Preparation of Aminated Sodium Lignosulfonate and Efficient Adsorption of Methyl Blue Dye.

The aminated sodium lignosulfonate (AELS) was prepared through a Mannich reaction and characterized via FT-IR, TG, SEM and XPS in this study. Subsequently, the adsorption capacity of AELS for methyl blue (MB) was evaluated under various conditions such as pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial concentration and temperature. The adsorption kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamics of AELS for methyl blue were investigated and analyzed. The results were found to closely adhere to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model, suggesting a single-molecular-layer adsorption process. Notably, the maximum adsorption capacity of AELS for methyl blue (153.42 mg g-1) was achieved under the specified conditions (T = 298 K, MAELS = 0.01 g, pH = 6, VMB = 25 mL, C0 = 300 mg L-1). The adsorption process was determined to be spontaneous and endothermic. Following five adsorption cycles, the adsorption capacity exhibited a minimal reduction from 118.99 mg g-1 to 114.33 mg g-1, indicating good stability. This study contributes to the advancement of utilizing natural resources effectively and sustainably.

Zinc Oxide-Loaded Cellulose-Based Carbon Gas Sensor for Selective Detection of Ammonia.

Cellulose-based carbon (CBC) is widely known for its porous structure and high specific surface area and is liable to adsorb gas molecules and macromolecular pollutants. However, the application of CBC in gas sensing has been little studied. In this paper, a ZnO/CBC heterojunction was formed by means of simple co-precipitation and high-temperature carbonization. As a new ammonia sensor, the prepared ZnO/CBC sensor can detect ammonia that the previous pure ZnO ammonia sensor cannot at room temperature. It has a great gas sensing response, stability, and selectivity to an ammonia concentration of 200 ppm. This study provides a new idea for the design and synthesis of biomass carbon-metal oxide composites.

Strong Surface-Bound Sulfur in Carbon Nanotube Bridged Hierarchical Mo2 C-Based MXene Nanosheets for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

In this work, hydroxyl-functionalized Mo2 C-based MXene nanosheets are synthesized by facilely removing the Sn layer of Mo2 SnC. The hydroxyl-functionalized surface of Mo2 C suppresses the shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) through strong interaction between Mo atoms on the MXenes surface and LiPSs. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are further introduced into Mo2 C phase to enlarge the specific surface area of the composite, improve its electronic conductivity, and alleviate the volume change during discharging/charging. The strong surface-bound sulfur in the hierarchical Mo2 C-CNTs host can lead to a superior electrochemical performance in lithium-sulfur batteries. A large reversible capacity of ≈925 mAh g-1 is observed after 250 cycles at a current density of 0.1 C (1 C = 1675 mAh g-1 ) with good rate capability. Notably, the electrodes with high loading amounts of sulfur can also deliver good electrochemical performances, i.e., initial reversible capacities of ≈1314 mAh g-1 (2.4 mAh cm-2 ), ≈1068 mAh g-1 (3.7 mAh cm-2 ), and ≈959 mAh g-1 (5.3 mAh cm-2 ) at various areal loading amounts of sulfur (1.8, 3.5, and 5.6 mg cm-2 ) are also observed, respectively.