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Heavy metal ion pollution has been considered a big issue because of the high harmful and destructive effects to human beings. Hydrogel adsorption has received considerable interest in this aspect. However, the challenge still exists because the adsorption process is timeconsuming. Herein, we designed and prepared poly(HPA-co-AA-co-NVP) hydrogels (HPA = hydroxypropyl acrylate, AA = acrylic acid, NVP = N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) via frontal polymerization (FP) for heavy ion removal. By virtue of high reaction rate of FP, the whole process of polymerization could be accomplished within 10 min without further energy. The as-prepared hydrogels exhibited pH sensitivity, excellent self-healing properties (a self-healing efficiency up to 90.9%), and heavy metal ion adsorption behavior. More importantly, we developed a new solar-driven method for rapid ion uptake, where solar energy was used to facilitate the adsorption rate. As compared to general adsorption in water without any treatment, this new solar-driven method provides a great efficient adsorption process toward heavy metal ions, which increases by 6 times. Furthermore, the application in desalination of seawater was also realized by the solar-driven method. This work not only provides a time-saving and low-energy synthesis pathway for multifunctional hydrogels via FP but also gives a new insight into rapid removal of ions by a new solar-driven method.

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Comprehending the corrosion mechanism of magnesium is of major interest in diverse fields. Typically, hydrogen evolution reaction is considered as the only cathodic reaction during Mg corrosion. However, recent works demonstrate importance of considering oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) as a second cathodic process at specific conditions. With oxygen micro-optode, we show that ORR rate was higher on slower corroding ultra-high-purity Mg (UHP-Mg), while lower on faster corroding commercially pure Mg (CP-Mg), where massive hydroxide layer impeded oxygen permeation. These findings shed light on yet another facet of complex mechanism of Mg corrosion.

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