Prevention is better than a cure: A 'zero residual nanoadsorbent toxicity' downstream from its effluent exit point.

Here, we offer thoughts concerning a 'zero residual nanoadsorbent toxicity' environmental policy which we strongly advocate. Our discussions in support of this policy are based on the adage 'Prevention is better than cure'. Besides emphasizing the need for strict regulations (regional and international), research and development avenues are highlighted for the technology that can achieve 'zero tolerance' for residual nanoadsorbent levels escaping and building up in receiving ecosystems. We do not oppose nanoadsorbents. On the contrary, their water and wastewater purification potentials are well recognized. However, they should not be permitted to translocate downstream from the exit point of a final effluent.

Experimental Dust Absorption Study in Automotive Engine Inlet Air Filter Materials.

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate the performance of fibrous materials that meet the criteria for inlet air filtration in internal combustion engines. The characteristics of filtration efficiency and accuracy, as well as the characteristics of flow resistance, were determined based on the mass of dust accumulated in the filter bed during the filtration process. Single-layer filter materials tested included cellulose, polyester, and glass microfiber. Multilayer filter media such as cellulose-polyester-nanofibers and cellulose-polyester were also examined. A new composite filter bed-consisting of polyester, glass microfiber, and cellulose-and its filtration characteristics were evaluated. Utilizing specific air filtration quality factors, it was demonstrated that the composite is characterized by high pre-filtration efficiency (99.98%), a short pre-filtration period (qs = 4.21%), high accuracy (dpmax = 1.5-3 µm) for the entire lifespan of the filter, and a 60-250% higher dust absorption coefficient compared to the other tested materials. A filtration composite bed constructed from a group of materials with different filtration parameters can be, due to its high filtration efficiency, accuracy, and dust absorption, an excellent filter material for engine intake air. The composite's filtration parameters will depend on the type of filter layers and their order relative to the aerosol flow. This paper presents a methodology for the selection and testing of various filter materials.

Magnetic separation, sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity, and antibacterial studies of Sm-doped Co0.33Mg0.33Ni0.33Fe2O4 nanoparticles.

Magnetic nanoparticles have emerged as a promising tool for wastewater treatment due to their unique properties. In this regard, Co0.33Mg0.33Ni0.33SmxFe2-xO4 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.08) nanoparticles were prepared to examine their magnetic separation efficiency (MSE), photocatalytic, antibacterial, and antibiofilm performances. Pure nanoparticles, having the highest saturation magnetization (Ms = 31.87 emu/g), exhibit the highest MSE, where 95.6% of nanoparticles were separated after 20 min of applying a magnetic field of 150 mT. The catalytic performance of the prepared samples is examined by the photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) dye exposed to direct sunlight radiation. Improved photocatalytic activity is exhibited by Co0.33Mg0.33Ni0.33Sm0.04Fe1.96O4 nanoparticles, labeled as Sm0.04, where the rate of the degradation reaction is enhanced by 4.1 times compared to pure nanoparticles. Rising the pH and reaction temperature improves the rate of the photodegradation reaction of RhB. The incorporation of 15 wt% reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with Sm0.04 enhanced the rate of the reaction by 1.7 and 2.4 times compared with pure Sm0.04 sample and rGO, respectively. The antibacterial and antibiofilm activities against Escherichia coli, Leclercia adecarboxylata, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecium are assessed by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) broth microdilution, the agar well diffusion, the time-kill assays, the biofilm formation, and destruction assays. The bacteria used in these assessments are isolated from wastewater. The nanoparticles exhibit a bacteriostatic activity, with a better effect against the Gram-positive isolates. Co0.33Mg0.33Ni0.33SmxFe2O4 (x = 0.00) nanoparticles have the best effect. The effect is exerted after 2-3 h of incubation. Gram-positive biofilms are more sensitive to nanoparticles.

Development of a capillary temperature control system for capillary electrophoresis instruments designed for spaceflight applications.

Capillary temperature control during capillary electrophoresis (CE) separations is key for achieving accurate and reproducible results with a broad array of potential methods. However, the difficulty of enabling typical fluid temperature control loops on portable instruments has meant that active capillary temperature control of in situ CE systems has frequently been overlooked. This work describes construction and test of a solid-state device for capillary temperature control that is suitable for inclusion with in situ instruments, including those designed for space missions. Two test articles were built, a thermal mass model (TMM) and a functional model (FM). The TMM demonstrated that temperature gradients could be limited using the proposed control scheme, and that our thermal modeling of the system can be relied on for future adaptations of physical geometries of the system. The FM demonstrated CE analytical performance while under active temperature control and that the device was compatible with the harsh thermal-vacuum environments that might be encountered during space flight.

