Recently, the environmental impacts of microplastics have received extensive attention owing to their accumulation in the environment. However, developing efficient technology for the control and purification of microplastics is still a big challenge. Herein, we investigated the photocatalytic degradation of typical microplastics such as polystyrene (PS) microspheres and polyethylene (PE) over TiO₂ nanoparticle films under UV light irradiation. TiO₂ nanoparticle film made with Triton X-100 showed complete mineralization (98.40%) of 400-nm PS in 12 h, while degradation for varying sizes of PS was also studied. PE degradation experiment presented a high photodegradation rate after 36 h. CO₂ was found as the main end product. The degradation mechanism and intermediates were studied by in situ DRIFTS and HPPI-TOFMS, showing the generation of hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carbon-hydrogen groups during the photodegradation of PS. This study provides a green and cost-efficient strategy for the control of microplastics contamination in the environment.

A facile and novel method of in situ growing a nickel–cobalt layered double hydroxide (Ni–Co LDH) nanosheet film on a three-dimensional Cu nanowire (NW) network on Cu foam is developed by three sequential electrochemical steps, which is free of any surfactant, stabilizer or organic binder. The hierarchically structured hybrid electrode is highly porous and endowed with greatly improved specific surface area, conductibility, and mechanical strength because of its unique structure with Cu NW networks crossed through Ni–Co LDH nanosheets. As pseudocapacitors, the as-prepared Ni–Co LDH hybrid electrode exhibits a significantly enhanced specific capacitance of 2170 F g⁻¹ and an areal specific capacitance of 9.98 F cm⁻² at 1 A g⁻¹, which is comparable with or superior to most previously reported electrodes based on nickel–cobalt hydroxides. Moreover, the as-obtained electrode also exhibits an excellent rate capability with a specific capacitance of 1875 F g⁻¹ even at a very high current density of 10 A g⁻¹, which is about 86.4% of that at 1 A g⁻¹. Besides, an excellent cycling performance is also obtained with a capacitance retention of 80.46% after 2000 cycles at a high current density of 6 A g⁻¹, suggesting its promising application as an efficient electrode for electrochemical capacitors.

By regulating interfacial kinetics, TG4/H ₂ O co-solvent electrolyte promotes dense, dendrite-free Zn electrodeposition, reduces H ₂ O-derived side reactions, and enhances cathode stability, enabling high reversibility and durability for Ah-level ZIBs.