Heterojunctioned ZnO/Bi₂S₃ nanocomposites were prepared via a facile solvothermal method. The obtained photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and Photoelectrochemical and Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), respectively. The results showed that ZnO/Bi₂S₃ composites exhibited the sandwiched-like structure, where ZnO nanoparticles were randomly embedded between Bi₂S₃ nanoflakes. The performance of photocatalytic Cr(VI) reduction under visible light indicated that ZnO/Bi₂S₃ composites exhibited high-efficiency photocatalytic activity in comparison with either Bi₂S₃ or ZnO. The 5%-ZnO/Bi₂S₃ photocatalyst removed 96% of Cr(VI) within 120 min at 20 mg/L initial concentration of Cr(VI). The enhanced performance of ZnO/Bi₂S₃ photocatalysts could be ascribed to the increased light harvesting and the effective separation and transfer of the photogenerated charge carriers across the heterojunction interface of the ZnO/Bi₂S₃ composite. This work could pave the way for the design of new hetero-structured materials and has great potential in environmental remediation.

The feasibility and effectivity of recycling waste rubber and waste plastic (WRP) into asphalt binder as a waste treatment approach has been documented. However, directly blending WRP with asphalt binder brings secondary environmental pollution. Recent research has shown that the addition of WRP into asphalt binder may potentially improve the workability of asphalt binder without significantly compromising its mechanical properties. This study evaluates the feasibility of using the additives derived from WRP as a multifunctional additive which improves both the workability and mechanical properties of asphalt binder. For this purpose, WRP-derived additives were prepared in laboratory. Then, three empirical characteristics—viscosity, rutting factor, fatigue life were analyzed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were employed to evaluate the effect of WRP-derived additive on the workability and chemical and mechanical properties of base binder. The dispersity of WRP-derived additive inside asphalt binder was also characterized using fluorescence microscope (FM). Results from this study showed that adding WRP-derived additive increases the workability of base binder. The WRP-derived additive appears positive on the high- and low- temperature performance as well as the fatigue life of base binder. The distribution of the WRP-derived additive inside base binder was uniform. In addition, the modification mechanism of WRP-derived additive was also proposed in this paper.

A highly porous metal-organic framework (Cu-TDPAT), constructed from a paddle-wheel type dinuclear copper cluster and 2,4,6-tris(3,5-dicarboxylphenylamino)-1,3,5-triazine (H₆TDPAT), has been tested in Ullmann and Goldberg type C–N coupling reactions of a wide range of primary and secondary amines with halobenzenes, affording the corresponding N-arylation compounds in moderate to excellent yields. The Cu-TDPAT catalyst could be easily separated from the reaction mixtures by simple filtration, and could be reused at least five times without any significant degradation in catalytic activity.

The production of high-performance, low-cost warm mix additives (WMa) for matrix asphalt remains a challenge. The pyrolysis method was employed to prepare wax-based WMa using waste polypropylene plastic (WPP) as the raw material in this study. Penetration, softening point, ductility, rotational viscosity, and dynamic shear rheological tests were performed to determine the physical and rheological properties of the modified asphalt. The adhesion properties were characterized using the surface free energy (SFE) method. We proved that the pyrolysis temperature and pressure play a synergistic role in the production of wax-based WMa from WPPs. The product prepared at 380 °C and 1.0 MPa (380-1.0) can improve the penetration of matrix asphalt by 61% and reduce the viscosity (135 °C) of matrix asphalt by 48.6%. Furthermore, the modified asphalt shows favorable elasticity, rutting resistance, and adhesion properties; thus, it serves as a promising WMa for asphalt binders.