A two-dimensional MnAl-layered double oxide (LDO) was obtained by flash nanoprecipitation method (FNP) and used for the selective catalytic reduction of NO_x with NH₃. The MnAl-LDO (FNP) catalyst formed a particle size of 114.9 nm. Further characterization exhibited rich oxygen vacancies and strong redox property to promote the catalytic activity at low temperature. The MnAl-LDO (FNP) catalyst performed excellent NO conversion above 80% at the temperature range of 100–400 °C, and N₂ selectivity above 90% below 200 °C, with a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 60,000 h⁻¹, and a NO concentration of 500 ppm. The maximum NO conversion is 100% at 200 °C; when the temperature in 150–250 °C, the NO conversion can also reach 95%. The remarkable low-temperature catalytic performance of the MnAl-LDO (FNP) catalyst presented potential applications for controlling NO emissions on the account of the presentation of oxygen vacancies.

In this paper, we report a complete solution for enhanced sludge treatment involving the removal of toxic metal (Cu(II)) from waste waters, subsequent pyrolytic conversion of these sludge to Cu-doped porous carbon, and their application in energy storage systems. The morphology, composition, and pore structure of the resultant Cu-doped porous carbon could be readily modulated by varying the flocculation capacity of Cu(II). The results demonstrated that it exhibited outstanding performance for supercapacitor electrode applications. The Cu(II) removal efficiency has been evaluated and compared to the possible energy benefits. The flocculant dosage up to 200 mg·L⁻¹ was an equilibrium point existing between environmental impact and energy, at which more than 99% Cu(II) removal efficiency was achieved, while the resulting annealed product showed a high specific capacity (389.9·F·g⁻¹ at 1·A·g⁻¹) and good cycling stability (4% loss after 2500 cycles) as an electrode material for supercapacitors.

We report an amphiphilic block copolymer via poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether-D_labile-poly(caprolactone)-ferrocene (mPEG-D_labile-PCL-Fc) to deliver anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). Lipase Novozyme-435 was used as a catalyst for ring-opening polymerization with ε-caprolactone, and an acid-sensitive Schiff base was used to connect the hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts; the ferrocene provided ferrous ions and was introduced at the end of the amphiphilic copolymer. The resulting copolymers were characterized by ¹H NMR/¹³C NMR and could be self-assembled in an aqueous solution to form nanomicelles with PCL-Fc as a hydrophobic core and mPEG as a hydrophilic shell. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the micelles were spherical and nanosized before and after DOX loading. The blank micelles also showed good biocompatibility. The drug-loaded polymeric nanomicelles exhibited a positive anticancer effect relative to the copolymers without ferrocene; the therapeutic effect of drug-loaded micelles containing ferrocene was more obvious. In vitro drug release results also showed that the polymer had a good pH response. Confocal microscopy also showed that polymeric micelles can effectively deliver and release the drug; the polymer containing ferrocene also leads to significantly improved ROS levels in tumor cells. Ferrocene can effectively and synergistically inhibit tumor cells with DOX.

The rational treatment of hazardous textile sludge is critical and challenging for the environment and a sustainable future. Here, a water-soluble chitosan derivative was synthesized and used as an effective flocculant in removal of reactive dye from aqueous solution. Employing these chitosan-containing textile sludges as precursors, graphene-like carbon nanosheets were synthesized through simple one-step carbonization with the use of Fe (III) salt as graphitization catalyst. It was found that the resultant graphene-like carbon nanosheets material at thickness near 3.2 nm (NSC-Fe-2) showed a high graphitization degree, high specific surface area, and excellent bifunctional electrochemical performance. As-prepared NSC-Fe-2 catalyst exhibited excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity (onset potential 1.05 V) and a much better methanol tolerance than that of commercial Pt/C (onset potential 0.98 V) in an alkaline medium. Additionally, as electrode materials for supercapacitors, NSC-Fe-2 also displayed an outstanding specific capacitance of 195 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ and superior cycling stability (loss of 3.4% after 2500 cycles). The good electrochemical properties of the as-prepared NSC-Fe materials could be attributed to the ultrathin graphene-like nanosheets structure and synergistic effects from codoping of iron and nitrogen. This work develops a simple but effective strategy for direct conversion of textile sewage sludge to value-added graphene-like carbon, which is considered as a promising alternative to fulfill the requirements of environment and energy.

The thermal degradation of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is inevitable during its processing and is directly related to the initial stage of the thermal stability of PVC. This paper focuses on the influence of the segment structures that include a conjugated polyene sequence structure and internal allylic chloride structure on the initial stage of the thermal degradation of PVC. The conjugated polyene sequence structure and internal allylic chloride structure were the structural models successfully constructed via thermal and alkali treatment methods through the long chain of PVC directly. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) was used to analyze the type and content of the conjugated polyene structure. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-NMR) was used to determine the variation trend in the content of internal allylic chlorine structures because of the oxygen-containing structure excluded by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) characterization. The thermal stability of the treated PVC was also determined through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The comparison between the two structural models revealed that the internal allylic chloride structure greatly influenced the initial thermal stability as an initiation point in the PVC chain, thereby leading to thermal instability.