{"title":"Development of CO2-Responsive Draw Solution for Trace Antibiotic Wastewater Treatment","authors":"Ling Lei, Jiaxiang Wang, Feng Tian, Mingjie Yin, Wentao Wang, Mengna Li, Liangliang Dong","doi":"10.1007/s12209-026-00468-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-026-00468-2","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The detection of trace antibiotics in aquatic environments poses a critical global challenge, threatening both ecological safety and public health. Forward osmosis (FO) membrane separation technology has emerged as a highly efficient approach for purification of trace antibiotics, characterized by high treatment efficiency and low energy consumption. However, challenges inherent to the recycling of draw solutions restrict the development of FO technology. Herein, we report the synthesis and application of a novel CO 2 -responsive SiO 2 @PDEA nanocomposite as a highly recyclable particulate draw solution. This system leverages CO 2 /heat-triggered reversible switching between hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity to enable facile recovery. The 6 wt% SiO 2 @PDEA solution leads to a significantly enhanced water flux ( J w ) to 5.31 LMH (PRO mode), a threefold increase over bare SiO 2 . Crucially, the ratio of reverse solute flux ( J s ) to J w was minimized to 0.015 g/L, providing a substantial cost advantage over inorganic salts. The efficiency of this approach enabled a threefold concentration of tetracycline. Furthermore, the solution demonstrated outstanding cyclic stability with a solute recovery rate consistently exceeding 99% via mild thermal stimulation. These findings demonstrate that SiO 2 @PDEA is an exceptionally efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective draw solution with substantial potential for the practical remediation of trace antibiotic-containing wastewater.","PeriodicalId":23296,"journal":{"name":"Transactions of Tianjin University","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147879808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"MOF-Derived Oxygen-Vacancy-Rich ZrO2/UiO-66-NH2 for Efficient Visible-Light-Driven Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol","authors":"Yan‐Yan Song, Zhichao Sun, Jiamin Sun, Ying‐Ya Liu, Anjie Wang, Chong Peng","doi":"10.1007/s12209-025-00447-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-025-00447-z","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The development of efficient photocatalysts for selective organic transformations under visible light remains a major challenge in sustainable chemistry. In this study, we present a straightforward solvothermal strategy for fabricating a defect-engineered ZrO 2 /UiO-66-NH 2 hybrid material with abundant oxygen vacancies, enabling the visible-light-driven oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde. By optimizing the solvothermal treatment duration, the composite (UiO-66-NH 2 -2 h) achieves a 74.1% conversion of benzyl alcohol with > 99% selectivity toward benzaldehyde under mild conditions, substantially outperforming pristine UiO-66-NH 2 . Structural and mechanistic studies reveal that the solvothermal process induces the in situ formation of ultrasmall, uniformly dispersed ZrO 2 nanoparticles (~ 2.3 nm) within the MOF matrix, while simultaneously generating abundant oxygen vacancies, as confirmed by XPS, EPR, and HRTEM analyses. The defect-mediated electronic structure of the ZrO 2 /UiO-66-NH 2 hybrid enhances visible-light absorption, facilitates charge carrier separation, and promotes efficient activation of O 2 into superoxide radicals (·O 2 − ), the primary reactive species. Transient photocurrent measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy further verify the improved charge separation efficiency. The synergistic interplay between oxygen vacancies and the intimate ZrO 2 /UiO-66-NH 2 interface provides a unique defect-mediated charge transfer pathway, distinguishing this system from conventional heterojunctions. This study demonstrates a facile, one-step approach to integrate defect engineering with interfacial hybridization in MOF-based photocatalysts, offering a scalable route for solar-driven organic synthesis. Graphical Abstract","PeriodicalId":23296,"journal":{"name":"Transactions of Tianjin University","volume":"31 4","pages":"421-435"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12209-025-00447-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147334021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Electron Modulation in Cr-Doped NiFeOOH Enhances Oxygen Evolution Reaction Activity and Stabilizes Cr Dopant","authors":"Xiaorui Huang, Wei Zhang, Liyang Xiao, Chunyan Han, Ying Liu, Jingtong Zhang, Haiwen Tan, Pengfei Yin, Rui Zhang, Cunku Dong, Hui Liu, Xi‐Wen Du, Jing Yang","doi":"10.1007/s12209-025-00434-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-025-00434-4","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract NiFe(oxy)hydroxide (NiFeOOH) has been widely studied as a catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), but its activity is still not satisfactory. Although metal doping has been employed as a promising strategy for addressing this issue, the instability and leaching of the high-valence dopant metals remain considerable challenges. Herein, an array of Cr-doped NiFeOOH nanosheets was in situ synthesized on nickel foam via a one-step hydrothermal method. The doping of NiFeOOH with Cr was found to induce partial electron transfer from Ni and Fe to Cr atoms, thereby modulating the electronic structure of the catalyst and enhancing its intrinsic activity. Electrochemical and in situ Raman spectroscopy analyses showed that Fe active sites with lower charge density enhance the adsorption of *OH and reduce the formation energy barrier of the *OOH intermediate during OER, thereby accelerating the OER. Moreover, Fe was found to promote the transfer of additional electrons to Cr, leading to electron accumulation at Cr sites. This electron accumulation effectively prevents Cr from excessive oxidation and leaching under anode potentials, thereby maintaining the structural stability of the catalyst. The optimized Cr-doped NiFeOOH self-supported electrode exhibited a current density of 50 mA/cm 2 with an overpotential of only 239 mV and remained stable for 100 h at 600 mA/cm 2 in 1 mol/L KOH.","PeriodicalId":23296,"journal":{"name":"Transactions of Tianjin University","volume":"31 3","pages":"292-305"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12209-025-00434-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147334242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shuntai Chi, Chenhui Wang, Jie Liao, Peng Sun, Yuhan Fei, You Han, Jinli Zhang, Jiangjiexing Wu, Wei Li
