[en] Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The pine needle/rhizosphere soil distribution of PAEs was related to P_L and K_P. • The P_L and K_P determined the PAE deposition to surface soils and to needles. • High regression parameters of log Rs/n − log P_L and log K_P − log P_L were achieved. • Log Rs/n carried the information of K_P and lineally correlated with log P_L. - Abstract: Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are used in many branches of industry and are produced in huge amounts throughout the world. An investigation on particulate- and gas-phase distribution of PAEs has been conducted between January 2011 and December 2012 in Nanjing (China). Masson pine (Pinus massoniana L.) needles and rhizosphere surface soils were sampled from urban to suburban/remote sites, to investigate the pine needle/soil distribution of PAEs. The results showed that the average total PAE concentration (gas + particle) was 97.0 ng m⁻³. The six PAE congeners considered predominantly existed in the gas phase and the average contribution of gas phase to total PAEs ranged from 75.0% to 89.1%. The PAE concentrations in rhizosphere soils and pine needles were positively correlated with their particulate- and gas-phase concentrations, respectively, which suggested that surface soils accumulated PAEs mainly through gravity deposition of particles and pine needle stomata absorbed PAEs mainly from the gas phase. The gas/particle partitioning (K_P) and soil-pine needle ratio (Rs/n) were determined. Experimentally determined K_P values correlated well with the subcooled liquid vapor pressures (P_L). A set of interesting relationships of log Rs/n − log K_P − log P_L was employed to explain the experimental findings of PAEs deposition to surface soils and to needles. This data set offered a unique perspective into the influence that Rs/n played in K_P and correlated with P_L

[en] Highlights: • This work constructs a novel electrochemical biosensor for bisphenol A detection. • Flower-like MoS₂ are prepared by a simple hydrothermal procedure. • AuNPs are assembled on MoS₂ nanoflowers modified electrode for signal amplification. • The developed sensor exhibits low detection limit and wide linear range. - Abstract: Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide are attracting increasing attention in electrochemical sensing due to their unique electronic properties. In this work, flower-like molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) was prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images showed the MoS₂ nanoflower had sizes with diameter of about 200 nm and was constructed with many irregular sheets as a petal-like structure with thickness of several nanometers. A novel electrochemical sensor was constructed for the determination of bisphenol A (BPA) based on MoS₂ and chitosan-gold nanoparticles composites modified electrode. The sensor showed an efficient electrocatalytic role for the oxidation of BPA, and the oxidation overpotentials of BPA decreased significantly and the peak current increased greatly compared with bare GCE and other modified electrode. A good linear relationship between the oxidation peak current and BPA concentration was obtained in the range from 0.05 to 100 μM with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10⁻⁹ M (S/N = 3). The developed sensor exhibited high sensitivity and long-term stability, and it was successfully applied for the determination of BPA in different samples. This work indicated MoS₂ nanoflowers were promising in electrochemical sensing and catalytic applications

[en] Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Antimony adsorption depended on the Sb species, pH, and the type of iron oxides. • Sb(V) adsorption favored at acidic pH, Sb(III) adsorption optimized in wider pH. • Antimony was adsorbed onto the iron oxides by the inner-sphere surface complex. • Bidentate mononuclear (²E) was the dominant form of Sb incorporated into HFO. • XAFS and XPS indicated Sb(III) adsorbed was slowly oxidized to Sb(V). - Abstract: Antimony is detected in soil and water with elevated concentration due to a variety of industrial applications and mining activities. Though antimony is classified as a pollutant of priority interest by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Europe Union (EU), very little is known about its environmental behavior and adsorption mechanism. In this study, the adsorption behaviors and surface structure of antimony (III/V) on iron oxides were investigated using batch adsorption techniques, surface complexation modeling (SCM), X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS). The adsorption isotherms and edges indicated that the affinity of Sb(V) and Sb(III) toward the iron oxides depended on the Sb species, solution pH, and the characteristics of iron oxides. Sb(V) adsorption was favored at acidic pH and decreased dramatically with increasing pH, while Sb(III) adsorption was constant over a broad pH range. When pH is higher than 7, Sb(III) adsorption by goethite and hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) was greater than Sb(V). EXAFS analysis indicated that the majority of Sb(III), either adsorbed onto HFO or co-precipitated by FeCl₃, was oxidized into Sb(V) probably due to the involvement of O₂ in the long duration of sample preservation. Only one Sb–Fe subshell was filtered in the EXAFS spectra of antimony adsorption onto HFO, with the coordination number of 1.0–1.9 attributed to bidentate mononuclear edge-sharing (²E) between Sb and HFO

