Effective charge separation and migration pose a critical challenge in the field of solar-driven hydrogen production. In this work, a Z-scheme structured CuInS₂/ZnIn₂S₄ heterojunction was successfully fabricated through a two-step hydrothermal synthesis method to significantly enhance the efficiency of solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion. Structural characterization revealed that the lattice-matched CuInS₂/ZnIn₂S₄ heterojunction exhibits an enlarged interfacial contact area, which facilitates the transfer and separation of photogenerated charges. Microscopic analysis indicated that the CuInS₂/ZnIn₂S₄ composite material has a tightly interwoven interface and a morphology resembling small sugar cubes. Photoelectrochemical spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that the heterojunction structure effectively enhances visible light absorption and charge separation efficiency, leading to an improvement in photocatalytic activity. Hydrogen production experimental data indicated that the CuInS₂/ZnIn₂S₄ heterojunction photocatalyst prepared with a CuInS₂ content of 20 wt% exhibits the highest hydrogen evolution rate, reaching 284.9 μmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹. Moreover, this photocatalyst maintains robust photocatalytic stability even after three consecutive usage cycles. This study demonstrated that the Z-scheme CuInS₂/ZnIn₂S₄ heterojunction photocatalyst exhibits enhanced hydrogen evolution efficiency, offering an effective structural design for harnessing solar energy to obtain hydrogen fuel. Therefore, this heterojunction photocatalyst is a promising candidate for practical applications in solar hydrogen production.

The usage time of air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is significantly influenced by the moisture content within the proton exchange membrane (PEM). Therefore, enhancing the water retention capability of the PEM by applying a hydrophobic polymer coating to its surface has extended the PEM’s usage time by three times and increased MFCs’ operational duration by 66%. Moreover, the hydrophobic nature of the polymer coating reduces contamination on the PEM and prevents anode liquid from permeating into the air cathode. Towards the end of MFC operation, the internal resistance of the MFC is reduced by 45%. The polymer coating effectively maintained the oxygen reduction reaction activity in the cathode. The polymer coating’s ability to restrict oxygen transmembrane diffusion is demonstrated by experimental data showing a significant decrease in oxygen diffusion coefficient due to its presence. The degradation efficiency of the chemical oxygen demand from 16% to 35% increased by a factor of one.

Crystallization selectivity is an important principle in polymorph control. Ribavirin Form I, Form II, DMSO solvate, and amorphous ribavirin are prepared, and the short-range order similarities between these solid forms and ribavirin aqueous solution and DMSO solution are compared via mid-frequency Raman difference spectra (MFRDS). The crystallization process from amorphous ribavirin to Form I and from solution to amorphous phase is explained. Reasons for the difficulty in preparing the DMSO solvate are proposed. The rationale provided for the crystallization selectivity provides a foundation for the synthesis of metastable phases with a robust and convenient method.

A microbial community study using a culture-dependent method was conducted on dehydrated sludge collected from a steel factory’s wastewater treatment plant. One isolate, designated QWL-01^T, was a strictly anaerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming bacterium with coccoid cells measuring 0.6–0.9 μm in diameter. The growth of strain QWL-01^T was observed at 4–40 °C (optimum at 28–35 °C), pH 5.5–8.0 (optimum at pH 7.1), and a range of 0–3% NaCl (optimum at 0.5%). An analysis of the Biolog AN plate revealed positive carbon source utilization only for palatinose, α-ketovaleric acid, and pyruvic acid. The predominant fatty acids were iso-C_13:0 (17.0%), C_16:0 dimethyl acetal (12.0%), and anteiso-C_13:0 (9.2%). A 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis through BLASTN demonstrated that the nearest phylogenetic neighbors of the novel strain were Youngiibacter multivorans DSM 6139^T (93.82%) and Proteiniclasticum ruminis JCM 14817^T (93.75%). The genome size of strain QWL-01^T was 3.69 Mbp, with a G+C content of 50.8 mol%. Comparing strain QWL-01^T with closely related species of genera Proteiniclasticum and Youngiibacter, the digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH), average nucleotide identity (ANI), and average amino acid identity (AAI) values ranged from 26.60% to 36.80%, 65.89% to 68.30%, and 49.27% to 51.58%, respectively. Based on phenotypic, physiological, phylogenetic, and genomic relatedness evidence, strain QWL-01^T represents a novel genus in the family Clostridiaceae, for which the name Anaerococcoides asporogena gen. nov. sp. nov. is proposed. Strain QWL-01^T (=BCRC 81396^T = CICC 25258^T = NBRC 117088^T) is the type strain of the proposed novel species.

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Oscillospiraceae bacterium MB24-C1 (= BCRC 81428), isolated from sewage sludge of the Sanming Steel wastewater treatment plant, China. The genome comprises 2,952,321 bp with a GC content of 48.1% and was used for further species delineation and comparative genomic analyses.