Green ChemistryPub Date : 2026-07-06Epub Date: 2026-06-18DOI: 10.1039/d6gc00757k
Bo Zhang, Zecheng Gong, Tao Shen, Ming Li, Feng Long, Lu Chen, Li Shuai, Lei Ji, Xiaolei Zhang, Hanjie Ying, Chenjie Zhu
{"title":"Regioselective synthesis of lignin-derived dianilines for high-performance polyurethane-urea elastomers","authors":"Bo Zhang, Zecheng Gong, Tao Shen, Ming Li, Feng Long, Lu Chen, Li Shuai, Lei Ji, Xiaolei Zhang, Hanjie Ying, Chenjie Zhu","doi":"10.1039/d6gc00757k","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6gc00757k","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Primary anilines, especially dianilines, are the fundamental building blocks in the field of fine chemicals and materials. Lignin is an abundant renewable aromatic compound resource in nature; its high-value utilization plays a crucial role in enhancing the economic feasibility of biorefinery. Efficient production of dianilines from lignin is highly desired, but extremely challenging. In this study, an innovative strategy for the sustainable production of dianilines from lignin-derived phenolic monomers was reported. Regioselective synthesis of , and <em>via</em> a Smiles rearrangement–condensation sequence or a condensation–Smiles rearrangement sequence was systematically compared. The hitherto unconsidered isomerization and acid-catalyzed cleavage mechanism among , and was reported. The “stepwise amination” process was proposed for the Smiles rearrangement of bisphenols according to density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Furthermore, the lignin-derived , and were applied as sustainable chain extenders in the manufacture of polyurethane-urea elastomers and their effects on the properties of the polymers were investigated. Lignin-derived exhibited superior mechanical properties compared to the traditional petroleum-based dianiline chain extenders methylene diphenylamine (MDA) and 4,4′-methylene-bis-(2-chloroaniline) (MOCA), suggesting the application potential of lignin-derived dianilines in the field of materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":78,"journal":{"name":"Green Chemistry","volume":"28 26","pages":"Pages 11135-11146"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148545613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Green ChemistryPub Date : 2026-07-06Epub Date: 2026-06-05DOI: 10.1039/d6gc01875k
Niamh Disney, Laura Marraffa, Mert Can Ince, Philipp Natho, Marco Colella, Gianvito Vilé, Marcus Baumann, Renzo Luisi
{"title":"A novel and sustainable continuous-flow approach for atom deletion and insertion by electrophilic nitrogen transfer","authors":"Niamh Disney, Laura Marraffa, Mert Can Ince, Philipp Natho, Marco Colella, Gianvito Vilé, Marcus Baumann, Renzo Luisi","doi":"10.1039/d6gc01875k","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6gc01875k","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electrophilic nitrogen transfer has emerged as a prominent approach in skeletal editing tactics to surgically modify molecular core structures by nitrogen atom insertion, deletion or transmutation. Despite rapid progress in the development of these methodologies, wider adoption is hindered by challenges associated with scale-up and requirement for transformation-dependent re-optimization of reaction conditions. We herein disclose a sustainable continuous-flow protocol, which unifies several skeletal editing tactics leveraging electrophilic nitrogen transfer. We demonstrate that this protocol is applicable to nitrogen atom insertion, deletion, nitrile formation and aziridination. We furthermore evaluate the sustainability parameters of our continuous-flow protocol compared to state-of-the-art batch protocols through a currently unprecedented life cycle assessment and technoeconomic analysis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":78,"journal":{"name":"Green Chemistry","volume":"28 26","pages":"Pages 11000-11009"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148545664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Regulating interfacial proton transfer via Mo-induced hydrated K+-H2O networks in CoP@CoMoO4 heterojunction for enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution","authors":"Bingbing Qiu, Banglong Shen, Junhao Dai, Donghui Zhang, Yanfang Wang, Huaqiang Chu, Fucong Lyu","doi":"10.1039/d6gc02036d","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6gc02036d","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While transition metal phosphides (TMPs) such as CoP show promising intrinsic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), their performance in alkaline media is often hampered by the high energy barrier for water dissociation and insufficient proton supply. Recent advances highlight that enriching the proportion of cationic hydrated water (K<sup>+</sup>-H<sub>2</sub>O) at the