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Graphene has been regarded as a potential application material in the field of new energy conversion and storage because of its unique two-dimensional structure and excellent physical and chemical properties. However, traditional graphene preparation methods are complicated in-process and difficult to form patterned structures. In recent years, laser-induced graphene (LIG) technology has received a large amount of attention from scholars and has a wide range of applications in supercapacitors, batteries, sensors, air filters, water treatment, etc. In this paper, we summarized a variety of preparation methods for graphene. The effects of laser processing parameters, laser type, precursor materials, and process atmosphere on the properties of the prepared LIG were reviewed. Then, two strategies for large-scale production of LIG were briefly described. We also discussed the wide applications of LIG in the fields of signal sensing, environmental protection, and energy storage. Finally, we briefly outlined the future trends of this research direction.

In this study, a special core–shell structured wool-TiO2 (WT) hybrid composite powder also having TiO2 nanoparticles incorporated inside cortical cells was reported. The wool pallets were pulverized from wool fibers using vibration-assisted ball milling technique and the WT powders having mesopores and macropores were produced in hydrothermal process. Experimental results indicated that the infiltrated TiO2 nanoparticles were amorphous structure, while the coated TiO2 nanoparticles were anatase phase structure. The crystallized TiO2 nanoparticles were grafted with wool pallets by the N−Ti4+/S−Ti4+/O−Ti4+ bonds. The BET surface area was measured as 153.5 m2/g and the particle sizes were in the 600–3600 nm and 4000–6500 nm ranges. The main reactive radical species of the WT powders were holes, and •O2−, 1O2, and •OH were also involved in the photodegradation of MB dye under visible light irradiation. The experimental parameters for photodegradation of MB dye solution were optimized as follows: 0.25 g/L of WT powders was added in 40 mL of 3 mg/L MB dye solution containing 50 mL/L H2O2, which resulted in the increases of COD value of degraded MB dye solution up to 916.9 mg/L at 120 min. The WT powders could be used for repeatedly photodegradation of both anionic and cationic dyes.

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The treatment of wastewater containing heavy metals and the utilization of wool waste are very important for the sustainable development of textile mills. In this study, the wool keratin modified magnetite (Fe3O4) powders were fabricated by using wool waste via a co-precipitation technique for removal of Cu2+ ions from aqueous solutions. The morphology, chemical compositions, crystal structure, microstructure, magnetism properties, organic content, and specific surface area of as-fabricated powders were systematically characterized by various techniques including field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analyzer. The effects of experimental parameters such as the volume of wool keratin hydrolysate, the dosage of powder, the initial Cu2+ ion concentration, and the pH value of solution on the adsorption capacity of Cu2+ ions by the powders were examined. The experimental results indicated that the Cu2+ ion adsorption performance of the wool keratin modified Fe3O4 powders exhibited much better than that of the chitosan modified ones with a maximum Cu2+ adsorption capacity of 27.4 mg/g under favorable conditions (0.05 g powders; 50 mL of 40 mg/L CuSO4; pH 5; temperature 293 K). The high adsorption capacity towards Cu2+ ions on the wool keratin modified Fe3O4 powders was primarily because of the strong surface complexation of –COOH and –NH2 functional groups of wool keratins with Cu2+ ions. The Cu2+ ion adsorption process on the wool keratin modified Fe3O4 powders followed the Temkin adsorption isotherm model and the intraparticle diffusion and pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetic models. After Cu2+ ion removal, the wool keratin modified Fe3O4 powders were easily separated using a magnet from aqueous solution and efficiently regenerated using 0.5 M ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA)-H2SO4 eluting. The wool keratin modified Fe3O4 powders possessed good regenerative performance after five cycles. This study provided a feasible way to utilize waste wool textiles for preparing magnetic biomass-based adsorbents for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions.

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A ternary component photocatalyst composed of amino acids/peptide, Ti 3 C 2 T x , and TiO 2 was created by incorporating peptide chains of wool keratin between T i 3 C 2 T x nanosheets and TiO 2 nanoparticles through the combination of both low-temperature vibration-assisted grinding process for making Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets and hydrothermal synthesis process for producing TiO 2 nanoparticles. The as-obtained amino acid/ peptide-Ti 3 C 2 T x -TiO 2 (P-T-T) composite was further calcined under nitrogen gas protection condition to produce calcined P-T-T composite photocatalysts (CP-T-T). The photocatalytic properties of the control Ti 3 C 2 T x -TiO 2 (T-T), P-T-T, and calcined P-T-T (CP-T-T) composites were evaluated by examining their performance in the photodegradation of C.I. Reactive Blue 194 dye, tetracycline hydrochloride, and levofloxacin antibiotics. First-principles calculations were performed to verify the experimental results. It was concluded that in comparison with the T-T and P-T-T composites, the CP-T-T composite showed a significantly better photocatalytic activity in the decomposition of C.I. Reactive Blue 194. This was ascribed to the large Brunauer−Emmett− Teller (BET) specific surface area, the presence of micropores and mesopores, the narrowed band gap with an internal electric field (IEF), and the intimate contacts among the peptide, Ti 3 C 2 T x , and TiO 2 , which resulted in the fast transfer and separation of charge carriers in the photocatalytic activity of the composite. The P-T-T and CP-T-T composite photocatalysts have shown different photodegradation pathways when degrading the C.I. Reactive Blue 194 dyes. The peptide chains of wool keratin led to the redistribution of the electron accumulation and depletion on the peptide, Ti 3 C 2 T x , and TiO 2 , which changed the direction of IEF in the composite. It is interestingly noted that, when degrading C.I. Reactive Blue 194, the P-T-T composite photocatalysts showed an adsorption-mediated photocatalytic degradation while CP-T-T composite photocatalysts showed an charge transfer-mediated photocatalytic degradation.