Direct removal of 99 TcO 4 – from alkaline nuclear waste is desirable because of the nuclear waste management and environmental protection relevant to nuclear energy but is yet to be achieved given that combined features of decent base-resistance and high uptake selectivity toward anions with low charge density have not been integrated into a single anion-exchange material. Herein, we proposed a strategy overcoming these challenges by rationally modifying the imidazolium unit of a cationic polymeric network (SCU-CPN-4) with bulky alkyl groups avoiding its ring-opening reaction induced by OH – because of the steric hindrance effect. This significantly improves not only the base-resistance but also the affinity toward TcO 4 – as a result of enhanced hydrophobicity, compared to other existing anion-exchange materials. More importantly, SCU-CPN-4 exhibits record high uptake selectivity, fast sorption kinetics, sufficient robustness, and promising reusability for removing 99 TcO 4 – from the simulated high-level waste stream at the U.S. Savannah River Site, a typical alkaline nuclear waste, in both batch experiment and dynamic column separation test for the first time.

This review systematically summarizes the preparation strategies of metal–organic frameworks and their derivatives with graphene composites for promising applications in electrocatalysis and photocatalysis.

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In this work, nitrogen-doped LaNiO perovskite was prepared and studied, for the first time, as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxygen cathode in a rechargeable lithium-oxygen battery. N doping was found to significantly increase the Ni contents and oxygen vacancies on the bulk surface of the perovskite, which helped to promote the oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction of the cathode and, therefore, enabled reversible LiO formation and decomposition on the cathode surface. As a result, the oxygen cathodes loaded with N-doped LaNiO catalyst showed an improved electrochemical performance in terms of discharge capacity and cycling stability to promise practical Li-O batteries.

Intraperitoneal adhesions are common and serious complications after surgery. Deposition of proteins and inflammatory response on an injured cecum are the main factors resulting in the formation of adhesion. In this study, purely zwitterionic hydrogels (Z-hydrogels) are developed using thiolated poly­(sulfobetaine methacrylate-co-2-((2-hydroxyethyl)­disulfanyl)­ethyl methacrylate) [poly­(SBMA-co-HDSMA)] as the network backbone and divinyl-functionalized sulfobetaine (BMSAB) as the zwitterionic cross-linker via the thiol–ene click reaction. To improve the anti-inflammatory activity, cefoxitin sodium is loaded into Z-hydrogels (Z/C-hydrogel) to construct the physical barrier/drug system. The gelation time, mechanical behavior, and swelling ratio of the prepared Z-hydrogel can be modulated via adjusting the SBMA/HDSMA ratio in the copolymer. Moreover, they not only exhibit excellent resistance to protein and fibroblast adhesion but also show good biocompatibility and hemocompatibility. To assess its anti-adhesion effects in vivo, the Z-hydrogel is injected on the injured cecum surface using a rat model of sidewall defect-cecum abrasion. The results show that the Z-hydrogel can completely cover the irregular cecum surface and effectively suppress the formation of postoperative adhesion via reducing protein deposition and resisting fibroblast adhesion. Moreover, the introduction of cefoxitin sodium decreases the inflammatory response after surgery, thus further improving the anti-adhesion effect. Overall, we suggest that the Z-hydrogel is a promising candidate for the prevention of a postsurgical peritoneal adhesion.

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