An Electrochemical Sensor for Sunset Yellow Detection Based on Cu@Cu2O-BNPC Formed by Modified Porous Carbon.

Control and detection of sunset yellow (SY) are an utmost demanding issue due to its high risk of detrimental effects on living systems caused by excessive ingestion. In this study, we reported the synthesis of Cu@Cu2O nanoparticle-decorated B and N codoped porous carbon (BNPC) and its use in developing a novel electrochemical sensor for SY. The Cu@Cu2O-BNPC catalyst was fabricated through single-step polymerization, followed by carbonization. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization results showed that Cu@Cu2O anchored on the porous BNPC successfully. Compared with the BNPC-modified electrode, it was found that the Cu@Cu2O-BNPC-modified electrode showed superior electrocatalytic activity in both electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry tests. The as-prepared Cu@Cu2O-BNPC catalyst directly acted as a sensor for amperometric detection of SY without further assembling, which exhibited an ultrahigh sensitivity of 0.09 µA nM-1 cm-2, a low limit of detection (2.4 nM), and a wide linear detection ranging from 10 nM to 8 µM. To further validate its possible application, the proposed method was successfully used for the determination of SY in Fanta drinks with satisfactory results.

HCl-activated porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanopolyhedras with abundant hierarchical pores for ultrafast desalination.

Exploring an emerging carbon-based material with optimized structure and controlled porosity is of significance for further heightening the capacitive deionization (CDI) performance and solving the problem of emergency fresh water supply. Herein, a porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanopolyhedra with hierarchical pores prepared via using zeolite-type metal-organic framework (ZIF-8) as precursor is reported and used for CDI. In order to prepare the nanomaterials with abundant hierarchical pore structure, the synthetic route of carbonization followed by HCl-activation is adopted. The resulting nitrogen-doped carbon materials exhibit a bimodal porosity containing micro- and meso-pores, high specific surface area, and numerous exposed adsorption active sites. The excellent performance in structure ensures the ultrahigh desalination capacity of 37.52 mg g-1 and excellent recyclability (retained 90% over 30 cycles) of the as-prepared carbon electrode material. Notably, the above electrode demonstrates ultrafast desalination rate of 16.01 mg g-1 min-1, which is 2-8 times faster than the conventional carbon materials. This present work may provide a new insight for developing efficient MOF-derived CDI electrode materials and realizing rapid water resource supply in emergencies such as outdoor survival or unexpected natural disasters.

Applications of Metal-Organic Frameworks in Water Treatment: A Review.

The ever-expanding scale of industry and agriculture has led to the gradual increase of pollutants (e.g., heavy metal ions, synthetic dyes, and antibiotics) in water resources, and the ecology and wastewater are grave problems that need to be solved urgently and has attracted widespread attention from the research community and industry in recent years. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a type of organic-inorganic hybrid material with a distinctive 3D network crystal structure. Lately, MOFs have made striking progress in the fields of adsorption, catalytic degradation, and biomedicine on account of their large specific surface and well-developed pore structure. This review summarizes the latest research achievements in the preparation of pristine MOFs, MOF composites, and MOF derivatives for various applications including the removal of heavy metal ions, organic dyes, and other harmful substances in sewage. Furthermore, the working mechanisms of utilizing adsorption, photocatalytic degradation, and membrane separation technologies are also briefly described for specific pollutants removal from sewage. It is expected that this review will provide inspiration and references for the synthesis of pristine MOFs as well as their composites and derivatives with excellent water treatment performance.

catena-Poly[[bis(1H-benzimidazole-kappaN3)(salicylato-kappaO)copper(II)]-mu-salicylato-O,O':O''].

The title compound, [Cu(C7H5O3)2(C7H6N2)2]n, is a one-dimensional polymeric complex bridged by salicylate anions. The Cu(II) atom is surrounded by three salicylate and two benzimidazole ligands, with a tetragonally elongated octahedral coordination geometry. The Cu-O bond distances in the axial directions are 2.6092 (16) and 2.6834 (17) A. pi-pi stacking interactions exist between the benzimidazole rings of neighboring polymeric complex chains.