Ordered mesoporous carbon–aluminum-doped zinc oxide (C-AZO) composites were prepared by the solvent-evaporation induced self-assembly method (EISA). The mesoporous structure was evaluated by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and N2 adsorption–desorption. The results showed that the composites had uniform pore size and high surface area. Textural characteristics of the nanocomposites were affected by the carbonization temperature. The specific area and pore volume increased upon increasing the calcination temperature, while the pore diameter decreased. The infrared emissivity value (8–14 μm) of ordered mesoporous C-AZO was measured by an IR-2 Infrared Emissometer. The results showed that infrared emissivity was as low as 0.39, which exhibited outstanding performance of infrared stealth.

•The composite fiber mats were obtained by coaxial electrospinning technology.•The photocatalytic and antibacterial property of fiber mats were evaluated.•The fiber mats exhibited improved photocatalytic activity and good recyclability.•They showed efficient antibacterial property against both kinds of bacteria.The visible light-responsive photocatalyst Ag-AgBr@Bi20TiO32 exhibited both high photocatalytic activity and antibacterial activity. To achieve the efficient immobilization of Ag-AgBr@Bi20TiO32, coaxial electrospinning technology was adopted to fabricate the novel multifunctional PAN/Ag-AgBr@Bi20TiO32 electrospun fiber mats. The characterization results indicated that the surface of each electrospun fiber was uniformly covered with the Ag-AgBr@Bi20TiO32 photocatalyst. The loaded Ag-AgBr@Bi20TiO32 endowed the composite fiber mats with an excellent photocatalytic activity and recyclability for the degradation of the herbicide isoproturon under visible light irradiation. Meanwhile, it showed efficient antibacterial activity against both the Gram-positive bacteria S. aureus and Gram-negative bacteria E. coli due to the synergistic effect between the silver, which has innate antibacterial activity, and active species, which have a strong oxidation ability, generated on the surface of the photocatalyst. Given the above research results, the flexible PAN/Ag-AgBr@Bi20TiO32 electrospun fiber mats would have potential applications in the water/air purification field and biochemical protective clothing.

Thiol–ene click reaction was employed to synthesize a flexible hydrophilic cellulose sponge. The reactive vinyl group was introduced by silanization treatment with vinyl-trimethoxysilicane (VTMO), and the resulting silylated cellulose sponge (SCS) can be subsequently functionalized with various thiol-containing compounds such as 3-mercaptopropionic acid, via temperature induced thiol–ene reactions. The hydrophilic cellulose sponge thus prepared displayed an excellent mechanical strength of 70 KPa at 80% compression strain. The prepared sponge features hydrophilic and underwater oleophobic properties and was used in gravity-driven removal of oil from oil-in-water emulsions and oil/water mixtures with a high separation efficiency. The separation efficiency remained 100% after 10 cycles for an oil/water mixture and 95% after 6 cycles for an oil-in-water emulsion.

•Nanowire photocatalyst Bi20TiO32 was modified by carbon quantum dots (CQDs).•CQDs/Bi20TiO32 showed much higher photocatalytic activity than pure Bi20TiO32.•The introduction of CQDs accelerated separation of photo-induced charge carriers.•O2− and h+ were the dominant active species to decompose isoproturon.•PAN-CQDs/Bi20TiO32 nanofiber mats exhibited good recyclability and high stability.To achieve the efficient utilization of solar light energy, novel carbon quantum dots (CQDs) modified Bi20TiO32 photocatalysts were prepared with different CQDs contents. The obtained photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, XPS, SEM, HRTEM, photoluminescence (PL) spectra, transient photocurrent and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the CQDs were uniformly deposited on the surface of Bi20TiO32. The as-prepared CQDs/Bi20TiO32 composites were capable of utilizing both the visible and near-infrared light due to the active role of the carbon nanodots as up-converting photo-sensitizers. By the LC–MS-MS analysis, the herbicide isoproturon molecular could be firstly degraded to several intermediates and then completely mineralized. The CQDs/Bi20TiO32 photocatalysts with a CQDs content of 1% exhibited the optimum photocatalytic activity and could degrade 98.1% of isoproturon within 48 h. Its degradation rate constant was approximately 4.3 times higher than that of pure Bi20TiO32. The main active species in the photo-degradation process was h+ and O2−. To further study the recycle ability of CQDs/Bi20TiO32 photocatalyst, the PAN supported CQDs/Bi20TiO32 nanofiber mat was prepared by coaxial electrospinning method. The composite nanofiber materials showed good photocatalytic activity and recyclability, which had potential applications in water/air purification field and biochemical protective clothing.Hierarchical carbon quantum dots/Bi20TiO32 with enhanced photoactivity towards the degradation of isoproturon.Download full-size image