Separation of microalgae from bacterial contaminants using spiral microchannel in the presence of a chemoattractant.

Cell separation using microfluidics has become an effective method to isolate biological contaminants from bodily fluids and cell cultures, such as isolating bacteria contaminants from microalgae cultures and isolating bacteria contaminants from white blood cells. In this study, bacterial cells were used as a model contaminant in microalgae culture in a passive microfluidics device, which relies on hydrodynamic forces to demonstrate the separation of microalgae from bacteria contaminants in U and W-shaped cross-section spiral microchannel fabricated by defocusing CO2 laser ablation. At a flow rate of 0.7 ml/min in the presence of glycine as bacteria chemoattractant, the spiral microfluidics devices with U and W-shaped cross-sections were able to isolate microalgae (Desmodesmus sp.) from bacteria (E. coli) with a high separation efficiency of 92% and 96% respectively. At the same flow rate, in the absence of glycine, the separation efficiency of microalgae for U- and W-shaped cross-sections was 91% and 96%, respectively. It was found that the spiral microchannel device with a W-shaped cross-section with a barrier in the center of the channel showed significantly higher separation efficiency. Spiral microchannel chips with U- or W-shaped cross-sections were easy to fabricate and exhibited high throughput. With these advantages, these devices could be widely applicable to other cell separation applications, such as separating circulating tumor cells from blood.

Enhancing biodiesel yield and purification with a recently developed centrifuge machine: A response surface methodology approach.

Biodiesel production processes, such as gravity settling, have limitations in terms of biodiesel yield, purification efficiency, operating time in the separation process, and more extensive equipment. Therefore, this study has focused on using a recently developed centrifuge machine for biodiesel separation to address these challenges due to its compact design, high efficiency, and simplicity. Additionally, this study aimed to optimize the separation efficiency of glycerol from biodiesel using a centrifuge machine, employing response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD). The optimum conditions for separating glycerol from biodiesel via centrifuge machine are a rotation speed of 1800 rpm, a mixture flow rate of 192.25 ml/min, and a temperature of 55 °C, respectively. In optimum conditions, 94.52% separation efficiency was achieved. Biodiesel production can be improved, leading to higher yields and greater purity. The utilization of RSM proved valuable in determining the optimum conditions for separation. Furthermore, the machine successfully separated the biodiesel to meet ASTM D6751 and EN 14,214 standards. The results highlight the potential of the centrifuge machine for efficient and reliable biodiesel production, contributing to the advancement of the biodiesel industry.

Preparation of high-efficiency HILIC capillary columns utilizing slurry packing at 2100 bar.

Complex mixture analysis requires high-efficiency chromatography columns. Although reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) is the dominant approach for such mixtures, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) is an important complement to RPLC by enabling the separation of polar compounds. Chromatography theory predicts that small particles and long columns will yield high efficiency; however, little work has been done to prepare HILIC columns longer than 25 cm packed with sub-2 µm particles. In this work, we tested the slurry packing of 75 cm long HILIC columns with 1.7 µm bridged-ethyl-hybrid amide HILIC particles at 2,100 bar (30,000 PSI). Acetonitrile, methanol, acetone, and water were tested as slurry solvents, with acetonitrile providing the best columns. Slurry concentrations of 50-200 mg/mL were assessed, and while 50-150 mg/mL provided comparable results, the 150 mg/mL columns provided the shortest packing times (9 min). Columns prepared using 150 mg/mL slurries in acetonitrile yielded a reduced minimum plate height (hmin) of 3.3 and an efficiency of 120,000 theoretical plates for acenaphthene, an unretained solute. Para-toluenesulfonic acid produced the lowest hmin of 1.9 and the highest efficiency of 210,000 theoretical plates. These results identify conditions for producing high-efficiency HILIC columns with potential applications to complex mixture analysis.

Investigating cationic and zwitterionic successive multiple ionic-polymer layer coatings for protein separation by capillary electrophoresis.

