In this study, high-performance modified biochar/alginate composite bead (MCB/ALG) adsorbents were prepared from recycled agricultural waste corncobs by a high-temperature pyrolysis and KOH/FeCl₃ activation process. The prepared MCB/ALG beads were tested for the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) dye from wastewater. A variety of analytical methods, such as SEM, BET, FTIR and XRD, were used to investigate the structure and properties of the as-prepared adsorbents. The effects of solution pH, time, initial MB concentration and adsorption temperature on the adsorption performance of MCB/ALG beads were discussed in detail. The results showed that the adsorption equilibrium of MB dye was consistent with the Langmuir isothermal model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacity of MCB/ALG−1 could reach 1373.49 mg/g at 303 K. The thermodynamic studies implied endothermic and spontaneous properties of the adsorption system. This high adsorption performance of MCB/ALG was mainly attributed to pore filling, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. The regeneration experiments showed that the removal rate of MB could still reach 85% even after five cycles of experiments, indicating that MCB/ALG had good reusability and stability. These results suggested that a win-win strategy of applying agricultural waste to water remediation was feasible.

A novel pyridine-modified chitosan (PYCS) adsorbent was prepared in a multistep procedure including the successive grafting of 2-(chloromethyl) pyridine hydrochloride and crosslinking with glutaraldehyde. Then, the as-prepared materials were used as adsorbents for the removal of metal ions from acidic wastewater. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to study the impact of various factors such as solution pH value, contact time, temperature, and Fe (III) concentration. The results showed that the absorbent exhibited a high capacity of Fe (III) and the maximum adsorption capacity was up to 66.20 mg/g under optimal experimental conditions (the adsorption time = 12 h, pH = 2.5, and T = 303 K). Adsorption kinetics and isotherm data were accurately described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Sips model, respectively. Thermodynamic studies confirmed that the adsorption was a spontaneous endothermic process. Moreover, the adsorption mechanism was investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results revealed the pyridine group forms a stable chelate with iron (III) ions. Therefore, this acid-resistant adsorbent exhibited excellent adsorption performance for heavy metal ions from acidic wastewater compared to the conventional adsorbents, helping realize direct decontamination and secondary utilization.

CoCrFeNi HEAs have better ductility, while the strength and corrosion resistance need to be further improved, while metal materials for deep-sea operations put forward the requirement of excellent mechanical properties and very high corrosion resistance; however, CoCrFeNi HEAs have been less studied for the trade-off between mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. Therefore, the present study utilized the laser melting deposition (LMD) technique to fabricate a series of (CoCrFeNi)Ti_x (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 at.%) HEAs and systematically investigated the influence of Ti content on the alloy’s microstructure, phase composition, mechanical properties, and electrochemical performance. The research findings revealed that as the Ti content increased, the alloy gradually transformed from a single face-centered cubic (FCC) phase to an FCC and body-centered cubic (BCC) dual-phase structure. The addition of Ti induced a transition in the alloy’s microstructure from an equiaxed to a dendritic morphology, accompanied by grain refinement. Energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis confirmed the uniform distribution of Ti within the alloy. The hardness of the alloy increased significantly with the increase in Ti content, reaching 804.5 HV when the Ti content was 1.0 at.%, which was 4.13 times higher than the Ti-free alloy. The tensile and compression test results showed that the (CoCrFeNi)Ti_x alloy with a Ti content of 0.4 at.% exhibited the best overall mechanical performance. The electrochemical test results indicated that the addition of Ti effectively enhanced the corrosion resistance of the alloy, with the 0.4 at.% Ti-containing alloy exhibiting the optimal corrosion resistance. This study provides a strong theoretical and experimental foundation for the design of high-performance CoCrFeNi-based HEAs.

As a technology for micro-deformed solid-phase connection, transient liquid phase (TLP) diffusion bonding plays a key role in the manufacture of heating components of aero engines. However, the harmful brittle phase and high hardness limit the application of TLP diffusion bonding in nickel-based superalloys. In this paper, a new strategy in which a low-boron and high-titanium interlayer can restrain the brittle phase and reduce the hardness of the TLP-diffusion-bonded joint is proposed. With this strategy, the Ni₃Al joint can achieve a high strength of 860.84 ± 26.9 MPa under conditions of 1250 °C, 6 h and 5 MPa. The microhardness results show that the average microhardness of the joint area is 420.33 ± 3.15 HV and is only 4.3% higher than that of the Ni₃Al base material, which proves that this strategy can effectively inhibit the formation of the harmful brittle phase in the joint area. The results of EBSD show that 7.7% of the twin boundaries exist in the isothermal solidification zone, and only small amounts of secondary precipitates are observed at the grain boundaries in the joint, which indicates that twin boundaries may play a dominant role in crack initiation. This study provides a feasible avenue to suppress the brittle phase in TLP-diffusion-bonded joints.

Fe–Mn/BC particle electrodes with different loading ratios were prepared by a sol–gel method using corncob biochar (BC) as a carrier. The particle electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Using the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of coking wastewater as an indicator of electrocatalytic oxidation performance, the influencing factors of the electrocatalytic oxidation performance by a three-dimensional electrode system are discussed and the analysis of the degradation mechanism was carried out. The results show that the Fe–Mn particle electrodes with a load ratio of 1 : 1 obtained after carbonization at 500 °C for 3 h had a COD removal rate of 81.26% under the optimum conditions of pH 7, a current density of 25 mA cm⁻² and electrolysis time of 120 min. The three-dimensional electrode reactor (3DER) filled with Fe–Mn-modified BC particle electrodes showed superior performances. The three-dimensional fluorescence spectra results of the coking wastewater before and after treatment in the 3DER indicated that the refractory organics in the coking wastewater were degraded into degradable organic substances, and most of the soluble organic compounds were degraded and transformed. Moreover, the tert-butanol quenching experiment confirmed that the electrocatalytic process was mainly based on the indirect oxidation of hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) to achieve the removal of pollutants. This novel strategy realized the synergistic production of valuable corncob biochar particle electrodes and the remediation of pollutants with remarkable environmental and ecological benefits.