catalyst interface can effectively soften the interfacial hydrogen-bond network and accelerate water migration, offering a promising strategy to enhance HER kinetics and overcome the challenges in TMPs. Herein, we deliberately engineered a CoP@CoMoO<sub>4</sub> heterojunction catalyst aimed at elevating the local concentration of K<sup>+</sup>-H<sub>2</sub>O near the active CoP sites. <em>Operando</em> surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy directly confirms a significant rise in K<sup>+</sup>-H<sub>2</sub>O at the heterointerface under working conditions. Density functional theory calculations further reveal that the heterointerface induces favorable electronic reconstruction and modulates the coordination environment, while Mo sites guide the transport of protons from interfacial water <em>via</em> K<sup>+</sup>-H<sub>2</sub>O complexes to adjacent Co active centers. This targeted interfacial restructuring enables the CoP@CoMoO<sub>4</sub> catalyst to achieve an overpotential of only 59 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> and a low Tafel slope of 43 mV dec<sup>−1</sup> in 1 M KOH. Our work not only confirms that increasing K<sup>+</sup>-H<sub>2</sub>O population is an effective design principle for alkaline HER catalysts, but also provides a mechanistic blueprint for engineering efficient heterointerfaces through interfacial water control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":78,"journal":{"name":"Green Chemistry","volume":"28 26","pages":"Pages 11253-11261"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148545690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Green ChemistryPub Date : 2026-06-29Epub Date: 2026-06-12DOI: 10.1039/d6gc02352e
Yaya Sun , Yujiao Bi , Xuming Liu , Xiuyan Ren , Qin Zhang , Xin Liu
{"title":"Solvent-free all-bio-based underwater adhesives featuring degradability and closed-loop recycling","authors":"Yaya Sun , Yujiao Bi , Xuming Liu , Xiuyan Ren , Qin Zhang , Xin Liu","doi":"10.1039/d6gc02352e","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6gc02352e","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bio-based adhesives show significant promise for biomedical, tissue-engineering, and electronic-packaging applications, yet developing a solvent-free, degradable, and closed-loop recyclable all-bio-based underwater adhesive remains a formidable challenge. In this study, an all-bio-based solvent-free, degradable and closed-loop recyclable underwater adhesive was designed <em>via</em> a dynamic covalent polymer-empowered plant protein adhesive strategy. The PTA-Zein adhesive was successfully synthesized through ethanol evaporation-induced ring-opening polymerization of thioctic acid (TA) in the presence of zein. The underwater adhesive demonstrated outstanding adhesion performance, reusability, long-term stability, solvent resistance, and low-temperature resistance. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that zein enhanced cohesive energy and interfacial adhesion energy. Furthermore, life cycle assessment showed that this adhesive emitted merely 0.84 kg CO<sub>2</sub>-eq. per kg, significantly lower than conventional urea–formaldehyde and phenolic resins, with complete soil degradation within 27 days. Notably, the adhesive can be applied to fabricate green wooden building materials, which showed a flexural strength of 3.52 MPa and an impact resistance of 510.89 N. This work provides valuable insights into the development of sustainable bio-based solvent-free adhesive materials for advancing next-generation eco-friendly bonding materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":78,"journal":{"name":"Green Chemistry","volume":"28 25","pages":"Pages 10604-10615"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148336707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Green ChemistryPub Date : 2026-06-29Epub Date: 2026-05-29DOI: 10.1039/d6gc01918h
Xinping Zhang , Jieyu Zhou , Jie Zhang , Xiangyuan Gu , Huiru Wang , Shunyu Zhao , Feifan Luo , Ye Ni
{"title":"Stereoselective decarboxylation of β-functionalized carboxylic acids enabled by engineered fatty acid photodecarboxylase","authors":"Xinping Zhang , Jieyu Zhou , Jie Zhang , Xiangyuan Gu , Huiru Wang , Shunyu Zhao , Feifan Luo , Ye Ni","doi":"10.1039/d6gc01918h","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6gc01918h","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Here, light-driven fatty acid photodecarboxylase (<em>Cv</em>FAP) was engineered to broaden its substrate scope for the stereoselective decarboxylation of β-functionalized carboxylic acids, producing chiral carboxylic acids and chiral amines/alcohols. Initially, saturation mutagenesis was performed at V463, a residue within 5 Å of the substrate, which was identified by AFISHED scanning (AFISHED: seven representative amino acids ). Two