Successive multiple ionic-polymer layers (SMILs) have long since proved their worth in capillary electrophoresis as they ensure stable electroosmotic flow (EOF) and relatively high separation efficiency. Recently, we demonstrated that plotting the plate height (H) against the solute migration velocity (u) enabled a reliable quantitative evaluation of the coating performances in terms of separation efficiency. In this work, various physicochemical and chemical parameters of the SMIL coating were studied and optimized in order to decrease the slope of the ascending part of the H vs u curve, which is known to be controlled by the homogeneity in charge of the coating surface and by the possible residual solute adsorption onto the coating surface. SMILs based on poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) and poly(sodium styrene sulfonate) (PSS) were formed and the effect of each polyelectrolyte molar mass and of the number of polyelectrolyte layers (up to 21 layers) was studied. The use of polyethylene imine as an anchoring first layer was considered. More polyelectrolyte couples based on PDADMAC, polybrene, PSS, poly(vinyl sulfate), and poly(acrylic acid) were tested. Finally, zwitterionic polymers based on the poly(α-l-lysine) scaffold were synthesized and used as the last layer of SMILs, illustrating their ability to finetune the EOF, while maintaining good separation efficiency.

Precise Design of TiO2@CoOx Heterostructure via Atomic Layer Deposition for Synergistic Sono-Chemodynamic Oncotherapy.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT), a tumor treatment modality with high tissue penetration and low side effects, is able to selectively kill tumor cells by producing cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) with ultrasound-triggered sonosensitizers. N-type inorganic semiconductor TiO2 has low ROS quantum yields under ultrasound irradiation and inadequate anti-tumor activity. Herein, by using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to create a heterojunction between porous TiO2 and CoOx, the sonodynamic therapy efficiency of TiO2 can be improved. Compared to conventional techniques, the high controllability of ALD allows for the delicate loading of CoOx nanoparticles into TiO2 pores, resulting in the precise tuning of the interfaces and energy band structures and ultimately optimal SDT properties. In addition, CoOx exhibits a cascade of H2O2→O2→·O2 - in response to the tumor microenvironment, which not only mitigates hypoxia during the SDT process, but also contributes to the effect of chemodynamic therapy (CDT). Correspondingly, the synergistic CDT/SDT treatment is successful in inhibiting tumor growth. Thus, ALD provides new avenues for catalytic tumor therapy and other pharmaceutical applications.

Construction of self-repairing polyethersulfone membrane with high density hydrophilic microregions by two dimensional restricted channels for enhanced dyes/salts selective separation.

Based on the dye/salts separation efficiency and membrane injury caused by serious pollution of dye/salts wastewater, this study constructed a 2D tight ultrafiltration membrane that could both solve the membrane injury problem and improve the dye/salts separation efficiency, the compatibility of good self-healing performance and penetration performance by 2D material magnesium-aluminum Layered double hydroxide (MgAl-LDH). The self-repairing of physical injury was achieved through the swelling effect of AMPS-PAN, this property was proved by permeate flux, the retention performance of salts in dye/salts solution, the comparison of scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the mechanical strength after physical injury. The healing of chemical injury occured through the reaction of CC and polyethersulfone chain breakage, which was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), permeate flux, the retention performance of salts in dye/salts solution, and mechanical property. The high separation efficiency of dye/salts was achieved through 2D material MgAl-LDH, which was proved by separation selectivity ɑ. The compatibility of good self-healing performance and penetration performance was obtained by 2D material MgAl-LDH, which was proved by the penetration and self-healing performance. Morever, the membrane illustrated excellent both permeability and dye/sals separation efficiency, just like the permeate flux, the retention performance of sodium sulfate in methyl blue/sodium sulfate solution, the retention performance of Na2SO4 in methyl blue/Na2SO4 solution, the retention rate of methyl blue were 99.1 L/m2h, 12.5%, 7.9%, 97.7%, respectively. The results of pollution index and contact angle also proved that the membrane had anti-pollution performance.

Flexible, durable, and anti-fouling maghemite copper oxide nanocomposite-based membrane with ultra-high flux and efficiency for oil-in-water emulsions separation.

