The need to reach carbon neutrality as soon as possible has made the use of recycled materials widespread. However, the treatment of artificial marble waste powder (AMWP) containing unsaturated polyester is a very challenging task. This task can be accomplished by converting AMWP into new plastic composites. Such conversion is a cost-effective and eco-friendly way to recycle industrial waste. However, the lack of mechanical strength in composites and the low filling content of AMWP have been major obstacles to its practical application in structural and technical buildings. In this study, a composite of AMWP/linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) filled with a 70 wt% AMWP content was fabricated using maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene as a compatibilizer (MAPE). The mechanical strength of the prepared composites is excellent (tensile strength ~18.45 MPa, impact strength ~51.6 kJ/m²), making them appropriate as useful building materials. Additionally, laser particle size analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis were used to examine the effects of maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene on the mechanical properties of AMWP/LLDPE composites and its mechanism of action. Overall, this study offers a practical method for the low-cost recycling of industrial waste into high-performance composites.

The search for lightweight and low-cost anticorrosion coatings is particularly important in coastal environments with high salt and humidity. Graphene-based anticorrosion coatings are currently unable to provide long-lasting corrosion protection for metals because of their “corrosion-promoting activity”, and graphene-like materials, such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), are beginning to be anticipated its ability to protect against metals. This paper reported a simple method for preparing polypyrrole (PPy)-modified MoS₂ nanomaterials from natural bulk MoS₂. Their corrosion resistance behavior as fillers for epoxy (EP) resins was investigated in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. After the preparation of the MoS₂ nanosheet dispersion by liquid-phase sonication using ethanol aqueous solution, the polypyrrole-coated molybdenum disulfide nanomaterials (MoS₂@PPy) were directly obtained by adding pyrrole monomer to it in the presence of the initiator ammonium persulfate. Tafel polarization curves showed that the corrosion current of the MoS₂@PPy/EP coating was 0.006 µA/cm² after 15 days of immersion in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution, much lower than that of pure EP coating (19.134 µA/cm²), effectively improving the anticorrosive properties of the coating. Overall, this study offered a practical method for the application of natural bulk MoS₂ for corrosion protection.

Exploring earth-abundant electrocatalysts for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is important for the development of clean and renewable hydrogen energy. Herein, we demonstrated that fluorine anion doping into CoPS significantly enhanced its hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. Controlled fluorination modulated the surface electronic structure of CoPS active sites, forming an optimized F-CoPS electrocatalyst that exhibited superior performance, achieving an overpotential of only 74 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and 141 mV at 50 mA cm⁻², along with remarkable stability over 50 hours. This study provides a novel and feasible approach to enhance the HER performance of ternary pyrite-type transition-metal phosphosulfides.

Traditional antifouling coatings are toxic to marine life, which makes developing new environmentally friendly marine antifouling coatings imperative. Antifouling coatings that are nonadhesive and antimicrobial may provide an effective approach to achieving this goal. In this study, an organic–inorganic composite coating consisting of fluorinated polyurethane (FPU) and carboxymethyl chitosan–zinc oxide (CMC–ZnO) was prepared to achieve antifouling. The coating took advantage of the complementary bioactive effects of the low surface energy of FPU and the antimicrobial properties of CMC–ZnO. The coating showed good antifouling performance, with a survival rate for Escherichia coli of 3.15% and that for Staphylococcus aureus of 3.97% and an anti-protein adsorption rate of more than 90%. This study provides a simple method for preparing antifouling coatings using nonpolluting raw materials with minimal adverse effects on marine environments.

The enhancement of the utilization rate of solid waste, along with balancing the comprehensive performance of materials, presents a significant challenge in the development of new functional building materials. This study examined the effects of high concentrations of iron tailing powder on the crystallization characteristics, pore structure, compressive strength, and water absorption of modified magnesium oxysulfate (MOS) foam cement with different dry densities. Furthermore, employing chemical foaming technology, the study characterized and analyzed the microstructure of modified MOS foam cement hydration products through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The results indicated that the addition of an acidic modifier effectively facilitated the hydration reaction in the MgO-MgSO₄-H₂O system, enhancing the micro-crystallization characteristics of MOS foam cement. The internal pores were uniformly round, with a dense crystal structure within the pore walls. The compressive strength of the material with 40% dry density A08 grade iron tailing powder reached 6.83 MPa, and the lowest water absorption was 5.32% at a dry density of A09.