Herein, γ-AlO(OH) as an inorganic was successfully inserted into MgAl-LDH layer by a one-pot synthesis, the composite as an adsorbent for removing methyl orange (MO) from wastewater. The structure and adsorption performance of γ-AlO(OH)/MgAl-LDH were characterized. The research shows that the expansion (003) plane and the hydroxyl active site of γ-AlO(OH)/MgAl-LDH can promote adsorption capacity and adsorption kinetics, respectively. Therefore, γ-AlO(OH)/MgAl-LDH exhibits a super adsorption performance, which completely adsorbs MO at the concentration of 1000 mg g−1. In addition, the maximum adsorption capacity of MO was 4681.40 mg g−1 according to the Langmuir model. These results indicate that γ-AlO(OH)/MgAl-LDH is a potential adsorbent for the removal of organic dyes in water.

Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) ceramics have been widely utilized as circuit substrates owing to their exceptional performance. In this study, boron nitride microribbon (BNMR)/Al₂O₃ composite ceramics are prepared using spark plasma sintering (SPS). This study examines the effect of varying the amount of toughened phase BNMR on the density, mechanical properties, dielectric constant, and thermal conductivity of BNMR/Al₂O₃ composite ceramics, while also exploring the mechanisms behind the toughening and increased thermal conductivity of the fabricated ceramics. The results showed that for a BNMR content of 5 wt%, BNMR/Al₂O₃ composite ceramics displayed more enhanced characteristics than pure Al₂O₃ ceramic. In particular, the relative density, hardness, fracture toughness, and bending strength were 99.95±0.025%, 34.11±1.5 GPa, 5.42±0.21 MPa·m^1/2, and 375±2.5 MPa, respectively. These values represent increases of 0.76%, 70%, 35%, and 25%, respectively compared to those of pure Al₂O₃ ceramic. Furthermore, during the SPS process, BNMRs are subjected to high temperatures and pressures, resulting in the bending and deformation of the Al₂O₃ matrix; this leads to the formation of special thermal pathways within it. The dielectric constant of the composite ceramic decreased by 25.6%, whereas the thermal conductivity increased by 45.6% compared with that of the pure Al₂O₃ ceramic. The results of this study provide valuable insights into ways of enhancing the performance of Al₂O₃-based ceramic substrates by incorporating novel BNMRs as a second phase. These improvements are significant for potential applications in circuit substrates and related fields that require high-performance materials with improved mechanical properties and thermal conductivities.

Few-layer MoS₂ was successfully grown in MgAl-LDH layers, utilizing the “space-confining” effect. The composite completed degraded 50 mg L⁻¹ and 100 mg L⁻¹ methyl orange (MO) solutions in 45 min and 105 min, respectively.

A novel ultrathin g-C₃N₄ nanosheet-modified BiOCl hierarchical flower-like plate heterostructure (abbreviated as BC/CN) was constructed via a thermal polymerization of urea precursor followed with hydrolysis route. The as-prepared samples were well characterized by various analytical techniques. The morphological observation showed that hierarchical flower-like BiOCl nanoplates were discretely anchored on the surface of ultra-thin C₃N₄ nanosheets. The photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared photocatalysts was evaluated by degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible-light irradiation. The results showed that BC/CN photocatalyst exhibited enhanced photostability and photocatalytic performance in the degradation process. On the basis of experimental results and the analysis of band energy structure, it could be inferred that the enhanced photocatalytic performance of BC/CN photocatalyst was intimately related with the hybridization of hierarchical flower-like BiOCl nanoplates with ultrathin g-C₃N₄ nanosheets, which provided good adsorptive capacity, extended light absorption, suppressed the recombination of photo-generated electron–hole pairs, and facilitated charge transfer efficiently.

Impurity element doping is extensively taken as one of the most efficient strategies to regulate the electronic structure as well as the rate of photogenerated charge separation of photocatalysts. Herein, a one-pot hydrothermal synthesis process was exploited to obtain La-doped ZnIn₂S₄ microspheres, aiming at gaining insight into the role that doping ions played in the improvement of pollutant photodegradation. Systematical characterization means, comprising of X–ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) diffuse reflection spectroscopy and Raman spectra, combination with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), were employed to in depth reveal the concomitancy of La ions and ZnIn₂S₄ crystal lattice. The results showed that the La-doped ZnIn₂S₄ samples exhibited a slightly wider and stronger spectral absorption than pristine ZnIn₂S₄; and the specific surface area of doped ZnIn₂S₄ samples was a bit larger. The La-doped ZnIn₂S₄ electrodes showed improved photocurrent response, and the photocurrent density reached a maximum value at La content of 1.5 wt%. As expected, La-doped ZnIn₂S₄ samples exhibited a remarkable enhancement of photocatalytic behaviour toward the photodegradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) and methyl orange (MO). The prominently enhanced photoactivity of doped ZnIn₂S₄ samples was due to the synergistic effect of the elevated visible-light absorption ability and effective photogenerated charge carriers’ separation.