Advanced Sustainable Systems最新文献

Surface plasmon resonance in metal nanostructures is a promising method for enhancing solar water splitting and hydrogen production. Tunable plasmons offer a transformative approach for designing plasmonic semiconductor photoelectrodes with improved solar-to-chemical energy conversion efficiency. Materials such as metal oxides, chalcogenides, and non-noble metals are particularly well-suited for achieving tunable plasmonic properties. These materials are abundant, cost-effective, and have a broad plasmonic response, making them ideal for large-scale renewable energy applications. Localized surface plasmon resonance in these materials is often induced by doping, which increases free-carrier concentrations and enhances their interaction with solar radiation. The electronic band structures and optical properties of these materials can be finely tuned through advanced synthetic methods and nanoscale structural engineering. Such modifications improve light absorption, charge carrier dynamics, and interfacial catalysis, collectively boosting solar energy capture and conversion into chemical energy. This review explores the fundamental mechanisms of hot-carrier generation and evaluates the potential of tunable plasmon-based photoelectrodes in solar water splitting. It provides a scientific foundation for the rational design of next-generation plasmonic systems for efficient energy conversion. This interdisciplinary field combines insights from plasmonics, surface chemistry, and nanomaterials science, highlighting its importance in developing sustainable energy solutions.

Sodium Ion Batteries

In their Research Article (10.1002/adsu.202500867), Daegun Kim, Giwon Lee, and co-workers introduce a facile and scalable strategy to enhance sodium-ion battery anodes by magnetically aligning 2-dimensional tetragonal FeS nanoflakes during slurry casting. The alignment increases porosity and reduces tortuosity, significantly improving Na⁺ ion transport. Out-of-plane orientation preserves electrode structure under compression and boosted rate capability, achieving a 90% capacity improvement at 1 C, offering practical advances for high-performance energy storage.

Carbon Nanotubes

In their Research Article (10.1002/adsu.202500698), Masahiro Funahashi, Shohei Horike, and co-workers enable the simultaneous development of stable p- and n-type thermoelectric carbon nanotube films through one-shot potential application in an electrolyte with bicyclic guanidinium superbase cation. The cover design illustrates the adsorption of electrolytes onto the nanotubes as counter ions, stabilizing the p- and n-doped states.

The European Commission prioritizes addressing environmental issues like agrobiodiversity loss within a thriving bioeconomy's defossilization. This study investigates eight native European herbaceous flowering wild plant species (WPS) like common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) and wild teasel (Dipsacus fullonum L.) as co-substrates for pellet combustion, aiming for more biodiversity-friendly bioenergy cropping systems. A long-term field trial in southwest Germany examined dry matter (DM) yield and biochemical composition's influence on combustion properties for these WPS and two common bioenergy crops, Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus Greef et Deuter) and Sida (Sida hermaphrodita L. var. Rusby), over two growing seasons. All eight WPS showed suitable combustion properties, comparable to Sida, with significantly higher ash melting temperatures than Miscanthus. This is largely attributed to elevated calcium (5.6–15.3 mg g⁻¹ DM) and magnesium (0.6–2.4 mg g⁻¹ DM) contents. A consistent WPS biomass composition is suggested by no significant year effect. Additionally, lower SO₂ and HCl fugacity indicated more environmentally friendly combustion than Miscanthus. However, only a few WPS matched Miscanthus's high DM yield (6.0–12.3 Mg ha⁻¹). This underscores the need for broader WPS investigation to find effective combined solutions for bioenergy and rural environmental protection.

The development of high-performance anode materials is critical to overcoming the limitations of conventional graphite in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), particularly its low theoretical capacity and sluggish kinetics. MoS₂ with high theoretical capacity and layered structure has emerged as a promising alternative, yet its practical application is hindered by poor conductivity, severe volume expansion, and nanosheet aggregation. While strategies such as heteroatom doping and nano-structural engineering have been explored, challenges in scalability, interfacial stability, and synthesis complexity persist. Herein, a Ni/Co co-doped MoS₂ hollow nanocubic anode designed to synergistically address these limitations is reported. The incorporation of Ni and Co atoms enhances electronic conductivity and introduces dual redox-active sites, while the hollow architecture mitigates mechanical stress from volume changes and provides abundant active surfaces. This unique configuration enables efficient Li⁺ diffusion, robust structural integrity, and reduced charge transfer resistance. The optimized material delivers a high reversible capacity of 1174.2 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹, exceptional rate capability (409.7 mAh g⁻¹ at 2 A g⁻¹), and cyclic cyclability with 64.2% capacity retention after 150 cycles.

