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Acetic acid mediated efficient synthesis of ultrahigh-surface-area hierarchical porous carbon from chitosan with very attractive capacitive properties was reported.

Three-dimensional honeycomb-like hierarchical structured carbon was synthesized from high-ash-content sewage sludge and exhibited remarkable specific capacitance and excellent long-term cycling stability for high-performance supercapacitors.In this work we demonstrate that three--dimensional honeycomb--like hierarchical structured carbon (HSC) can be prepared by using high--ash--content sewage sludge as carbon precursor for the first time. The fly--silicon process acts a crucial role in the formation of honeycomb--like hierachical structures. The as--resulted HSC exhibits novel honeycomb--like framework, high specific surface area (2839 m 2 g --1 ), large pore volume (2.65 cm 3 g --1 ), interconnected hierarchical porosity, and excellent electrochemical performance. The high specific capacitance of 379 F g --1 as well as excellent rate capability and outstanding cycling stability (over 90% capacitance retention after 20,000 cycles even at a high current density of 20 A g --1 ), makes it suitable for high--performance supercapacitor electrode materials. The assembled HSC//HSC symmetric supercapacitor presents an enhanced supercapacitive behavior with high energy density of 30.5 Wh kg --1 in aqueous solution. The strategy provides an effective method to achieve high--performance electrode materials derived from other high--ash--content biomass wastes for supercapacitors.

In this paper, we demonstrate that Moringa oleifera branches, a renewable biomass waste with abundant protein content, can be employed as novel precursor to synthesize three-dimensional heteroatom-doped and hierarchical egg-box-like carbons (HEBLCs) by a facile room-temperature pretreatment and direct pyrolysis process. The as-prepared HEBLCs possess unique egg-box-like frameworks, high surface area, and interconnected porosity as well as the doping of heteroatoms (oxygen and nitrogen), endowing its excellent electrochemical performances (superior capacity, high rate capability, and outstanding cycling stability). Therefore, the resultant HEBLC manifests a maximum specific capacitance of 355 F g at current density of 0.5 A g and remarkable rate performance. Moreover, 95% of capacitance retention of HEBLCs can be also achieved after 20 000 charge-discharge cycles at an extremely high current density (20 A g), indicating a prominent cycling stability. Furthermore, the as-assembled HEBLC//HEBLC symmetric supercapacitor displays a superior energy density of 20 Wh kg in aqueous electrolyte and remarkable capacitance retention (95.6%) after 10 000 charge-discharge cycles. This work provides an environmentally friendly and reliable method to produce higher-valued carbon nanomaterials from renewable biomass wastes for energy storage applications.

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Carbon dots (CDs) obtained from rapeseed pollen with a high production yield, good biocompatibility, good water solubility, low cost, and simple synthesis are systematically characterized. They can be directly added to Hoagland nutrient solution for planting hydroponically cultivated Lactuca sativa L. to explore their influence on the plants at different concentrations. By measuring lettuce indices of growth, morphology, nutrition quality, gas exchange, and content of photosynthetic pigment, amazing growth-promotion effects of CDs were discovered, and the mechanism was analyzed. Moreover, the in vivo transport route of CDs in lettuce was evaluated by macroscopic and microscopic observations under UV light excitation. The results demonstrate that pollen-derived CDs can be potentially used as a miraculous fertilizer for agricultural applications and as a great in vivo plant bioimaging probe.

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Toxoplasma gondii genetic diversity varies in different geographical regions. In South America, T. gondii isolates are highly diverse, whereas in North America and Europe, the parasite is highly clonal, with 3 distinct lineage types (I, II, III). However, little is known of the T. gondii genotypes in the People's Republic of China. Because pork is considered the principal meat source for T. gondii infection in China, we conducted a survey to determine the prevalence and genetic diversity of this parasite in pigs from central China. In total, 434 DNA samples were extracted from the hilar lymph nodes of sick pigs in Hubei and Henan provinces in central China, and 34 were T. gondii B1 gene-positive. These T. gondii -positive DNA samples were typed at 10 genetic markers, including 9 nuclear loci, i.e., SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, L358, PK1, c22-8, c29-2, and an apicoplast locus Apico. Of these, 16 isolates could be genotyped with complete data for all loci. Two genotypes were present; one was the clonal type I lineage and the other was previously identified as a widespread lineage from many hosts in China. These results indicate that these 2 genotypes may be the major lineages in China. This is the first report of genetic typing of T. gondii isolates from pigs in central China. The results have implications for the prevention and control of T. gondii infections in humans and other animals.