CO 2 in the air can be efficiently captured with simultaneous activation by PEI ( polyethyleneimine) to form ammonium carbamate and/or carbonate species. Thus, the in situ hydrogenation of captured CO 2 into energy-storage materials rather than going through the desorption of conventional CCS (carbon capture and storage) runs better in comparison with equivalent gaseous CO 2 , thus validating this potential application of CCU (carbon capture and utilization) for supplying renewable energy. PEI 600 as an effective carbon absorbent in this study could also be assumed to serve as both ligand and base to promote the catalytic hydrogenation of captured CO 2 , consequently acting as a 'hinge base' to combine capture and hydrogenation processes. The pathway was studied by NMR and in situ FT-IR spectroscopy under CO 2 pressure. This protocol could open up great potential in transforming the captured CO 2 from waste to fuel-related products. † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: General experimental methods, experimental procedures and results, characterization for absorption and hydrogenation systems, and copies of NMR, in situ FTIR, GC-MS spectra.

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) play important roles in adapting to environments in plants. Despite extensive research on the seasonal dynamics and species differences of NSC, the relative contributions of season and species to NSC is not well understood. We measured the concentration of starch, soluble sugar, NSC, and the soluble sugar:starch ratio in leaves, twigs, trunks and roots of twenty dominant species for dry and wet season in monsoon broad-leaved evergreen forest, respectively. The majority of concentration of NSC and starch in the roots, and the leaves contained the highest concentration of soluble sugar. A seasonal variation in starch and NSC concentrations higher in the dry season. Conversely, the wet season samples had higher concentration of soluble sugar and the sugar:starch ratio. Significant differences exist for starch, soluble sugar and NSC concentrations and the sugar:starch ratio across species. Most species had higher starch and NSC concentrations in the dry season and higher soluble sugar concentration and the sugar:starch ratio in wet season. Repeated variance analysis showed that starch and NSC concentrations were strongly affected by season although the effect of seasons, species, and the interaction of the two on the starch, soluble sugar, and NSC concentrations were significant.

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As a renewable and abundant C1 resource possessing multiple attractive characteristics, such as low cost, nontoxicity, non-flammability, and easy accessibility, CO2 conversion into value-added chemicals and fuels can contribute to green chemistry and sustainable development. Since CO2 is a thermodynamically inert molecule, the activation of CO2 is pivotal for its effective conversion. In this regard, the formation of a transition-metal CO2 complex through direct coordination is one of the most powerful ways to induce the inert CO2 molecule to undergo chemical reactions. To date, numerous processes have been developed for efficient synthesis of cyclic carbonates from CO2 . On the basis of mechanistic understanding, we have developed efficient metal catalysts and green processes, including heterogeneous catalysis, and metal-free systems, such as ionic liquids, for cyclic carbonate synthesis. The big challenge is to develop catalysts that promote the reaction under low pressure (preferably at 1 bar). In this context, bifunctional catalysis is capable of synergistic activation of both the substrate and CO2 molecule, and thus, could render CO2 conversion smoothly under mild conditions. Alternatively, converting CO2 derivatives, that is, the captured CO2 as an activated species, would more easily take place at low pressure in comparison with gaseous CO2 . The aim of this Personal Account is to summarize versatile catalytic processes for cyclic carbonate synthesis from CO2 , including epoxide/CO2 coupling reaction, carboxylation of 1,2-diol with CO2 , oxidative cyclization of olefins with CO2 , condensation of vicinal halohydrin with CO2 , carboxylative cyclization of propargyl alcohols with CO2 , and conversion of the CO2 derivatives.

A taxonomic revision of the genus Cephalotaxus is presented based on taxonomic literature, herbarium specimens and field work. We conclude the genus to contain seven species: C. oliveri, C. fortunei, C. griffithii, C. alpina, C. harringtonii, C. nana and C. hainanensis. We accept C. hainanensis and C. griffithii as separate species and not as synonyms of C. mannii, because type specimens of these taxa are not identical in the shape and size of the leaves. A key to all species, distribution maps and photographs of Cephalotaxus are also provided.

Potassium phthalimide, with weak basicity, is an excellent absorbent for rapid carbon dioxide capture with almost equimolar absorption. This process is assumed to proceed through the potassium carbamate formation pathway, as supported by NMR spectroscopy, an in situ FTIR study, and computational calculations. Both the basicity and nucleophilicity of phthalimide salts have a crucial effect on the capture process. Furthermore, the captured carbon dioxide could more easily be converted in situ into value-added chemicals and fuel-related products through carbon capture and utilization, rather than going through a desorption process.

It is essential to understand how the loss of biodiversity impacts both ecosystem function (EF) and multifunctionality (EMF). Previous studies have mostly focused on predicting how species richness (SR) impacts EMF, while the effect of functional diversity (FD) on EMF remains unclear. Specifically, we know little about the primary functional drivers impacting EMF compared with SR. Therefore, we analysed 8 ecosystem functions within 58 natural secondary forest plots to investigate the effect of FD on both individual EF and EMF. Our results suggest that SR and FD had very significant positive effects on plant phosphorus, soil available phosphorus, and soil total nitrogen. FD explained significantly more variations in these functional responses than SR for individual ecosystem functioning. We also used a multiple threshold approach to test the effect of SR and FD on EMF. We found that FD and SR were positively related to EMF regardless of whether low-level function or high-level function was desired, but FD had a larger effect than SR. Based on the averaging approach, OLS regression, multivariate linear regression model and random forest analysis, we found that SR and FD were both drivers of EMF but that FD had a stronger effect and could explain more variation. As such, we conclude that FD drives ecosystem multifunctionality more than SR.

Tetra-butylphosphonium arginine-based IL able to activate both amino-groups and CO2 proved to be an efficient and recyclable catalyst for the synthesis of quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones from 2-aminobenzonitriles and CO2 under solvent-free conditions.