A waste biomass based hydrogel soybean residue-poly(acrylic acid) (SR-pAA) was prepared through a fast one-step reaction by UV radiation technology. SR-pAA was used to remove cd(ii) and pb(ii) ions from aqueous solutions. Effect of pH value, temperature, initial concentration, contact time, competitive ions in the solutions on metal ions adsorption and desorption/regeneration capacity of SR-PAA was discussed in detailed. It was found that the adsorption equilibrium was achieved within 20 min, and maximum adsorption for Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions were 1.43 and 2.04 mmol g −1 , respectively. Besides, adsorption thermodynamic analysis indicates that the process of cd(ii) and pb(ii) ions adsorption was spontaneous, feasible and exothermic in nature. And experimental data fitted the pseudo-second-order and freundlich isotherm model well. Moreover, XpS spectra analysis proves that the metal ions were adsorbed on SR-pAA due to the interaction of carboxyl, hydroxyl and amine with these ions as ionic bond, coordination bond and electrostatic interaction. Increasing industrialization has brought great challenges to the environment. Like China, many countries face more and more enormous environmental problems, especially water pollution caused by heavy metal ions 1-3. Among various heavy metals, Cd(II) and Pb(II) have strong toxicity, which can damage to animals and human bodies seriously though the food chain. The report from United States Environmental Protection Agency showed that cadmium can cause respiratory cancers, for example, lung carcinoma 4 , and lead can cause cognitive dysfunction in children, hypertension, immune system and reproductive system diseases 5. Consequently, it is particularly necessary to remove the heavy metal ions from the wastewater before discharge it into the environment. Adsorption is a common method to remove various heavy metal ions from the wastewater. Many kinds of adsorbents, including activated carbon 6 , inorganic minerals 7 , biomass adsorbents 8-10 , and polymer 11-14 , are used to remove the metal ions from the wastewater. Metal ions adsorption capability of an adsorbent is mainly controlled by the surface active sites (functional groups such as carboxyl, hydroxyl, amino and hydrosulphonyl) of the adsorbent 15. The metal ions that contact with the adsorbent surfaces may be attached to the surfaces of the adsorbent according to physical or chemical interaction. Then those metal ions can be adsorbed on the adsorbent by ion exchange, coordination interaction, electrostatic interaction and physical adsorption, which are considered to be the main mechanism of most adsorbents to remove metal ions. In particular, it has been reported that the group of carboxyl, hydroxyl and amino are extremely advantageous to the metal ions removal from various aqueous solutions 6,9,16-19. Hence, many researchers are interested in the functional groups modified adsorbents to enhance the capability of metal ions removal. However, an efficient, low-cost, easily obtained and environmental friendly adsorbent is ve...

In order to achieve the reutilization of waste biomass soybean dregs, a low-cost hydrogel, soybean dregs–poly(acrylic acid) (SESD–PAA) was prepared through a one-step reaction.

Conducting polymers (CPs) have been widely studied for electrochemical energy storage. However, the dopants in CPs are often electrochemically inactive, introducing “dead‐weight” to the materials. Moreover, commercial‐level electrode materials with high mass loadings (e.g., >10 mg cm−2) often encounter the problems of inferior electrical and ionic conductivity. Here, a redox‐active poly‐counterion doping concept is proposed to improve the electrochemical performance of CPs with ultra‐high mass loadings. As a study prototype, heptamolybdate anion (Mo7O246−) doped polypyrrole (PPy) is synthesized by electro‐polymerization. A 2 mm thick PPy electrode with mass loading of ≈192 mg cm−2 reaches a record‐high areal capacitance of ≈47 F cm−2, competitive gravimetric capacitance of 235 F g−1, and volumetric capacitance of 235 F cm−3. With poly‐counterion doping, the dopants also undergo redox reactions during charge/discharge processes, providing additional capacitance to the electrode. The interaction between polymer chains and the poly‐counterions enhances the electrical conductivity of CPs. Besides, the poly‐counterions with large steric hindrance could act as structural pillars and endow CPs with open structures for facile ion transport. The concept proposed in this work enriches the electrochemistry of CPs and promotes their practical applications.

