Facile synthesis of a novel BaSnO3/MXene nanocomposite by electrostatic self-assembly for efficient photodegradation of 4-nitrophenol.

Photocatalysis is regarded as one of the most effective strategies for the removal of the toxic organic pollutants from aqueous solutions. However, a lack of the efficient photocatalysts prevents the widespread practical application. Herein, the electrostatic self-assembly method has been designed for facile synthesis of a novel BaSnO3/PDDA/MXene (BSO/P/MX) nanocomposite as high efficient photocatalyst. In this nanocomposite, the BaSnO3 (BSO), poly (dimethyl-diallylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and MXene (Ti3C2Tx) act as the active species, structure stabilizer and efficient electron transfer medium, respectively. Due to the strong synergy of the nanocomposite, the electron-transferring ability as well as the charge separation efficiency is boosted and thus high catalytic activity achieves towards the photodegradation of 4-nitrophenol. The superior degradation rate of 98.8% and a rate constant K of 0.09113 min-1 have been realized within 75 min of ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation over the BSO/P/MX-8% catalyst. This as-prepared nanocomposite with the excellent catalytic activity can be employed as a promising photocatalyst for treating the organic pollutants from aqueous solutions.

A novel WO3/graphene composite using poly(ionic liquid) as a linker for enhanced supercapacitive performance.

WO3 has attracted widespread attention as an important semiconductor for supercapacitors. However, applications of WO3 are limited by its poor performance regarding capacitance and conductivity. In this paper, a novel method is presented for preparing a WO3/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite, based on poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) as a linker. PIL enables a tight contact between WO3 and graphene to exploit the excellent electrical conductivity of graphene. Results of the morphology for the as-prepared WO3/PIL/RGO composite indicate that the WO3 nanoparticles are distributed uniformly on the surface of the RGO. The WO3/PIL/RGO electrode displays a much higher specific capacitance, 316 F g-1 at 1 A g-1, than that of the pure WO3 electrode. Furthermore, WO3/PIL/RGO also has good rate and long cycling performance for supercapacitors, making it a promising electrode material.

Hydrothermal formation of controllable hexagonal holes and Er2O3/Er2O3-RGO particles on silicon wafers toward superhydrophobic surfaces.

In this work, controllable hexagonal holes and distributed Er2O3/Er2O3- graphene particles are fabricated on silicon wafers using a straightforward, hydrofluoric, acid-free, and strong alkali-free hydrothermal method. As long as erbium nitrate hydrate and urea coexist in the reaction mixture, silicon wafers can be synthesized successfully using controllable hexagonal hole structures that are regulated by hydrothermal temperature and the addition of graphene oxide and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide to the reaction mixture. Correspondingly, the wettability of these silicon wafers also is controllable due to the structure that can be changed from hydrophilic (89.3°) to superhydrophobic (153.1°). In short, this work not only provides a simple and nontoxic approach for preparing hexagonal hole structured silicon wafers, but also produces superhydrophobic silicon wafers that potentially can be applied for corrosion-resistant coatings, oil-water separation, and other fields.