrow-pore (np), and medium-pore (mp-130, mp-140, and mp-150 synthesized under 130, 140, and 150 °C) have been prepared. Distinguished CTL signals were acquired from ethanol in the presence of these MOFs: lp > mp-150 > mp-130 > mp-140 > np. Note that the CTL intensities were positively correlated with the specific surface areas of these MOFs acquired by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. The distinct specific surface area of MOFs determined the capacity to accommodate and activate ethanol, leading to the varied CTL intensity signals. Therefore, the proposed CTL could be utilized for the rapid and accurate evaluation of the specific surface area for MOFs. It is believed that this CTL strategy showed great possibilities in the structural evaluation for various porous materials.