A fast, highly efficient, and ecofriendly extraction method using deep eutectic solvents (DESs) for mechanochemical extraction (MCE) was developed to extract bioactive compounds from plants. Tea leaves containing bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, and catechins were used to evaluate this method. Dozens of DESs and DESs/water mixtures were systematically studied and optimized to select optimized extraction conditions. The results showed that the extractions can be completed within 20 s. Moreover, the developed extraction method is more ecofriendly, faster, gentler, and more efficient than conventional methods. For many compounds, we could simply use the described method without optimization. On the other hand, the target compounds were extracted with various interferences because of the wide ranging high extraction efficiency. Ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled with highresolution mass spectrometry was therefore used for qualitative and quantitative analysis to characterize the efficiency for individual compounds. To avoid the negative effect of DESs on chromatographic separation, the analytical performances of this method, including reproducibility (RSD, n = 5), correlation of determination (r 2 ), and the limit of detection, were determined.

NH4+ ions as charge carriers show potential for aqueous rechargeable batteries. Studied here for the first time is the NH4+‐storage chemistry using electrodeposited manganese oxide (MnOx). MnOx experiences morphology and phase transformations during charge/discharge in dilute ammonium acetate (NH4Ac) electrolyte. The NH4Ac concentration plays an important role in NH4+ storage for MnOx. The transformed MnOx with a layered structure delivers a high specific capacity (176 mAh g−1) at a current density of 0.5 A g−1, and exhibits good cycling stability over 10 000 cycles in 0.5 M NH4Ac, outperforming the state‐of‐the‐art NH4+ hosting materials. Experimental results suggest a solid‐solution behavior associated with NH4+ migration in layered MnOx. Spectroscopy studies and theoretical calculations show that the reversible NH4+ insertion/deinsertion is accompanied by hydrogen‐bond formation/breaking between NH4+ and the MnOx layers. These findings provide a new prototype (i.e., layered MnOx) for NH4+‐based energy storage and contributes to the fundamental understanding of the NH4+‐storage mechanism for metal oxides.

Xanthine oxidase (XOD) and paraoxonase 1 (PON1) are important enzymes in redox reactions in vivo, and are predominantly synthesized by the liver. The aim of the present study was to investigate the redox state in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and determine the association between the activities of XOD and PON1 and the severity of NAFLD. Sprague‑Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, model and α‑lipoic acid (high and low dose) groups. The rats in the NAFLD model were induced by feeding a high fat diet for 12 weeks and the in vitro cell model of hepatocyte steatosis was induced by treating L‑02 cells with oleic acid for 24 h. The body weight, liver function, lipid and oxidative stress indices, and histological features of the liver were examined in the rats. Compared with the control group, the rats in the NAFLD model group showed impaired liver function, lipid disorders and damage from oxidative stress. The serum activity of XOD increased significantly from the 4th week and was markedly higher, compared with that in the control group, reaching a peak in the 12th week. The activity of PON1 was negatively correlated with that of XOD. Compared with the control cells, the activity of XOD and levels of free‑fatty acids were significantly higher, and the activity of PON1 was significantly lower in the NAFLD L‑02 cell model. All the above indicators were significantly improved by treatment with the antioxidant, α‑lipoic acid. The activities of XOD and PON1 may be promising as markers in a noninvasive approach for detecting the severity of NAFLD clinically. α‑lipoic acid had protective effects on the NAFLD rats, and the potential mechanism may be associated with the inhibition of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation.

The ultrahigh N content (∼24%) induced by the low-temperature treatment boosts the pseudocapacitance for carbonaceous materials.

Co-doped FeS 2 composites were successfully synthesized through a facile microwave-hydrothermal process. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, and Raman spectroscopy. Cobalt doping didn't change the basic structure of pyrite FeS 2 . But the spherical FeS 2 product changed into some aggregated laminar particles. The Co-doped FeS 2 product exhibited higher absorption in visible-light region and the photocatalytic performance was greatly enhanced. The Co 0.333 Fe 0.667 S 2 product could decompose 48.9 % methylene blue within 210 min, which was 36.5 % higher than that of the pristine FeS 2 .