beneficial variants, V463T and V463A, were obtained, showing 210% and 150% increases, respectively, in yield over wild-type (WT) <em>Cv</em>FAP in the stereoselective decarboxylation of a medium-chain substrate, 10 mM β-hydroxydecanoic acid. Molecular dynamics simulations and interaction analysis reveal that the distance between the substrate and FAD cofactor in the above variants is 1.41–1.56 Å shorter than in the case of WT, due to microperturbation-induced “hydrogen bond network remodeling”. Moreover, clustering analysis reveals that for the short-chain substrate β-hydroxyhexanoic acid, the (<em>R</em>)-isomer preferentially forms an intramolecular hydrogen bond, facilitating the proper anchoring of the carboxyl group within the active site. This mechanism explains the strict enantioselectivity of <em>Cv</em>FAP, as evidenced by achieving (<em>S</em>)-2-pentanol in 99% ee with V463A. Furthermore, the photostability of <em>Cv</em>FAP was proven to be a vital factor influencing its activity. This work expands the catalytic scope of <em>Cv</em>FAP toward the decarboxylation of β-hydroxy carboxylic acids with varying chain lengths and provides a promising strategy for the further resolution of β-functionalized carboxylic acids and synthesis of chiral chemicals by utilizing renewable solar energy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":78,"journal":{"name":"Green Chemistry","volume":"28 25","pages":"Pages 10631-10641"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148336649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sustainable and selective carbene insertion into N–H bonds with a copper-bound recyclable surfactant under micellar conditions†","authors":"Shalini Kumari , Tanupriya Singh , Rajan Yadav , Pritesh Keshari , Susanta Hazra","doi":"10.1039/d6gc01787h","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6gc01787h","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of recyclable and water-stable catalysts for sustainable carbene transfer reactions remains challenging due to limited control over reactive intermediates in aqueous media. Herein, we report that micelles enable efficient and selective carbene insertion into the N–H bond using a recyclable copper catalyst under aqueous micellar conditions. We designed a next-generation non-ionic surfactant that forms a micellar nanoreactor to stabilise Cu(<span>i</span>) species and carbene intermediates and enables highly selective carbene insertion into N–H bonds in water under mild conditions. The reactions were performed in an aqueous micellar medium at room temperature (25 °C), avoiding conventional chlorinated solvents, and demonstrated broad substrate scope, including late-stage modification of drug molecules. The system is readily scalable, as demonstrated by 3 gram-scale surfactant synthesis and 1 g-scale catalytic reactions. Importantly, the micellar medium and the organic solvents (EtOAc or MTBE) used for product extraction can be easily recycled multiple times with minimal loss of activity. Therefore, we achieved an <em>E</em>-factor and process mass intensity (PMI) of 0.42 and 1.42, respectively, highlighting their practical utility. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) analysis of the crude product indicates minimal copper leaching (0.45 ppm), well within the acceptable limits of the International Council for Harmonisation-Guideline for Elemental Impurities (Revision 2) for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Additionally, spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, such as UV-vis spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, ESI-MS, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), fluorescence spectroscopy and time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) investigations, reveal that the micellar environment protects Cu(<span>i</span>) from oxidation while promoting the formation of micelle-confined Fischer-type copper–carbene intermediates within the micellar core, offering fundamental insight into reactivity under nanoconfinement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":78,"journal":{"name":"Green Chemistry","volume":"28 25","pages":"Pages 10472-10482"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148336689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Green ChemistryPub Date : 2026-06-29Epub Date: 2026-06-09DOI: 10.1039/d6gc02782b
Haifei Jiang , Zhihua Ye , Xiaohui Gao , Yuhan Wang , Xinyi He , Cong Lin , Liang Shen
