•ZnO superstructures were synthesized via a facile solvothermal approach.•Mesocrystal structure played a pivotal role in the enhancement in photocatalytic activity.•Urea played multiple roles in the formation of superstructure.•The mesostructured ZnO exhibited high photocatalytic activity and durability.Several photocatalysts with different architectures were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal approach in the presence of diverse structure-directing reagents at varied concentrations. It was found that the concentration of the directing reagents played a crucial role in the architecture of the obtained products. Flower-like ZnO architectures were synthesized at a high concentration of PVP, while pencil-like mesocrystals (MCs) at a low concentration. The flower shaped assembly was composed of leaf-like ZnO MCs. More interestingly, the MCs were assembled with ZnO nanocrystals aligned along [111] direction. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were examined by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue, and the results indicated that the flower-like architectures exhibited highest performance, compared with those of ZnO nanocrystals, pencil shaped ZnO mesocrystal, and the sheet-like ZnO MCs. This could be attributed to not only the hierarchical architecture of the assembly, high crystallinity, and large surface area, but also the unique mesoscopic structure of ZnO MCs.Flower-like mesostructured ZnO exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity compared to those of plate shaped, pencil-like, and nanoparticle ZnO, due to the unique superstructured ZnO microsphere composed of mesocrystal nanosheets.

•Fresh HV and dried HV were used for deoxy-liquefaction under different conditions.•Effect of temperature or residence time on yield and compositions of HCF was greater.•The fuels possessed high HHVs (>41.92 MJ/kg) and low oxygen contents (<4.63 wt.%).•Deoxy-liquefaction of fresh HV could save energy and time for water plants.Fresh Hydrilla verticillata (HV) and air-dried HV were chosen to be deoxy-liquefied in an airtight vessel reactor for high calorific fuel (HCF) production. The influence of temperature (250–450 °C), residence time (4–30 min), catalyst content (0.1–5 wt.%) on the yields and compositions of HCFs were investigated. Results showed that the HCFs obtained at 350 °C with residence time of 15 min possessed the highest HHVs (>44.06 MJ/kg) and lowest oxygen contents (<3.46 wt.%). The HCF contained benzenes, phenols, and long-chain alkanes as main components, with small proportion of non-phenolic oxy-compounds and nitro-compounds. Preliminary analysis of mechanisms indicated that high temperature or long residence time leaded to a deeper cracking of chemical bonds, which was less affected by the addition of catalyst. Experiments also suggested fresh HV rather than air-dried HV were more suitable for preparing high-quality HCF with highest yield of 18.05 wt.%. So, for water plants containing large amounts of water, deoxy-liquefaction under fresh state would be a better choice which could save a lot of energy and time consumed during drying process.

Gelatin-induced hydroxyapatite with combined substitution of essential physiological trace elements (G-FAP) was prepared by a precipitation method. Pure hydroxyapatite (HAP) and ion-substituted hydroxyapatite (FAP) were also prepared for comparison. The characteristics of the precipitated powders were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), specific surface area measurement (SSA), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. The biocompatibility was also determined by an in vitro investigation with MC3T3-E1 cells. SEM and TEM results showed that the G-FAP powders were composed of dense aggregates of agglomerated whisker-like crystals of 200–300 nm in length and 10–20 nm in width. XRD and FT-IR analyses indicated the formation of pure apatite phase, and the substituted ions and gelatin did not change the diffraction pattern of the precipitated powders. The SSAs of the precipitated powder were 64.741, 72.492, and 107.745 m2/g, for HAP, FAP, and G-FAP, respectively. XRF analysis showed that Na+, Mg2+, and F− were substituted into the crystal lattice. TG results showed a reduced thermal stability of the precipitated G-FAP powders, with an advanced phase transformation beginning at 800 °C and a serious phase transformation from hexagonal apatite phase to rhombohedral β-TCP phase at 1,200 °C in comparison with HAP and FAP. In vitro biological tests showed non-cytotoxic effects for all powders. However, G-FAP stimulated the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells earlier than HAP and FAP. The present G-FAP will therefore be a promising primary biomaterial for bone regeneration, tooth filling, or as a coating for metal artificial limbs.

The aim of this study was to investigate the essence of deoxy-liquefaction technology by the comprehensive analysis of several aquatic plants’ (AP) deoxy-liquefaction from the element and energy points of view. Accompanied by the oxygen removal in the form of CO2 and H2O, a great amount of hydrogen and carbon was shifted into water and char, leading to the low yield of liquid oil (LO) (11.23–16.70%). However, the residue carbon and hydrogen were adjusted to form mainly gasoline/diesel oil fractions and phenols. The deoxy-liquefaction was a similar miniature of the underground evolution from biomass to petroleum and coals during hundred thousands of years. The energy lost in the system was ∼5.6% and ∼19.9% based on the elemental balance of Nelumbo nucifera leaves (AP1) and Arundo donax (AP6). The closed system with the pressure of 8–10 MPa and the temperature of 350–400 °C made the decomposition pathway different from the traditional thermal conversion.

•Protein selectivity can be achieved by polyelectrolyte solely through electrostatics.•Selective binding is influenced by protein charge anisotropy, protein binding affinity, polyelectrolyte characters, and polyelectrolyte assembling.•Correlation between protein binding affinity and phase separation is evaluated.This review discusses the possible relationship between protein charge anisotropy, protein binding affinity, polymer structure, and selective phase separation. We hope that a fundamental understanding of primarily electrostatically driven protein–polyelectrolyte (PE) interactions can enable the prediction of selective protein binding, and hence selective coacervation through non-specific electrostatics. Such research will partially challenge the assumption that specific binding has to be realized through specific binding sites with a variety of short-range interactions and some geometric match. More specifically, the recent studies on selective binding of proteins by polyelectrolytes were examined from different assemblies in addition to the electrostatic features of proteins and PEs. At the end, the optimization of phase separation based on binding affinity for selective coacervation and some considerations relevant to using PEs for protein purification were also overviewed.