In this study, we developed a novel nanocomposite-based membrane using maghemite copper oxide (MC) to enhance the separation efficiency of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membranes for oil-in-water emulsions. The MC nanocomposite was synthesized using a co-precipitation method and incorporated into a PVC matrix by casting. The resulting nanocomposite-based membrane demonstrated a high degree of crystallinity and well-dispersed nanostructure, as confirmed by TEM, SEM, XRD, and FT-IR analyses. The performance of the membrane was evaluated in terms of water flux, solute rejection, and anti-fouling properties. The pinnacle of performance was unequivocally reached with a solution dosage of 50 mL, a solution concentration of 100 mg L-1, and a pump pressure of 2 bar, ensuring that every facet of the membrane's potential was fully harnessed. The new fabricated membrane exhibited superior efficiency for oil-water separation, with a rejection rate of 98% and an ultra-high flux of 0.102 L/m2 h compared to pure PVC membranes with about 90% rejection rate and an ultra-high flux of 0.085 L/m2 h. Furthermore, meticulous contact angle measurements revealed that the PMC nanocomposite membrane exhibited markedly lower contact angles (65° with water, 50° with ethanol, and 25° with hexane) compared to PVC membranes. This substantial reduction, transitioning from 85 to 65° with water, 65 to 50° with ethanol, and 45 to 25° with hexane for pure PVC membranes, underscores the profound enhancement in hydrophilicity attributed to the heightened nanoparticle content. Importantly, the rejection efficiency remained stable over five cycles, indicating excellent anti-fouling and cycling stability. The results highlight the potential of the maghemite copper oxide nanocomposite-based PVC membrane as a promising material for effective oil-in-water emulsion separation. This development opens up new possibilities for more flexible, durable, and anti-fouling membranes, making them ideal candidates for potential applications in separation technology. The presented findings provide valuable information for the advancement of membrane technology and its utilization in various industries, addressing the pressing challenge of oil-induced water pollution and promoting environmental sustainability.

Open tubular capillary electrochromatography with dual-responsive polymer as coating for separation of chromones.

Fabricating polymeric coatings that are responsive to multiple/dual stimuli is crucial and remains a major challenge in the development of highly efficient open tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC). In this study, a pH and temperature-responsive block copolymer, poly(styrene-maleic anhydride 2-dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate), P(St-MAn-DMAEMA), was designed and synthesized. Using P(St-MAn-DMAEMA) as the coating, an OT-CEC protocol was constructed for the analysis of chromones. The morphology and hydrophobicity-hydrophilicity of the polymeric coating could change via varying the environmental conditions, affecting the separation efficiency of OT-CEC. Interestingly, the best performance of OT-CEC was achieved at pH 9.7 and 45 °C via tuning the interactions between the coating and the analytes. Additionally, the proposed OT-CEC method exhibited a good linear range for the detection of the three test chromones from 10.0 to 100.0 µM, with all correlation coefficients (R2) >0.997. The coatings also had good stability and reusability. This work provides an approach for the preparation of new multiple-stimuli-responsive polymeric coatings for the establishment of OT-CEC systems.

Numerical Simulation of Membrane Separation Characteristics of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide and Water.

To solve the problem of water carryover in the supercritical CO2 separation and mining process in the CO2 plume geothermal system, a three-dimensional shell-tube hollow fiber membrane absorption separator is designed in this study. A coupled species transport model, a porous medium model, and an absorption mathematical model are established, and the flow field and separation characteristics in the circular and flat tubes are analyzed using numerical simulation. The results show that the membrane separation efficiency increases with an increase in the flatness and membrane tube length. When the inlet velocity of the mixture is 0.1 m/s, the separation efficiency can reach 75.92%. Selecting a smaller flow Reynolds number and a more significant membrane tube flatness will reduce the water mass fraction at the outlet. When adding baffles of different shapes to the membrane tube, the mixture fluid in the membrane tube meanders forward and flows in the shape of "Z" under the blocking effect of the arcuate baffles. With an increase in the number of arcuate baffles in the membrane tube, the membrane separation efficiency of the separator increases continuously. The mixture fluid flows in the membrane tube with the built-in torsional baffles in a spiral manner, and the separation efficiency of the membrane separator increases with a torsion ratio reduction in the membrane tube.

Recovery of residual carbon from coal gasification fine slag by a combined gravity separation-flotation process.

