Novel ionic liquid-soluble ionic copolymers containing imidazolium ionic liquidlike units have been synthesized. Rhodium nanoparticles stabilized by the ionic copolymer in ionic liquids have been successfully obtained. The nanoparticles showed unprecedented lifetime and activity in arene hydrogenation under forcing conditions (a temperature of 75 degrees C and a hydrogen pressure of 40 bar) with a total turnover (TTO) of 20 000 (in five total recycles of 4000 TTOs each) and a turnover frequency of 250 h-1, demonstrating that the combination of ionic liquids with ionic liquidlike stabilizers is a pathway towards highly stable and active nanoparticle catalysts.

A superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic PVDF membrane (PVDFAH) has been prepared by surface-coating of a hydrogel onto the membrane surface, and its superior performance for oil/water emulsion separation has been demonstrated. The coated hydrogel was constructed by an interfacial polymerization based on the thiol-epoxy reaction of pentaerythritol tetrakis (3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP) with diethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (PEGDGE) and simultaneously tethered on an alkaline-treated commercial PVDF membrane surface via the thio-ene reaction. The PVDFAH membranes can be fabricated in a few minutes under mild conditions and show superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic properties for a series of organic solvents. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis shows that the hydrogel coating was efficient throughout the pore lumen. The membrane shows superior oil/water emulsion separation performance, including high water permeation, quantitative oil rejection, and robust antifouling performance in a series oil/water emulsions, including that prepared from crude oil. In addition, a 24 h Soxhlet-extraction experiment with ethanol/water solution (50:50, v/v) was conducted to test the tethered hydrogel stability. We see that the membrane maintained the water contact angle below 5°, indicating the covalent tethering stability. This technique shows great promise for scalable fabrication of membrane materials for handling practical oil emulsion purification.

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A green facile scalable method inspired by polymeric dental restorative composite is developed to synthesize TiO2/carbon nanocomposites for manipulation of the intercalation potential of TiO2 as lithium-ion battery anode. Poorly crystallized TiO2 nanoparticles with average sizes of 4-6 nm are homogeneously embedded in carbon matrix with the TiO2 mass content varied between 28 and 65%. Characteristic discharge/charge plateaus of TiO2 are significantly diminished and voltage continues to change along with proceeding discharge/charge process. The tap density, gravimetric and volumetric capacities, and cyclic and rate performance of the TiO2/C composites are effectively improved.

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A facile scalable synthesis of TiO2/C nanohybrids inspired by polymeric dental restorative materials has been developed, which creates ultrasmall TiO2 nanoparticles homogeneously embedded in the carbon matrix. The average size of the nanoparticles is tuned between about 1 and 5 nm with the carbon content systematically increased from 0% to 65%. Imaging analysis and a scattering technique have been applied to investigate the morphology of the TiO2 nanoparticles. The composition, nature of carbon matrix, crystallinity, and tap density of the TiO2/C nanohybrids have been studied. The application of the TiO2/C nanohybrids as lithium-ion battery anode is demonstrated. Unusual discharge/charge profiles have been exhibited, where characteristic discharge/charge plateaus of crystalline TiO2 are significantly diminished. The tap density, cyclic capacities, and rate performance at high current densities (10 C, 20 C) of the TiO2/C nanohybrid anodes have been effectively improved compared to the bare carbon anode and the TiO2/C nanohybrids with larger particle size.