Wearing surgical masks is one of the best protective measures to protect humans from viral invasion during the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. However, wearing surgical masks for extended periods will cause uncomfortable sweltering sense to users and are easy to breed bacteria. Here, we reported a novel fibrous membrane with outstanding comfortability and antibacterial activity prepared by PP ultrafine fiber nonwovens and antibacterial functionalized h-BN nanoparticles (QAC/h-BN). The thermal conductivity of commercial PP nonwovens was only 0.13 W m–1 K–1, but that of the QAC/h-BN/PP nanocomposite fibrous membranes can reach 0.88 W m–1 K–1, an enhancement of 706.5% than commercial PP nonwovens. The surface temperature of commercial PP surgical masks was 31.8 °C when the wearing time was 60 min. In contrast, QAC/h-BN/PP surgical masks can reach 33.6 °C at the same tested time, exhibiting stronger heat dissipation than commercial PP surgical masks. Besides, the antibacterial rates of QAC/h-BN/PP nanocomposite fibrous membranes were 99.3% for E. coli and 96.1% for S. aureus, and their antibacterial mechanism was based on “contact killing” without the release of unfavorable biocides. We think that the QAC/h-BN/PP nanocomposite fibrous membranes could provide better protection to people.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) technology for water splitting has been regarded as one of the most appealing and environmentally friendly approaches to converting light energy into hydrogen energy. The semiconductor material used as the photoelectrode is considered to be the most important factor affecting the efficiency of the PEC system. Bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ), as a n-type semiconductor material, has a wide light absorption range, strong catalytic ability, high stability, and low cost, which makes it one of the most promising candidates as a photoanode material for PEC water splitting. Since the first report of BiVO 4 , tremendous efforts have been devoted to exploring different strategies for the synthesis and structural modification of BiVO 4 to enhance its PEC performance, which has led to remarkable progress in recent years. This review attempts to summarize such considerable progress of BiVO 4 for PEC water splitting, mainly focusing on the synthetic methods and modification strategies. In the end, the personal perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of this promising material are proposed.

Plasmonic photocatalysis for CO 2 reduction is attracting increasing attention due to appealing properties and great potential for real applications. In this review, the fundamentals of plasmonic photocatalysis and the most recent developments regarding its application in driving CO 2 reduction are reported. Firstly, we present the review on the mechanism of plasmonic photocatalytic CO 2 reduction, the energy transfer of plasmon, and the CO 2 reduction process on the catalyst surface. Then, the modulation on the plasmonic nanostructures and also the semiconductor counterpart to regulate CO 2 photoreduction is discussed. Next, the influence of the core-shell structure and the interface between the plasmonic metal and semiconductor on the CO 2 photoreduction performance is also outlined. In addition, the latest progress on the emerging direction regarding the plasmonic photocatalysis for methane dry reforming with CO 2 is especially emphasized. Finally, a summary on the challenges and prospects of this promising field are provided.

No abstract

This investigation was devoted to exploring the application performance of nano‐combustion catalyst CuCr2O4 in solid propellants. In this paper, raw CuCr2O4 and nano‐CuCr2O4 prepared by the mechanical grinding method were applied in solid propellants containing ammonium perchlorate (AP), which are ammonium perchlorate/ hydroxy‐terminated polybutadiene propellant (AP/HTPB) and ammonium perchlorate/composite modified double‐base propellant (AP/CMDB). And the scanning electron microscope, displacement volume method, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and strand burner method were employed to characterize the performance of AP‐based solid propellants. The results show that the AP/HTPB propellant has fewer defects on the surface of it due to the presence of nano‐CuCr2O4, but it has no significant effect on the AP/CMDB propellant. Nano‐CuCr2O4 can also significantly increase the density of AP/HTPB propellant and AP/CMDB propellant to 1.736 g/cm3 and 1.633 g/cm3, respectively. Nano‐CuCr2O4 obviously advances the decomposition temperature of AP/HTPB propellant and AP/CMDB propellant, which also increases the apparent heat of decomposition. In addition, the burning rate of nano‐CuCr2O4‐AP/HTPB propellant and nano‐CuCr2O4‐AP/CMDB propellant increased to 1.60 mm/s and 3.23 mm/s, with an increase of 28.3 % and 26.3 %, respectively. Therefore, nano‐CuCr2O4 is expected to be widely used in solid propellants due to its excellent properties.