Recovering inner residual carbon is important for fully utilizing coal gasification fine slag (CGFS) resources. In this study, we adopted a combined gravity-separation and flotation process to efficiently recover residual carbon by considering the characteristics of the CGFS and optimizing the operating factors of the process. CGFS is principally a mixture of residual carbon and ash, with low-density particles containing more of the former. Accordingly, residual carbon is preliminarily enriched by gravity separation, in which gas velocity (vg) and water velocity (vw) significantly impact separation efficiency, followed by feed volume (m). The residual carbon in the initial concentrate was preliminarily enriched (i.e., loss on ignition (LOI): 55.90%; combustible recovery (Ro): 72.36%) under appropriate operating conditions (i.e., vw = 0.04 m/s, vg = 3 m/s, m = 150 g). Moreover, the quality of the flotation concentrate was most influenced by collector dosage (mc), followed by aeration rate (η), frother dosage (mf), stirring speed (w), and grinding time (t) during flotation of the primary concentrate. The flotation concentrate exhibited LOI and Ro values of 90.95% and 50.34%, respectively, under the optimal flotation conditions (i.e., mc = 20 kg/t, mf = 15 kg/t, w = 2600 rad/min, η = 200 L/h, t = 360 s); it has a high residual carbon content and is an ideal raw material for preparing fuels or carbon materials.

Ni(II)-doped CuWO4 photoanodes with enhanced photoelectrocatalytic activity.

CuWO4 has emerged in the last years as a ternary metal oxide material for photoanodes application in photoelectrochemical cells, thanks to its relatively narrow band gap, high stability and selectivity toward the oxygen evolution reaction, though largely limited by its poor charge separation efficiency. Aiming at overcoming this limitation, we investigate here the effects that Cu(II) ion substitution has on the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) performance of copper tungstate. Optically transparent CuWO4 thin-film photoanodes, prepared via spin coating and containing different amounts of Ni(II) ions, were fully characterized via UV-Vis spectroscopy, XRD and SEM analyses, and their PEC performance was tested via linear sweep voltammetry, incident photon to current efficiency and internal quantum efficiency analyses. From tests performed in the presence of a hole scavenger-containing electrolyte, the charge injection and separation efficiencies of the electrodes were also calculated. Pure-phase crystalline and/or heterojunction materials were obtained with higher PEC performance compared to pure CuWO4, mainly due to a significantly enhanced charge separation efficiency in the bulk of the material.

Reusable, Stable, Efficient and Multifunctional Superhydrophobic and Oleophilic Polyurethane Sponge for Oil-Water Separation Prepared Using Discarded Composite Insulator.

Oil spills and chemical leakages are a serious source of pollution in oceans and rivers, and have attracted worldwide attention. Many scientists are currently engaged in the development of oil-water separation technology. In this study, the umbrella skirt of a discarded silicone rubber insulator was utilized as feedstock, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was employed to immobilize the prepared powder (FXBW) onto a polyurethane (PU) sponge skeleton. Without any modifications using chemical reagents, a novel oil-water separation material, FXBW-PU, was developed, with a water contact angle of 155.3°. The FXBW-PU sponge exhibited an absorption capacity ranging from 11.79 to 26.59 g/g for various oils and organic solvents, while maintaining an excellent selective adsorption performance, even after undergoing ten compression cycles, due to its exceptional chemical and mechanical stability. With the assistance of a vacuum pump, the FXBW-PU sponge was utilized in a continuous separation apparatus, resulting in a separation efficiency exceeding 98.6% for various oils and organic solvents. The separation efficiency of n-hexane remains as high as 99.2% even after 10 consecutive separation cycles. Notably, the FXBW-PU sponge also separated the dichloromethane-in-water emulsions, which achieved the effect of purifying water. In summary, FXBW-PU sponge has great potential in the field of cleaning up oil/organic solvent contamination due to its low preparation cost, environmental friendliness and excellent performance.

Enhanced oil-water emulsion separation through coalescence filtration utilizing milkweed fiber: a sustainable paradigm.