{"title":"Photoinduced iron-catalyzed LMCT enables propargylic C(sp3)–H activation to access polysubstituted α-bromoenones","authors":"Haifei Jiang , Zhihua Ye , Xiaohui Gao , Yuhan Wang , Xinyi He , Cong Lin , Liang Shen","doi":"10.1039/d6gc02782b","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6gc02782b","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>α-Bromoenones are highly valuable scaffolds with broad synthetic utility in organic synthesis. Conventional approaches to access these important motifs mostly rely on pre-functionalized substrates, stoichiometric electrophilic halogenating agents (<em>e.g.</em>, X<sub>2</sub>, NXS, HX), and nucleophilic oxygen sources (<em>e.g.</em>, DMSO, <em>N</em>-oxides), often suffering from poor atom economy, limited substrate scope, and inadequate stereocontrol. Therefore, the development of sustainable methods for the synthesis of α-bromoenones from simple, readily available starting materials remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report a photoinduced iron-catalyzed ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT)/hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) strategy that enables direct propargylic C(sp<sup>3</sup>)–H functionalization of internal alkynes using atmospheric O<sub>2</sub> as the sole oxygen source and terminal oxidant. The reaction proceeds <em>via</em> bromine radical-mediated hydrogen atom transfer, followed by O<sub>2</sub> trapping and iron-assisted oxygenation, delivering a broad range of α-bromoenones with excellent stereoselectivity (>20 : 1 <em>Z</em>/<em>E</em>). A bipyridine ligand plays a crucial role in directing the radical pathway and ensuring high geometric purity. This protocol represents the first example of propargylic C–H activation <em>via</em> iron-LMCT photocatalysis, operating under mild, oxidant-free conditions with minimal waste generation. The combination of O<sub>2</sub> as a green oxidant and ZnBr<sub>2</sub>/FeBr<sub>3</sub> as an atom-economic nucleophilic bromine source (100% atom utilization) underscores the alignment of this method with key green chemistry principles, including atom economy, waste minimization, and the use of sustainable reagents.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":78,"journal":{"name":"Green Chemistry","volume":"28 25","pages":"Pages 10675-10681"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148336714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Green ChemistryPub Date : 2026-06-29Epub Date: 2026-06-11DOI: 10.1039/d6gc01248e
Hao-Cong Li , Qiyan Lv , Kai Sun , Jinquan Wang , Zhong-Yan Cao , Xiao-Lan Chen , Lingbo Qu , Bing Yu
{"title":"Ionic liquid photocatalysts in organic transformations","authors":"Hao-Cong Li , Qiyan Lv , Kai Sun , Jinquan Wang , Zhong-Yan Cao , Xiao-Lan Chen , Lingbo Qu , Bing Yu","doi":"10.1039/d6gc01248e","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6gc01248e","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ionic liquids (ILs), as one of the most attractive functional materials in recent decades, have been widely used in many fields due to their unique physicochemical properties. ILs are composed of organic cations and inorganic/organic anions, which determine their high degree of designability. Especially in the field of chemical catalysis, ideal catalysts can be precisely designed according to their high degree of designability. In the past few decades, ILs have been extensively studied as catalysts in the field of thermal catalysis, while there are few reports on ILs in photocatalytic organic synthesis. In this review, we systematically summarize the recent advances of ionic liquids as photocatalysts in organic synthesis, focusing on elucidating the role of ILs in photocatalytic reactions. According to the different mechanisms of ILs in photoreactions, they are divided into three categories: (1) ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT)-type ILs; (2) single electron transfer (SET)-type ILs; (3) hydrogen atom transfer (HAT)-type ILs. We hope that this review can provide a prospective overview of this topic and stimulate research interest.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":78,"journal":{"name":"Green Chemistry","volume":"28 25","pages":"Pages 10335-10349"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148336662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Green ChemistryPub Date : 2026-06-29Epub Date: 2026-05-20DOI: 10.1039/d6gc00608f
Gabriel Toneto Druzian , Mariele Samuel Nascimento , Altevir Rossato Viana , Thiago Castanho Pereira , Fabio Andrei Duarte , Yang Tao , Erico Marlon Moraes Flores
