A new chelating matrix, SiNP, has been prepared by immobilizing 1.5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carbaldehyde on silica gel modified with 3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane. This new chelating material was well characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, cross polarization magic angle spinning solid state ¹³C-NMR, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm, BET surface area, BJH pore size, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The new product exhibits good chemical and thermal stability as determined by thermogravimetry curves (TGA). The new prepared material was used as an adsorbent for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) of Pb(II), Cd(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) from aqueous solutions using a batch method, prior to their determination by flame atomic adsorption spectrometry. The adsorption capacity was investigated using kinetics and pH effects. Common coexisting ions did not interfere with separation and determination.

A new hybrid adsorbent material for the efficient removal of heavy metals from natural real water solutions (Moroccan river water samples) was prepared by the immobilization of a new conjugated β-ketoenol–pyridine–furan ligand onto a silica matrix. The thermodynamical properties including pH, adsorption isotherms, competitive adsorption, selectivity and regeneration were studied to investigate the effect of ketoenol–pyridine–furan–silica (SiNL) on the removal of Zn(II), Pb(II), Cd(II) and Cu(II) from aqueous solutions. An increase in adsorption as a function of pH and fast adsorption was reached within 25 min. The maximum sorption capacities for Zn(II), Pb(II), Cd(II) and Cu(II) were 96.17, 47.07, 48.30 and 32.15 mg·g⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, the material proved to be very stable – its adsorption capacity remained greater than 98% even after five cycles of adsorption/desorption. Compared to literature results, this material can be considered a high-performing remediation adsorbent for the extraction of Zn(II) from natural real water solution.

Interlayer coupling in 2D heterostructures can result in a reduction of the rotation symmetry and the generation of quantum phenomena. Although these effects have been demonstrated in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with mismatched interfaces, the role of band hybridization remains unclear. In addition, the creation of flat bands at the valence band maximum (VBM) of TMDs is still an open challenge. In this work, we investigate the electronic structure of monolayer MoS₂-black phosphorus heterojunctions with a combined experimental and theoretical approach. The disruption of the rotational symmetry of the MoS₂ bands, the creation of anisotropic minigaps and the appearance of flat bands at the Γ valley, accompanied by the switch of VBM from K to Γ, are clearly observed with micro-ARPES. Unfolded band structures obtained from first principles simulations precisely describe these multiple effects – all independent of the twist angle – and demonstrates that they arise from strong band hybridization between Mo \({d}_{{z}^{2}}\) and P \({p}_{x}\) orbitals. The underlying physics revealed by our results paves the way for innovative electronics and optoelectronics based on TMDs superlattices, adding further flexibility to the approaches adopted in twisted hexagonal superlattices.