{"title":"P2–Na0.67Ni0.33Mn0.67–xFexO2 with Superior Na+ Diffusion and Cycle Stability at High Voltage for Sodium-Ion Batteries","authors":"Shuntai Chi, Chenhui Wang, Jie Liao, Peng Sun, Yuhan Fei, You Han, Jinli Zhang, Jiangjiexing Wu, Wei Li","doi":"10.1007/s12209-025-00437-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-025-00437-1","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Aiming at inhibiting the irreversible P2–O2 phase transition of conventional P2-type cathode materials at high voltage and enhancing the cycling stability of sodium-ion batteries, in this article, based on a strategy of adjusting the Na + ion occupancy within the crystal structure, Na 0.67 Ni 0.33 Mn 0.67– x Fe x O 2 (NM– x Fe, x = 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) cathode materials were synthesized by high shear mixer (HSM)-assisted co-precipitation method and evaluated the electrochemical performance at high voltage (4.35 V). The optimal sample NM–0.15Fe exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 130.8 mAh/g (0.1 C), with exceptional retention of 95.9% after 100 cycles (1 C). XRD analysis reveals that Fe intercalation promotes the more amount of Nae-similar occupation; the Nae/Naf ratio equals 1.93 for NM–0.15Fe versus 1.62 for NM, which enhances Na + diffusion kinetics, as confirmed by GITT tests. Through characterizations of in situ XRD, XPS, HRTEM, CV, etc., it is illustrated that the Fe 3+ intercalation can effectively disrupt the Na + /vacancy ordering and inhibit the harmful P2–O2 phase transition, and then improve the cycling stability of the cathode. DFT calculations disclose that intercalated Fe can reduce the electron densities of adjacent transition metallic elements, generating more repulsive forces impacted on sodium and consequently appearance of more Nae sites, leading to a lower Na + diffusion energy barrier. Such strategy of modulating Na occupation sites in crystal structure is conducive to the development of low-cost and high-performance layered cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries.","PeriodicalId":23296,"journal":{"name":"Transactions of Tianjin University","volume":"31 3","pages":"278-291"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147332973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ke Jia, Yanan Zhang, Rui Zuo, Hongbing Lu, Kemeng Ji, Mingming Chen
{"title":"MOF-Derived CoOx–CeO2−y/C Heterojunction Synergistically Promotes the Deposition and Decomposition of Li2S in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries","authors":"Ke Jia, Yanan Zhang, Rui Zuo, Hongbing Lu, Kemeng Ji, Mingming Chen","doi":"10.1007/s12209-025-00430-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-025-00430-8","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The sluggish bidirectional conversion rate between Li 2 S n (2 ≤ n ≤ 4) and Li 2 S, coupled with the uncontrolled deposition of Li 2 S, significantly impedes the realization of high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs). In this study, a metal–organic framework was employed as a precursor for the synthesis of a CoO x –CeO 2− y /C (0 < x < 3/2, 0 < y < 1/2) heterojunction via pyrolysis, which was subsequently introduced onto the cathode side of the polypropylene (PP) separator in LSBs. The modification of CoO x –CeO 2− y /C enhances the kinetics of converting of Li 2 S n to Li 2 S during the discharge process. The Tafel slope for the Li 2 S deposition reaction is reduced to 52.1 mV/dec, representing a 56.6% decrease compared to LSBs with bare PP separator. Conversely, during the charging process, the modification lowers the energy barrier for the Li 2 S decomposition reaction, with the activation energy reduced to 6.12 kJ/mol, indicating a 70.3% decrease relative to LSBs with PP separator only. Consequently, more Li 2 S is promoted to undergo decomposition. The CoO x –CeO 2− y /C heterojunction facilitates uniform deposition of Li 2 S, featuring fine particles and a uniform distribution, after brief potentiostatic charging for decomposition, thereby effectively mitigating the deactivation of sulfur species. Thanks to the enhanced bidirectional conversion of lithium polysulfides (LiPS) facilitated by the CoO x –CeO 2− y /C modification layer, the (−)Li|CoO x –CeO 2− y /C@PP|S(+) coin cell maintains a Coulombic efficiency of 90.4% after 500 cycles at a current density of 1 C, exhibiting a low capacity-decay rate of only 0.081% per cycle, thereby demonstrating excellent long-cycle stability.","PeriodicalId":23296,"journal":{"name":"Transactions of Tianjin University","volume":"31 2","pages":"189-203"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12209-025-00430-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147331607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yizhu Chen, Ang Ma, Lei Chen, Xinyang Liu, Yan Li, Hong Yan, Yushuo Zhang, Yunyi Liu, Lixin Wei, Yudong Li, Siqi Li, Song Liu
{"title":"Accelerating Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia via Weakening of Intermediate Adsorption on Cu-Based Catalyst","authors":"Yizhu Chen, Ang Ma, Lei Chen, Xinyang Liu, Yan Li, Hong Yan, Yushuo Zhang, Yunyi Liu, Lixin Wei, Yudong Li, Siqi Li, Song Liu","doi":"10.1007/s12209-024-00416-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-024-00416-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23296,"journal":{"name":"Transactions of Tianjin University","volume":"30 6","pages":"488-497"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147889800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}