Over the past few years, the environment and public safety have suffered due to the detrimental effects of oily industrial effluents. Natural fibers have gained popularity for their affordability, reusability, and effectiveness in separating oil from oily wastewater. Milkweed fibers were characterized using FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), and contact angle techniques. With four porosities (0.90, 0.92, 0.95, and 0.98), deep bed coalescence filters were built at three different filter bed heights (10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm). Using milkweed coalescence filtering technology, a novel oil separation method is described along with a method to calculate oil film thickness following emulsified oily water saturation. By combining a bed height of 30 mm and a porosity of 0.98, a maximum oil separation of 99.73% and an optimized D50 droplet ratio were achieved. Throughout a prolonged operational period lasting 250 min, the filter bed, possessing a depth of 30 mm and a porosity of 98%, exhibited no discernible fouling indications. Following five cycles, the milkweed filter bed measuring 30 mm in depth and featuring a porosity of 98% displayed an impressive oil separation efficiency of 91.5%. This study found that using a milkweed deep bed filter, coalescence filtering effectively removes oil from oily effluent. Furthermore, milkweed is a natural and biodegradable fiber that is easy to dispose of after use and does not harm the environment.

Separation performance of hydrocyclone oil removal device influenced by oil droplet trajectory and oil drop characteristics.

Cyclone separation is an effective method for the treatment of oily wastewater from offshore oil production platforms. There is a lack of research on the impact of dispersion on the separation efficiency of current liquid-liquid separation hydrocyclones. A numerical simulation method was used to study the effect of the oil droplet characteristic parameters on the separation efficiency of a hydrocyclone oil removal device. An analysis of the trajectory of oil droplets revealed the oil removal mechanism of the hydrocyclone oil removal device: under the guidance of tangential velocity, the oil-water mixed fluid in the equipment generates different centrifugal forces due to the density difference, so oil and water adopt different flow paths to flow out. The effects of the particle diameter, velocity, and concentration of the inlet oil droplet on the separation efficiency were investigated. The droplet size had a positive effect on the separation efficiency, the oil concentration had a negative effect on the separation efficiency, and the speed of the oil drop was directly proportional to the separation efficiency within a certain range. These studies improved the basis for the efficient application of hydrocyclone oil removal devices.

Device Performance of a Tubular Membrane Dialyzer Incorporating Ultrafiltration Effects on the Dialysis Efficiency.

Membrane dialysis is one of the membrane contactors applied to wastewater treatment. The dialysis rate of a traditional dialyzer module is restricted because the solutes transport through the membrane only by diffusion, in which the mass-transfer driving force across the membrane is the concentration gradient between the retentate and dialysate phases. A two-dimensional mathematical model of the concentric tubular dialysis-and-ultrafiltration module was developed theoretically in this study. The simulated results show that the dialysis rate improvement was significantly improved through implementing the ultrafiltration effect by introducing a trans-membrane pressure during the membrane dialysis process. The velocity profiles of the retentate and dialysate phases in the dialysis-and-ultrafiltration system were derived and expressed in terms of the stream function, which was solved numerically by the Crank-Nicolson method. A maximum dialysis rate improvement of up to twice that of the pure dialysis system (Vw=0) was obtained by employing a dialysis system with an ultrafiltration rate of Vw=2 mL/min and a constant membrane sieving coefficient of θ=1. The influences of the concentric tubular radius, ultrafiltration fluxes and membrane sieve factor on the outlet retentate concentration and mass transfer rate are also illustrated.

Interfacial Engineering by VOx/m-TiO2 Films for Optimizing Photon-Generated Carrier to Boost Photoelectrochemical N2 Conversion to NH3.

Optimal design of the photocathode is crucial and a meaningful approach for regulating many important photoelectrochemical (PEC) reactions. Interfacial engineering is substantiated as an effective tactic for tuning the direction of the internal carrier flow in thin-film semiconductor solar devices. Yet, so far, the type of PV device architecture involving in the interfacial transport layer is less adopted in photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices. Herein, the coupled VOx/TiO2 interfacial engineering brings in the construction of an integrated p-ZnTe hetero-structured photocathode, which was composed of a PN junction constructed with p-ZnTe and CdS, VOx as the interface layer for hole transport, and m-TiO2 as the scaffold layer. Compared with the simple PN structure, the photocathodes with the assembly of interfacial engineering enable advances in the combination of apparent quantum efficiency (AQE: 0.6%) and better yield (6.23 µg h-1 cm-2) on photoelec-N2 conversion to NH3. Interfacial engineering and heterojunction construction effects synergistically optimize photoexcited carriers and the separation and transformation at the interface. This favors easier migration of holes to the back and the assembly of electrons on the surface, achieving the intensive charge separation and surface charge injection efficiency of photogenerated carriers. Our work represents a new enlightenment for building thin-film photocathode architectures to boost the effectiveness on solar-driven utilization.