The expansively unutilized rooftop spaces in the university campuses can provide an excellent opportunity for the installation of solar photovoltaic systems to achieve renewable electricity generation and carbon dioxide reduction. Based on available rooftop areas and local solar radiation situations, technical potential and economic benefits of rooftop photovoltaic system under seven scenarios were carried out for three university campuses located in different solar zones in China. The potential capacity of photovoltaic installations on building’s flat rooftops in Tibet University, Qinghai University, and Qilu University of Technology reaches 11,291 kW, 9102 kW, and 3821 kW, corresponding to the maximum annual power generation of 28.19 GWh, 18.03 GWh, and 5.36 GWh, respectively. From the perspective of economic analysis, PV systems installed in “full self-consumption” mode are superior to those installed in “full-feed-into-grid” mode for all three study cases. The highest return on investment of PV systems installed on flat and pitched rooftops can be achieved at 208% and 204%, respectively, in Tibet University. The payback period for PV systems installed on flat rooftops is 1 year in Tibet University, and less than 8 years for both Qinghai University and Qilu University of Technology, respectively. Results reveal that rooftop photovoltaic systems can significantly help the universities to move towards sustainability.

Graphene foam (GF), synthesized via Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), has been proven to be the ideal bulk porous material. The addition of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) within the porous structure enables enhancement of mechanical strength and alteration of heat transfer behavior. This study focuses on the thermodynamic behavior of GF/PDMS composites during deformation, and employs stochastic modeling and neuroevolution potential (NEP) for complex material modeling with precise prediction of microscopic mechanisms governing thermal property variations. The results demonstrate that the composite with a 5% doping rate of PDMS achieves the optimal mechanical performance and shows a 7.13-fold modulation in thermal resistance during the deformation from 40% stretching to 50% compression. Findings indicate PDMS fortifies structural stability while enabling dynamic thermal conductivity modulation in GF. This research provides critical insights into the micro-mechanisms of GF/PDMS composites and offers a theoretical foundation for applications in dynamic thermal management and self-powered sensor networks.

In this study, a novel system which integrates solar thermal energy with membrane gas absorption technology is proposed to capture CO₂ from a 580 MWe pulverized coal power plant. Technical feasibility and economic evaluation are carried out on the proposed system in three cities with different solar resources in China. Research results show that the output capacity and net efficiency of the SOL-HFMC power plant are significantly higher than those of the reference power plant regardless of whether a TES system is applied or not. In addition, the CEI of the SOL-HFMC power plant with the TES system is 4.36 kg CO₂/MWh, 4.45 kg CO₂/MWh and 4.66 kg CO₂/MWh lower than that of the reference power plant. The prices of the membrane, vacuum tube collector and phase change material should be reduced to achieve lower LCOE and COR values. Specifically for the SOL-HFMC power plant with the TES system, the corresponding vacuum tube collector price shall be lower than 25.70 $/m² for Jinan, 95.20 $/m² for Xining, and 128.70 $/m² for Lhasa, respectively. To be more competitive than a solar-assisted ammonia-based post-combustion CO₂ capture power plant, the membrane price in Jinan, Xining and Lhasa shall be reduced to 0.012 $/m, 0.015 $/m and 0.016 $/m for the sake of LCOE, and 0.03 $/m, 0.033 $/m and 0.034 $/m for the sake of COR, respectively.

Membrane gas absorption technology has been considered a promising approach to mitigate CO₂ emissions from power plants. The aim of this study is to evaluate the environmental impacts of CO₂ absorption and desorption processes by hollow fiber membrane contactors using a life cycle assessment methodology. On the basis of the ReCipe 2016 Midpoint and the ReCipe 2016 Endpoint methods, the research results show that membrane gas absorption systems exhibit the lowest environmental impacts across the majority of assessed categories in comparison with chemical absorption and membrane gas separation systems. The CO₂ capture process via membrane gas absorption has the most significant impact on the METP category, with heat consumption as the primary contributing factor accounting for 55%, followed by electricity consumption accounting for 43.1%. According to the sensitivity analysis, heating by natural gas shows better performance than other heat supply sources in improving overall environmental impacts. In addition, the increasing utilization of renewable energy in electricity supply reduces the global warming potential, fossil resource consumption and ozone formation.

Graphene foam prepared by the chemical vapor deposition method is a promising thermal interfacial material. However, the thermal properties of graphene foam highly depend on the experimental fabrication conditions during the chemical vapor deposition process. Aiming to reveal how to prepare the appropriate graphene foam for the various thermal management scenarios, the influence of experimental conditions on thermal properties of graphene foam was investigated. Furthermore, the contribution of thermal conductivity and thermal radiation to the effective thermal coefficient of graphene foam was carried out for comparison. The research results showed that the porosity and the cross-section shape of the struts of the growth template were two critical factors affecting the thermal transport of graphene foam, especially with the increase of temperature. In addition, the deposition time of graphene determined the wall thickness and affected the thermal conductivity directly. The thermal radiation contributed more than thermal conductivity when the temperature climbed continuously. Comparatively, the effective thermal coefficient of graphene foam composite with high porosity and circular-shape struts was much superior to that of others at high temperature. The research findings provide important guidance for graphene foam fabrication and its applications in the field of thermal management.