[en] Highlights: • Synthesis of highly phosphonic acid functionalized benzene-bridged PMOs. • Phosphonic acid loaded PMOs as adsorbent for cationic and anionic dyes. • Due to electrostatic interaction the adsorbent has high dye adsorption capacity. • π–π stacking interaction between benzene and dye enhances adsorption capacity. • Intraparticle diffusion played a dominant role in the adsorption process. - Abstract: Periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) with benzene bridging groups in the silica wall were functionalized with a tunable content of phosphonic acid groups. These bifunctional materials were synthesized by co-condensation of two different organosilane precursors, that is, 1,4-bis(triethoxysilyl)benzene (BTEB) and sodium 3-(trihydroxysilyl)propyl methyl phosphate (SPMP), under acidic conditions using nonionic surfactant Brij-S10 as template. The materials exhibited well-ordered mesostructures and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen sorption, TEM, TGA, FTIR, and solid-state NMR measurements. The materials thus obtained were employed as adsorbents to remove different types of dyes, for example, cationic dyes methylene blue and phenosafranine, anionic orange II, and amphoteric rhodamine B, from aqueous solutions. The materials exhibited a remarkably high adsorption capacity than activated carbon due to their ordered mesostructures, a large number of phosphonic acid groups, and high surface areas. The adsorption was mainly governed by electrostatic interaction, but also involved π–π stacking interaction as well as hydrogen bonding. The adsorption kinetics can be better fitted by the pseudo-second order model. The adsorption process was controlled by the mechanisms of external mass transfer and intraparticle diffusion. The materials retained more than 97% dye removal efficiency after use for five consecutive cycles

[en] Highlights: • Valuable zeolite X has been synthesized from laterite residue and bauxite. • High product purity has been achieved by optimizing the process conditions. • Prepared zeolite X shows comparable gas adsorption properties to commercial ones. • Prepared zeolite X can be used for carbon capture by vacuum swing adsorption. - Abstract: In this work, zeolite X, a benchmark adsorbent for carbon capture, has been successfully prepared from low cost waste minerals namely laterite residue and bauxite using alkali fusion process followed by hydrothermal treatment. The structure and morphology of the as-synthesized zeolite X were verified and characterized with a range of experimental techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electronic microscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The surface area and (N₂ and CO₂) gas adsorption isotherms of this product were found comparable to that of commercial ones, demonstrating the effectiveness of synthesizing zeolite X from laterite and bauxite. Further improvement of the product purity was also accomplished by optimizing the process conditions

[en] Highlights: • CNTs decrease the filtration rate of mussels by as much as 24%. • Metals in CNTs and their δ¹³C can be used to quantify CNTs in biological samples. • Mussels exposed to CNTs deposit high concentrations of them in biodeposits. • CNTs accumulate mainly in gut tissue of mussels during exposure. - Abstract: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the few truly novel nanomaterials and are being incorporated into a wide range of products, which will lead to environmental release and potential ecological impacts. We examined the toxicity of CNTs to marine mussels and the effect of mussels on CNT fate and transport by exposing mussels to 1, 2, or 3 mg CNTs l⁻¹ for four weeks and measuring mussel clearance rate, shell growth, and CNT accumulation in tissues and deposition in biodeposits. We used metal impurities and carbon stable isotope ratios of the CNTs as tracers of CNT accumulation. Mussels decreased clearance rate of phytoplankton by 24% compared with control animals when exposed to CNTs. However, mussel growth rate was unaffected by CNT concentrations up to 3 mg l⁻¹. Based on metal concentrations and carbon stable isotope values, mussels deposited most CNTs in biodeposits, which contained >110 mg CNTs g⁻¹ dry weight, and accumulated about 1 mg CNTs g⁻¹ dry weight of tissue. We conclude that extremely high concentrations of CNTs are needed to illicit a toxic response in mussels but the ability of mussels to concentrate and deposit CNTs in feces and pseudofeces may impact infaunal organisms living in and around mussel beds