Soil degradation, driven by anthropogenic activities, has led to heavy metal pollution. These heavy metals harm the soil structure, physiology, and biota. It is examined how biochar influences the structure, hydrology, microbiological activity, and enzyme function in heavy-metal-contaminated soils. Key factors include soil type, biochar composition, metal immobilization effectiveness, and the mechanisms involved, such as sorption, desorption, and redox reactions in contaminated soil. Biochar offers sustainable advantages for heavy metal immobilization, though its efficacy depends on soil characteristics like pH and physiochemical and biological properties. Further, sorption/desorption and redox reactions have been playing a vital role in governing the immobilization of heavy metals within soils. Collectively, the findings indicate that biochar provides an effective and sustainable solution for the restoration of heavy-metal-contaminated soils by enhancing metal immobilization and protecting soil ecosystems. This review provides insights into cost-effective, and ecofriendly biochar-based optimization for soil recoveries. This review synthesizes current evidence on biochar's efficacy, cost-efficiency, and environmental performance in improving soil health and agricultural productivity. Moreover, this review highlights the potential of biochar and bacteria-based strategies for enhancing soil health and agricultural productivity while providing insights into optimizing remediation processes for site-specific conditions.

Hydrazine (N₂H₄) is a highly toxic and strongly reducing compound extensively used in aerospace propulsion and industrial synthesis, necessitating its real-time detection essential for environmental and occupational safety. Here, an electrohydrodynamic printing (EHDP) strategy is reported to fabricate a uniform poly(3-hexylthiophene)-SnO₂ (P3HT-SnO₂) composite sensing film for room-temperature hydrazine sensing. Structural characterizations reveal homogeneous dispersion of ≈4 nm SnO₂ quantum dots (QDs) on the P3HT matrix and the formation of interface P-N heterojunctions. The P3HT-SnO₂ sensor delivers a remarkable response of 1550% toward 15 ppm N₂H₄, an ultralow detection limit of 500 ppb, excellent selectivity against common interfering gases (CO, H₂, CO₂, and C₂H₅OH), and long-term performance over 90 days. Compared with drop-cast films, the EHDP-printed devices exhibit superior uniformity, tunable thickness, and significantly enhanced response and recovery kinetics, arising from increased active sites, optimized morphology, and accelerated gas adsorption–desorption dynamics. Mechanistic investigations indicated that N₂H₄ molecules donate electrons, reducing hole density in P3HT and expanding the depletion region at the P3HT-SnO₂ interface, thereby amplifying the resistance change. These results establish EHDP-printed P3HT-SnO₂ hybrid films as a robust platform for highly sensitive, selective, and stable hydrazine detection at room temperature, offering a promising route toward advanced toxic hydrazine gas sensors.

The capture, utilization, and storage of CO₂ are the primary options to minimize the adverse effects of global warming and related climate change resulting from increased anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. In recent years, amino acids and amino acid-based ionic liquids (AAILs) are proposed as promising alternatives to the traditional aqueous amine solvent-based CO₂ capture technology due to the presence of the ─NH₂ group and a CO₂ adsorption mechanism like amines, but with many additional advantages. Besides CO₂ absorption in solvent form, amino acids/AAILs-functionalized porous sorbents demonstrate potential in CO₂ adsorption technology, a promising alternative to solvent-based CO₂ absorption technology, as they can avoid the huge energy penalty associated with aqueous solution regeneration by heating. Additionally, amino acids/AAILs, with their CO₂ capture abilities, have demonstrated their potential in other promising CO₂ sequestration technologies: direct air capture, CO₂ mineralization using alkaline industrial waste, and conversion of CO₂ into value-added products. This article reviews the mechanism, comparative performance, and prospects of amino acid-based state-of-the-art technologies for CO₂ absorption and adsorption, direct air capture, bio-mineralization, and conversion of CO₂ into value-added products, which is helpful for the further development of amino acid-based CO₂ sequestration technologies.