The reliable detection of environmental contaminants can correctly forecast the degree of environmental pollution that has occurred, which contributes to improving the environmental purification rate and maintaining the ecological balance. Herein, a novel hierarchical biomimetic catalysis MnO₂@CuAl-CLDHs was designed and synthesized using a facile method, which exhibited significantly enhanced peroxidase-like activity due to the unique composition and hierarchical mesoporous structure. Under optimized operational conditions, a visible colorimetric array based on the superior nanozyme activity of MnO₂@CuAl-CLDHs was developed for the quantitative determination of hydroquinone with a wide linear detection range (1–100 μM) and a low detection limit (0.183 μM). Simultaneously, our presented strategy could analyze hydroquinone in real water samples with high accuracy. Therefore, the bimetallic co-catalyzed nanozymes are expected to be the perfect replacement for natural enzymes to develop convenient and efficient sensors.

Ca₂Si was successfully synthesized via a high-temperature melting furnace and a spark plasma sintering process, allowing its thermoelectric properties to be studied. High-temperature melting furnaces were utilized to inhibit the volatilization of Ca elements during the preparation stage, ensuring the production of high-purity Ca₂Si. The resistivity of Ca₂Si increased gradually with rising temperature and reached 12 mΩ·cm at 873 K, demonstrating semi-metallic characteristics. In the temperature range of 323 K–873 K, Ca₂Si displayed relatively low total thermal conductivity, from 1.1 to 1.7 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹. Nevertheless, Ca₂Si attained a maximum thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 0.1 due to the atypical behavior and electrical properties of semiconductors. In contrast, Mg₂Si achieved a ZT value of 0.32 at 873 K, owing to its exceptional Seebeck coefficient.