The removal of heavy metals from water is a critical challenge because of their high toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation in biological systems. Adsorption is widely recognised as a cost-effective and efficient treatment method, and equilibrium isotherms are essential for evaluating the performance of adsorbents. Here, the equilibrium isotherms of Pb2+, Cd2+ and Hg2+ adsorbed onto…
In this work, porous copper thin films were prepared by magnetron sputtering (MS) deposition using helium as the process gas. Electron microscopy techniques were used to study the shape, size, amount and distribution of the pores. Working under direct current (DC) or radiofrequency (RF) conditions, enabled to achieve respectively a dense porous or an…
Liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) is a versatile and scalable method for producing high-quality two-dimensional materials (2DMs). However, commonly used solvents such as dimethylformamide (DMF) or N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) are highly toxic, limiting their potential for large-scale industrial applications. In this study, we address this challenge using Cyrene (dihydrolevoglucosenone), a nontoxic and biodegradable solvent, for the exfoliation of several…
Heavy metal contamination is a critical environmental issue, often involving complex multicomponent systems. Swelling brittle micas, a family of designer sorbents, have demonstrated exceptional heavy metal removal capabilities, yet their behabior in competitive adsorption systems remains largely unexplored. This study systematically investigates the simultaneous uptake of Pb2*, Cd2*, and Hg2* on both as-synthesized brittle mica…
Nanofiber mats were fabricated by combining cellulose, xylan, and organosolv lignin. The biopolymers, and a small amount (15 wt. %) of polyethylene oxide, were dissolved in a mixture of trifluoroacetic acid and trifluoroacetic anhydride, then blended in various ratios (keeping cellulose as the main component and changing the proportions of lignin and hemicellulose) and processed…
Oxide-ion conductors based on tetrahedral anion-related oxides have attracted considerable attention due to their high oxygen-ion conductivity and potential applications in clean energy devices, such as solid-state fuel cells. In this study, we report the improvement of oxide-ion conductivity by Sr2+ doping in isolated tetrahedral zircon-type PrVO4. It is found that Pr0.975Sr0.025VO4-delta features the highest…
Cardiovascular mortality remains a major health challenge. Cardiomyocyte (CM)-based tissue engineering (TE) offers promising alternatives for developing therapies via in vitro models. However, the immature phenotype of CM in engineered tissues hampers progress. Recent studies introduce conductive materials like graphene to enhance CM maturation, but conventional graphene synthesis suffers from complexity, toxicity, and low yield.…
Graphene and its composites have attracted much attention for applications in energy storage systems. However, the toxic solvents required for the exfoliation process have hampered the exploitation of its properties. In this work, graphene dispersions are obtained via liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) of graphite in cyrene, an environmentally friendly solvent with solubility parameters like those…
Carbon materials are essential for emerging energy applications and there is a pressing need to be able to produce carbons with controlled properties from sustainable precursors. Iron-catalysed graphitization of biomass is an attractive approach, where simple iron salts are used to convert organic matter to graphitic carbons at relatively low temperature. The choice of iron…
This study investigates the development of porous calcium-based monoliths via freeze-casting (FC) as a novel approach for thermochemical energy storage, particularly within the Calcium Looping (CaL) process. The freeze-casting technique enabled the fabrication of scaffolds with controlled porosity using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a binder. Experimental results demonstrated that freeze-cast monoliths exhibited superior multicycle performance…