{"title":"Green extract-mediated synthesis of metallic nanoparticles assisted by ultrasound: a critical review for environmental applications","authors":"Gabriel Toneto Druzian , Mariele Samuel Nascimento , Altevir Rossato Viana , Thiago Castanho Pereira , Fabio Andrei Duarte , Yang Tao , Erico Marlon Moraes Flores","doi":"10.1039/d6gc00608f","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6gc00608f","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this review, the use of green extracts and ultrasound (US) for the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) for environmental applications is described, covering studies published from 2015 to 2025. Currently, the synthesis of MNPs constitutes a consolidated field of research, with strategic interest for companies and for environmental applications. Although well-established, traditional synthetic methods for MNPs often have limitations, including the use of potentially toxic reagents and high energy consumption which are not environmentally friendly. In response, green chemistry approaches based on plant extracts have emerged as sustainable alternatives that minimize the consumption of hazardous reagents, aligning with the principles of green chemistry. US has emerged as an efficient and suitable alternative for MNP production, presenting advantages over existing methods. The synergistic integration of plant extracts with US not only accelerates reaction kinetics, but also improves the nanoparticle stability, crystallinity, and size distribution compared to conventional methods. In this review, the advances in green synthesis are discussed, highlighting the contribution of plant extracts to the reduction and stabilization of MNPs and the synergistic role of US in enhancing the synthesis efficiency. The mechanisms underlying nanoparticle formation are discussed, and the key US parameters (frequency, amplitude, acoustic power density, and application time) that influence particle characteristics were evaluated. Furthermore, this review highlights the main environmental applications of MNPs and critically examines current challenges and future prospects in the field. The goal is to provide a valuable and comprehensive reference to support and guide future research and technological developments involving green synthetic routes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":78,"journal":{"name":"Green Chemistry","volume":"28 25","pages":"Pages 10383-10408"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148336665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Green ChemistryPub Date : 2026-06-29Epub Date: 2026-06-09DOI: 10.1039/d6gc00454g
Meng Li , Shao-Fei Sun , Fuyuan Lu , Wei He , Jieping Jia , Dan Sun , Runcang Sun
{"title":"Green initiator-free hydrogel electrolytes with lignin-assisted ionic networks for high-performance flexible supercapacitors at subzero temperatures","authors":"Meng Li , Shao-Fei Sun , Fuyuan Lu , Wei He , Jieping Jia , Dan Sun , Runcang Sun","doi":"10.1039/d6gc00454g","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6gc00454g","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Supercapacitors are widely used in flexible and wearable electronic devices due to their high safety and excellent cycling stability. However, conventional hydrogel electrolytes suffer from a severe decline in flexibility, adhesion, and ion-transport capability under extreme environments, drastically compromising the electrochemical and mechanical performance of supercapacitors. Herein, we develop an anti-freezing hydrogel electrolyte without an initiator, which integrates excellent stretchability (∼1280%), strong adhesion (∼2.4 MPa on wood), and broad environmental adaptability. Addition of sodium lignosulfonate resulted in a high ionic conductivity (36.45 mS cm<sup>−1</sup>). These merits originate from not only abundant dynamic interactions (hydrogen bonding and electrostatic coupling) but also efficient ion pathways enabled by Zn<sup>2+</sup> coordination with charged functional groups. Meanwhile, strong O–H⋯F coordination between Zn(BF<sub>4</sub>)<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>O effectively depresses ice crystallization, enabling the electrolyte to remain flexible and maintain 0.86 mS cm<sup>−1</sup> conductivity at −40 °C. Additionally, a supercapacitor assembled with BLAD has an operating voltage window of 0–2 V and exhibits high energy-storage efficiency across −30 to 50 °C. At 25 °C and 0.7 A g<sup>−1</sup> (0–2 V), the supercapacitor delivers a high specific capacitance of 161.8 F g<sup>−1</sup> and an energy density of 89.9 Wh kg<sup>−1</sup>. It maintains excellent electrochemical performance, achieving a specific capacitance of 87.3 F g<sup>−1</sup> and an energy density of 48.5 Wh kg<sup>−1</sup> at −20 °C and 0.7 A g<sup>−1</sup> (0–2 V). The supercapacitor demonstrates excellent rate capability and cycling stability at low temperatures, with a capacitance retention of over 70% after 2500 cycles (0–1 V) and a coulombic efficiency of 99.7%. Notably, a single device can reliably power a digital timer under both ambient and sub-zero conditions, highlighting its robust practicality for all-weather wearable applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":78,"journal":{"name":"Green Chemistry","volume":"28 25","pages":"Pages 10483-10495"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148336690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}