•The flexible fiber membranes were prepared by coaxial electrospinning technique.•CQDs-Bi20TiO32 photocatalyst was uniformly fixed on the surfaces of PAN fibers.•The fiber membranes had high photocatalytic activity for degradation of isoproturon.•The composite fiber membranes exhibited good recyclability.The CQDs-Bi20TiO32 photocatalysts exhibited high visible-light responsive photocatalytic activity. To achieve the cyclic utilization of CQDs-Bi20TiO32, the novel flexible CQDs-Bi20TiO32/PAN fiber membranes were prepared by a simple coaxial electrospinning technique. It was found that the CQDs-Bi20TiO32 photocatalyst could be firmly and uniformly fixed on the surfaces of electrospun fibers and the composite fiber membranes possessed the hierarchical macro- and mesoporous structure. The loaded CQDs-Bi20TiO32 endowed the composite fiber with an obvious photocatalytic activity for the degradation of the herbicide isoproturon under visible light irradiation. Among these samples, S3 at photocatalyst dosage 15 w/v% had the highest degradation efficiency for isoproturon. Meanwhile, the core-shell structured inorganic-organic hybrid fiber membranes have a significant advantage in the recyclability for photocatalyts. The flexible CQDs-Bi20TiO32/PAN electrospun fiber membranes would have potential applications in efficient removal of organic contaminants.Download high-res image (165KB)Download full-size image

•rGO/Bi20TiO32 was prepared by a facile in suit hydrothermal method.•The activity of rGO/Bi20TiO32 was enhanced under visible-light.•rGO/Bi20TiO32 showed strong optical absorption and rapid charge separation.The photocatalytic performance of pure Bi20TiO32 was restricted by the fast charge recombination. Considering the high carrier mobility of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), a series of rGO/Bi20TiO32 composites were successfully fabricated by a facile in suit method with the aim to promote the charge separation. Inspiringly, 2% rGO/Bi20TiO32 composite showed much higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of non-biodegradable Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible-light irradiation, which was 10 times higher than that of pure Bi20TiO32. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of rGO/Bi20TiO32 composites could be attributed to their stronger optical absorption in the visible-light region and rapider separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The underlying photocatalytic mechanism was revealed through the Photoluminescence spectra and free radical capture experiment. This work provided a rational design for the development of high efficient visible-light photocatalysts.

•The infrared stealth cotton fabric was coated by W-doped VO2 as the filler.•The emissivity of coated fabric was 0.752.•The abrupt amount in the emissivity of coated fabric was 0.2 in the phase transition.•The infrared stealth cotton fabric was adaptable to the surroundings spontaneously.The infrared stealth fabric was prepared using W-doped VO2 (M) paints by the coating technology. The thermochromic W-doped VO2 (M) was synthesized through hydrolysis method and two-step calcinations under N2 atmosphere. The powders were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction patterns and differential scanning calorimetry. The infrared emissivity of coated cotton fabric was measured by IR-2 Infrared Emissometer, which was as low as 0.752. The low infrared radiation intensity for coated cotton fabric was detected using the infrared imaging systems above the phase temperature of W-doped VO2 (M). The results indicated that the W-doped VO2 (M) thin films exhibited thermal infrared stealth performance, which could adapt to the surroundings spontaneously.

In the European Community, selected phthalate esters (PE) are restricted in their use for the manufacture of toys and childcare articles. As PE are mainly used as plasticizers for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), a high sensitivity analytical method was developed to determine the PE content in PVC toys by using ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electronic spray mass spectrum (UPLCMS/MS). The LOD of the method is low to the level of ng/L. The method was verified by specificity, linearity, sensitivity, accuracy and precision. This research will provide a useful and convenient way to monitor the production of PVC toys.

This research was primarily focused on investigating the possibility of the production of novel organo-soluble polyamides with coordination metal complex units in the main chain. Using a copper(II) coordination complex as a monomer, a novel Cu(II)-containing polyamide was synthesized by polycondensation with m-phenylenediamine. The obtained polyamide with Cu(II) ions in the main chain had an inherent viscosity of 0.20 dL/g, which indicated that it was a low molecular weight polymer. Then the p-phthalic acid monomer was introduced to the above synthesis system to create a Cu(II)-containing co-polyamide with a higher molecular weight. The subsequent addition of p-phthalic acid resulted in the formation of a series of co-polyamides with different contents of the Cu-complex in the main chain, which had higher inherent viscosity. The structures of the Cu(II)-containing polymers were characterized by ICP and 1H-NMR. The prepared co-polyamides had increased solubility in organic solvents. It also revealed that the UV absorption properties of co-polyamides were enhanced significantly by the incorporation of Cu(II) ions into the polymer chain.