Surface-functionalized polymeric microspheres have wide applications in various areas. Herein, monodisperse poly(styrene–methyl methacrylate–acrylic acid) (PSMA) microspheres were prepared via emulsion polymerization. Polyaniline (PANI) was then coated on the PSMA surface via in situ polymerization, and a three-dimensional (3D) structured reticulate PANI/PSMA composite was, thus, obtained. The adsorption performance of the composite for organic dyes under different circumstances and the adsorption mechanism were studied. The obtained PANI/PSMA composite exhibited a high adsorption rate and adsorption capacity, as well as good adsorption selectivity toward methyl orange (MO). The adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacity for MO was 147.93 mg/g. After five cycles of adsorption–desorption, the removal rate remained higher than 90%, which indicated that the adsorbent has great recyclability. The adsorbent materials presented herein would be highly valuable for the removal of organic dyes from wastewater.

A high-voltage electrolyte can match high-voltage positive electrode material to fully exert its capacity. In this research, a sulfolane plasticized polymer electrolyte was prepared by in situ photocuring. First, the effect of the sulfolane content on the ionic conductivity of the gel polymer electrolyte was investigated. Results showed that the ionic conductivity variation trend was in good agreement with the exponential function model for curve fitting. Second, the activation energy was calculated from the results of the variable temperature conductivity tests. The activation energy was inversely proportional to the sulfolane content. For the sulfolane content of 80 wt. % in gel polymer electrolyte (GPE)-80 (19.5 kJ/mol), the activation energy was close to conventional liquid electrolyte (9.5 kJ/mol), and the conductivity and electrochemical window were 0.64 mS/cm and 5.86 V, respectively. The battery cycle performance test showed that the initial specific discharge capacities of GPE-80 and liquid electrolyte were 176.8 and 148.3 mAh/g, respectively. After 80 cycles, the discharge capacities of GPE-80 and liquid electrolyte were 115.8 and 41.1 mAh/g, and the capacity retention rates were 65.5% and 27.7%, respectively; indicating that GPE-80 has a better specific discharge capacity and cycling performance than the liquid electrolyte. SEM images indicated that GPE-80 can suppress the growth of lithium dendrites. The EDS test showed that GPE-80 can inhibit the dissolution of metal ions in the cathode material.