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Specific detection or imaging protein has high potential to contribute greatly to medical diagnosis, biological research, and therapeutic applications. The level of human serum albumin (HSA) in blood is related to a variety of diseases and thus serves as an important biomarker for fast clinical diagnosis. Here we report the use of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) based supramolecular assembly to design biomolecular responsive smart organic nanomaterials for detection protein HSA. The designed nanoprobes were aggregates of small molecules and silent in fluorescence, but in the presence of HSA they disassembled and produced a clear turn-on fluorescent signal. Of a small library of nanoprobes constructed for HSA detection, structure-optical signaling and screening studies revealed that nanoprobe 7 is the most efficient one. Mechanism studies showed that nanoprobe 7 was bonded with Site I of HSA through the multiple noncovalent interactions. The resultant restriction of intramolecular rotation of nanoprobe 7 in the hydrophobic cavity of HSA induced fluorescent emission, which was validated by competitive binding assays and molecular docking. More importantly, nanoprobe 7 was successfully applied to recognize and quantify HSA in human serum samples. This study demonstrates nanoprobe 7 is a promising tool for clinical real and fast detection of HSA and thus may find many applications, and the molecular assembly based on AIE also opens a new avenue for designing smart nanomaterials for the sensitive and selective detection for varied analytes.

An ideal oil/water separation membrane should possess the characteristics of high flux and separation efficiency, recyclability, as well as good mechanical stability. Herein, a facile method is applied to fabricate a Janus polylactic acid (PLA) fibrous membrane for efficiently separating surfactant-stabilized oil/water mixtures. The Janus PLA fibrous membrane architecture was prepared by electrospinning a PLA/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) fibrous membrane and the subsequent electrospinning of a PLA/SiO2 nanofluids (nfs) membrane onto one side of the PLA/CNTs fibrous membrane. Due to the strong electrostatic interaction between SiO2 nfs and CNTs, synchronous enhancement and plasticization of PLA fibrous membranes were achieved, which was far superior to that reported in the literature. The introduction of CNTs had caused an upshift of the hydrophobicity of the PLA/CNTs fibrous membrane (water contact angle (WCA) > 140°). In contrast, SiO2 nfs bearing long-chain organic anions and cations located onto the surface of the fibers during electrospinning to achieve superhydrophilicity (WCA ≈ 0°). Benefiting from completely opposite wettability on both sides of the Janus membrane, the obtained asymmetric Janus membranes exhibited a high flux (1142–1485 L m–2 L–1) and excellent oil/water separation efficiency (>99%), which were superior to those reported for other Janus membranes. Furthermore, the Janus membranes showed desirable flux recovery without any treatment (>80% for water-in-oil emulsions and >90% for oil-in-water emulsions, respectively, after 11 cycles), showcasing promising applications for water treatment in the future.

Spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) typically contain a combination of both strategic materials and toxic chemicals that cannot be easily disposed. Nowadays, that are many different methods used to treat spent LIBs with the primary aim of critical metals recovery; nevertheless, as a result of the toxic chemicals within the battery waste, the chemical composition and potential danger of the off-gases generated during recycling process have become a serious concern. In an attempt to further understand the characteristics of the off-gases that are emitted from spent LIBs cathodes during thermolysis process, a system of thermogravimetry−differential thermal analysis coupled with mass spectrometry equipped with skimmer-type interface and with electron ionization (TG-DSC-EI-MS) has been employed to qualitatively analyze the generated off-gases. Based on the obtained observations, it was confirmed that inorganic gases of H 2 , H 2 O, CO 2 , gaseous hydrocarbons, and fluoride-containing gases were generated. Moreover, the off-gas species and relative yield of the individual gases formed were found to be significantly affected by the thermolysis temperature under different atmospheric conditions. From the combined results from TG-DSC-EI-MS, thermogravimetric differential scanning calorimetry analysis (TG-DSC), chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the correlation between the evolution characteristics of the gas emissions and thermolysis behavior of the cathodes from spent LIBs has been established. The availability of this type of quantitative data is useful when undertaking environmental assessments and for the design of off-gas management systems for spent LIBs recycling processes.

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