Bio-inspired beehive-like hierarchical nanoporous carbon (BHNC) with a high specific surface area of 1472 m² g⁻¹ and a good electronic conductivity of 4.5 S cm⁻¹ is synthesized by carbonizing the industrial waste of bamboo-based by-product. The BHNC sample exhibits remarkable electrochemical performances as a supercapacitor electrode material, such as a high specific capacitance of 301 F g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹, still maintaining a value of 192 F g⁻¹ at 100 A g⁻¹, negligible capacitance loss after 20 000 cycles at 1 A g⁻¹, and a high power density of 26 000 W kg⁻¹ at an energy density of 6.1 W h kg⁻¹ based on active electrode materials in an aqueous electrolyte system. Moreover, an enhanced power density of 42 000 W kg⁻¹ at a high energy density of 43.3 W h kg⁻¹ is obtained in an ionic liquid electrolyte system, which places the BHNC-based supercapacitors in the Ragone chart among the best energy–power synergetic outputting properties ever reported for carbon-based supercapacitors.

The family of two‐dimensional (2D) metal carbides and nitrides, known as MXenes, are among the most promising electrode materials for supercapacitors thanks to their high metal‐like electrical conductivity and surface‐functional‐group‐enabled pseudocapacitance. A major drawback of these materials is, however, the low mechanical strength, which prevents their applications in lightweight, flexible electronics. A strategy of assembling freestanding and mechanically robust MXene (Ti₃C₂T_x ) nanocomposites with one‐dimensional (1D) cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) from their stable colloidal dispersions is reported. The high aspect ratio of CNF (width of ≈3.5 nm and length reaching tens of micrometers) and their special interactions with MXene enable nanocomposites with high mechanical strength without sacrificing electrochemical performance. CNF loading up to 20%, for example, shows a remarkably high mechanical strength of 341 MPa (an order of magnitude higher than pristine MXene films of 29 MPa) while still maintaining a high capacitance of 298 F g⁻¹ and a high conductivity of 295 S cm⁻¹. It is also demonstrated that MXene/CNF hybrid dispersions can be used as inks to print flexible micro‐supercapacitors with precise dimensions. This work paves the way for fabrication of robust multifunctional MXene nanocomposites for printed and lightweight structural devices.

We report Layer-by-Layer (LbL) self-assembly of pillared two-dimensional (2D) multilayers, from water, onto a wide range of substrates. This LbL method uses a small molecule, tris(2-aminoethyl) amine (TAEA), and a colloidal dispersion of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene to LbL self-assemble (MXene/TAEA)_n multilayers, where n denotes the number of bilayers. Assembly with TAEA results in highly ordered (MXene/TAEA)_n multilayers where the TAEA expands the interlayer spacing of MXene flakes by only ~ 1 Å and reinforces the interconnection between them. The TAEA-pillared MXene multilayers show the highest electronic conductivity of 7.3 × 10⁴ S m⁻¹ compared with all reported MXene multilayers fabricated by LbL technique. The (MXene/TAEA)_n multilayers could be used as electrodes for flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors delivering a high volumetric capacitance of 583 F cm⁻³ and high energy and power densities of 3.0 Wh L⁻¹ and 4400 W L⁻¹, respectively. This strategy enables large-scale fabrication of highly conductive pillared MXene multilayers, and potentially fabrication of other 2D heterostructures.

Two-dimensional (2D) porous carbon AC-SPN-3 possessing of amazing high micropore volume ratio of 83% and large surface area of about 1069 m² g⁻¹ is high-yield obtained by pyrolysis of natural waste Pistachio nutshells with KOH activation. The AC-SPN-3 has a curved 2D lamellar morphology with the thickness of each slice about 200 nm. The porous carbon is consists of highly interconnected uniform pores with the median pore diameter of about 0.76 nm, which could potentially improve the performance by maximizing the electrode surface area accessible to the typical electrolyte ions (such as TEA⁺, diameter = ~0.68 nm). Electrochemical analyses show that AC-SPN-3 has significantly large areal capacitance of 29.3/20.1 μF cm⁻² and high energy density of 10/39 Wh kg⁻¹ at power of 52/286 kW kg⁻¹ in 6 M KOH aqueous electrolyte and 1 M TEABF₄ in EC-DEC (1:1) organic electrolyte system, respectively.

The development of supercapacitors with integrated high energy–power properties coupled with long cyclic life is an urgent demand in the energy storage field. The key to the assembly of such devices is to design and fabricate novel high-performance electrode materials in conjunction with matched electrolytes. In this study, a renewable graphene-like nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheet (RGNC-NS) has been constructed by using simultaneous carbonization and auto-activation followed by ultrasonic-assisted liquid exfoliation from natural layered shrimp shells. The final RGNC-NS had an optimum integration of graphene-like nanostructures (∼5 nm thick), large specific surface area (1946 m² g⁻¹), and rich nitrogen doping (8.75 wt%), resulting in high conductivity (7.8 S cm⁻¹) and good surface wettability with an electrolyte. The RGNC-NS as a supercapacitor electrode exhibited an excellent rate capability with an ultrahigh capacitance of 322 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ and 241 F g⁻¹ at 100 A g⁻¹ (75% retention), as well as a long cyclic stability of 98.3% capacitance retention after 20 000 cycles at 10 A g⁻¹ in 6 M KOH. Moreover, the RGNC-NS in a mixed ionic liquid electrolyte displayed an integrated high energy–power density of 30 W h kg⁻¹ energy density at 64 000 W kg⁻¹ power density and 93.2% capacitance retention after 8000 cycles at 5 A g⁻¹.

Antibiotic pollution is becoming an increasingly serious threat in different regions of China. The distribution of antibiotics in water sources varies significantly in time and space, corresponding to the amount of antibiotics used locally. The main source of this contamination in the aquatic environment is wastewater from antibiotic manufacturers, large scale animal farming, and hospitals. In response to the excessive antibiotic contamination in the water environment globally, environmentally friendly alternatives to antibiotics are being developed to reduce their use. Furthermore, researchers have developed various antibiotic treatment techniques for the degradation of antibiotics, such as physical adsorption, chemical oxidation, photodegradation, and biodegradation. Among them, biodegradation is receiving increasing attention because of its low cost, ease of operation, and lack of secondary pollution. Antibiotic degradation by enzymes could become the key strategy of management of antibiotics pollution in the environment in future. This review summarizes research on the distribution of antibiotics in China’s aquatic environments and different techniques for the degradation of antibiotics. Special attention is paid to their degradation by various enzymes. The adverse effects of the pollutants and need for more effective monitoring and mitigating pollution are also highlighted.