[en] Graphical abstract: Organic dyes could be absorbed on the surface of the composite or dispersed in the solution. Sulfate radicals (SO₄·⁻) generated by the synergistic reaction between peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and the composite, attacked the organic functional groups of the dyes molecules both adsorbed on the composite surface and dispersed in the solution, which resulted in the degradation of AO7 dye. - Highlights: • A new composite was synthesized successfully via microwave hydrothermal method. • The complete degradation in the system of FLCN and PMS can be achieved. • The catalytic behavior of FLCN can be reused at least for five times. • The AO7 degradation mechanism in the system of FLCN and PMS was demonstrated. - Abstract: We synthesized a novel magnetic composite, Fe₃O₄/Cu(Ni)Cr-LDH, as a heterogeneous catalyst for the degradation of organic dyes in the solution using sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes. The physicochemical properties of the composite synthesized via two-step microwave hydrothermal method were characterized by several techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The degradation tests were performed at 25 °C with Acid Orange 7 (AO7) initial concentration of 25 mg/L and AO7/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) molar ratio of 1:10, which showed that the complete degradation by Fe₃O₄/Cu_1.5Ni_0.5Cr-LDH could be achieved and the mineralization rate could reach 46%. PMS was activated by Cu (II) and Fe (II/III) of Fe₃O₄/Cu(Ni)Cr-LDH to generate sulfate radicals (SO₄·⁻). Subsequently, the organic functional groups of AO7 molecules were destroyed by sulfate radicals (SO₄·⁻), inducing the degradation of AO7. Moreover, the catalytic behavior of the catalysts could be reused five times. Therefore, our work suggested that the Fe₃O₄/Cu(Ni)Cr-LDH composite could be applied widely for the treatment of organic dyes in wastewater

[en] Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Synthesis of palladium complex of a bidentate ligand of (N, S) type. • Determination of single crystal structure of the complex. • Complex showed excellent activity for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions in water. • TON values up to 93,000 were achieved. - Abstract: 2-(Methylthio)aniline (L1), a bidentate (S,N) ligand synthesized by the reaction of o-aminothiophenol with methyl iodide, on reacting with Na₂PdCl₄ in acetone and water gives a complex [PdL1Cl₂] (1). Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies have revealed that the geometry of palladium in 1 is nearly square-planar and the ligand L1 is bound to the palladium through S and N in a bidentate coordination mode forming a five membered chelate ring. This complex functions as a thermally and air stable catalyst of high efficiency for Suzuki–Miyaura C-C coupling reactions in water. It catalyzes C-C coupling between various aryl bromides and phenylboronic acid under mild reaction conditions in water. TON value up to 93,000 has been obtained

[en] Highlights: • Hydrothermal technology can effectively decompose the liquid crystal of 4-octoxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl. • The decomposition rate reached 97.6% under the optimized condition. • Octoxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl was mainly decomposed into simple and innocuous products. • The mechanism analysis reveals the decomposition reaction process. - Abstract: Treatment of liquid crystal has important significance for the environment protection and human health. This study proposed a hydrothermal process to decompose the liquid crystal of 4-octoxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl. Experiments were conducted with a 5.7 mL stainless tube reactor and heated by a salt-bath. Factors affecting the decomposition rate of 4-octoxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl were evaluated with HPLC. The decomposed liquid products were characterized by GC-MS. Under optimized conditions i.e., 0.2 mL H₂O₂ supply, pH value 6, temperature 275 °C and reaction time 5 min, 97.6% of 4-octoxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl was decomposed into simple and environment-friendly products. Based on the mechanism analysis and products characterization, a possible hydrothermal decomposition pathway was proposed. The results indicate that hydrothermal technology is a promising choice for liquid crystal treatment

[en] Highlights: • Pyrolysis is a technology for recycling of the non-metal fraction of PCBs. • Liquid product constituents were analyzed for PCB pyrolysis. • Water-soluble ionic species were determined for PCB pyrolysis exhaust. - Abstract: Non-metal fractions of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) were thermally treated (200–500 °C) under nitrogen atmosphere. Carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen were determined by elemental analyzer, bromine by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), phosphorus by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), and 29 trace elements by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for raw material and pyrolysis residues. Organic compositions of liquid oil were identified by GC (gas chromatography)–MS, trace element composition by ICP system, and 12 water-soluble ions by IC (ionic chromatography). Elemental content of carbon was >450 mg/g, oxygen 300 mg/g, bromine and hydrogen 60 mg/g, nitrogen 30 mg/g, and phosphorus 28 mg/g. Sulfur was trace in PCBs. Copper content was 25–28 mg/g, iron 1.3–1.7 mg/g, tin 0.8–1.0 mg/g and magnesium 0.4–1.0 mg/g; those were the main metals in the raw materials and pyrolytic residues. In the liquid products, carbon content was 68–73%, hydrogen was 10–14%, nitrogen was 4–5%, and sulfur was less than 0.05% at pyrolysis temperatures from 300 to 500 °C. Phenol, 3-bromophenol, 2-methylphenol and 4-propan-2-ylphenol were major species in liquid products, accounting for >50% of analyzed organic species. Bromides, ammonium and phosphate were the main species in water sorption samples for PCB pyrolysis exhaust