Synthesis and Electrocatalytic Performance Study of Sulfur Quantum Dots Modified MoS2.

The electrolysis of water for hydrogen production is currently receiving significant attention due to its advantageous features such as non-toxicity, safety, and environmental friendliness. This is especially crucial considering the urgent need for clean energy. However, the current method of electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen largely relies on expensive metal catalysts, significantly increasing the costs associated with its development. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is considered the most promising alternative to platinum for electrocatalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to its outstanding catalytic efficiency and robust stability. However, the practical application of this material is hindered by its low conductivity and limited exposure of active sites. MoS2/SQDs composite materials were synthesized using a hydrothermal technique to deposit SQDs onto MoS2. These composite materials were subsequently employed as catalysts for the HER. Research findings indicate that incorporating SQDs can enhance electron transfer rates and increase the active surface area of MoS2, which is crucial for achieving outstanding catalytic performance in the HER. The MoS2/SQDs electrocatalyst exhibits outstanding performance in the HER when tested in a 0.5 M H2SO4 solution. It achieves a remarkably low overpotential of 204 mV and a Tafel slope of 65.82 mV dec-1 at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Moreover, during continuous operation for 24 h, the initial current density experiences only a 17% reduction, indicating high stability. This study aims to develop an efficient and cost-effective electrocatalyst for water electrolysis. Additionally, it proposes a novel design strategy that uses SQDs as co-catalysts to enhance charge transfer in nanocomposites.

Effective Removal of Dyes from Wastewater by Osmanthus Fragrans Biomass Charcoal.

The exploration of low-cost, high-performance adsorbents is a popular research issue. In this work, a straightforward method that combined hydrothermal with tube firing was used to produce Osmanthus fragrans biomass charcoal (OBC) from low-cost osmanthus for dye adsorption in water. The study examined the parameters of starting concentration, pH, and duration, which impacted the process of adsorption of different dyes by OBC. The analysis showed that the adsorption capacities of OBC for six dyes: malachite green (MG, C0 = 800 mg/L, pH = 7), Congo red (CR, C0 = 1000 mg/L, pH = 8), rhodamine B (RhB, C0 = 500 mg/L, pH = 6), methyl orange (MO, C0 = 1000 mg/L, pH = 7), methylene blue (MB, C0 = 700 mg/L, pH = 8), and crystalline violet (CV, C0 = 500 mg/L, pH = 7) were 6501.09, 2870.30, 554.93, 6277.72, 626.50, and 3539.34 mg/g, respectively. The pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir isotherm model were compatible with the experimental findings, which suggested the dominance of ion exchange and chemisorption. The materials were characterized by using XRD, SEM, FTIR, BET, and XPS, and the results showed that OBC had an outstanding specific surface area (2063 m2·g-1), with potential adsorption mechanisms that included electrostatic mechanisms, hydrogen bonding, and π-π adsorption. The fact that the adsorption capacity did not drastically decrease after five cycles of adsorption and desorption suggests that OBC has the potential to be a dye adsorbent.

One-Step Synthesis of Ag2O/Fe3O4 Magnetic Photocatalyst for Efficient Organic Pollutant Removal via Wide-Spectral-Response Photocatalysis-Fenton Coupling.

Photocatalysis holds great promise for addressing water pollution caused by organic dyes, and the development of Ag2O/Fe3O4 aims to overcome the challenges of slow degradation efficiency and difficult recovery of photocatalysts. In this study, we present a novel, environmentally friendly Ag2O/Fe3O4 magnetic nanocomposite synthesized via a simple coprecipitation method, which not only constructs a type II heterojunction but also successfully couples photocatalysis and Fenton reaction, enhancing the broad-spectrum response and efficiency. The Ag2O/Fe3O4 (10%) nanocomposite demonstrates exceptional degradation performance toward organic dyes, achieving 99.5% degradation of 10 mg/L methyl orange (MO) within 15 min under visible light irradiation and proving its wide applicability by efficiently degrading various dyes while maintaining high stability over multiple testing cycles. Magnetic testing further highlighted the ease of Ag2O/Fe3O4 (10%) recovery using magnetic force. This innovative approach offers a promising strategy for constructing high-performance photocatalytic systems for addressing water pollution caused by organic dyes.