Overlooked Impact of Amorphous SiO in Biochar Ash on Cadmium Behavior during the Aging of Ferrihydrite-Biochar-Cadmium Coprecipitates.

The formation and transformation of ferrihydrite-cadmium (Fh-Cd) coprecipitates play a critical role in controlling the mobility and bioavailability of Cd in soils. However, the impact of biochar particles (BCs), which are widely applied to agricultural soils, on the transformation of metastable Fh-Cd coprecipitates remains unclear. Herein, we investigated Cd behavior during the aging of Fh-BCs-Cd coprecipitates synthesized by using different BCs: pristine BC, graphitized BC (BC), BC enriched with oxyl groups (BC), and ash-removed BC (BC).

Phase Engineering of Atomically Dispersed Fe-Doped Amorphous RuO Nanosheets via Amorphous-Amorphous Transition for Oxygen Activation.

Amorphous nanomaterials with identical compositions can possess distinct atomic structures, which significantly influence their performance, underscoring the importance of phase engineering in amorphous nanomaterials. However, the high Gibbs free energy and complex structures associated with their disordered atomic arrangements pose a significant challenge to the phase engineering of amorphous nanomaterials. Herein, we achieved phase engineering of atomically dispersed Fe-doped amorphous RuO nanosheets (A-Fe/RuO NSs) through amorphous-amorphous transition strategies.

Iron, Sulfur, and Carbon Dynamics Collectively Regulate the Fate of Cadmium over the Sulfidation-Reoxidation Cycle.

Cadmium bioavailability is sensitive to redox fluctuations, with its fate linked to the coupled dynamics of Fe, S, and C. This study examines the behavior of Cd-loaded ferrihydrite (Fh) with/without organic matter (OM) undergoing S(-II)-induced reduction followed by O-induced reoxidation. During sulfidation, S(-II) was fully consumed, and Fh was partially reduced to Fe(II) species, with some OM released from the Fh surface.

Boosted chlorate hydrogenation reduction via continuous atomic hydrogen.

Chlorate (ClO) is a common toxic oxyanion pollutant from various industrial processes, and hydrogenation reduction of ClO by atomic hydrogen (H*) is a promising and effective method. Therefore, more efforts are needed to rationalize the design of catalytic active sites for H activation to boost ClO hydrogenation reduction. In this work, superior H activating capabilities were achieved for efficient ClO reduction on a porous graphene-based bimetallic catalyst (RuPd/PG).

Irradiation and DOM mediate lead release from polyvinyl chloride microplastics in natural surface water.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a widely used plastic, but the potential risk of heavy metal additive release from PVC microplastics (MPs) has not been fully explored. This study evaluates the release of lead (Pb) from recycled PVC MPs under natural conditions. The released Pb concentration in the dark was 1079.

Membraneless Electrochemical Synthesis Strategy toward Nitrate-to-Ammonia Conversion.

Electroreduction of nitrate (NORR) to ammonia in membraneless electrolyzers is of great significance for reducing the cost and saving energy consumption. However, severe chemical crossover with side reactions makes it challenging to achieve ideal electrolysis. Herein, we propose a general strategy for efficient membraneless ammonia synthesis by screening NORR catalysts with inferior oxygen reduction activity and matching the counter electrode (CE) with good oxygen evolution activity while blocking anodic ammonia oxidation.

Factors driving antimony accumulation in soil-pakchoi and wheat agroecosystems: Insights and predictive models.

The accumulation of antimony (Sb) in plants and its potential effects on human health are of increasing concern. Nevertheless, only a few countries or regions have established soil Sb thresholds for agricultural purposes, and soil properties have not been taken into account. This study investigated the accumulation of Sb in the edible parts of pakchoi and wheat grain by adding exogenous Sb to 21 soils with varying properties.

Synergistic Al-Al Dual-Atomic Site for Efficient Artificial Nitrogen Fixation.

Synthesis of ammonia by electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is a promising alternative to the Haber-Bosch process. However, it is commonly obstructed by the high activation energy. Here, we report the design and synthesis of an Al-Al bonded dual atomic catalyst stabilized within an amorphous nitrogen-doped porous carbon matrix (AlNC) with high NRR performance.

Matched Kinetics Process Over FeO-Co/NiO Heterostructure Enables Highly Efficient Nitrate Electroreduction to Ammonia.

Tandem nitrate electroreduction reaction (NO RR) is a promising method for green ammonia (NH) synthesis. However, the mismatched kinetics processes between NO -to-NO and NO -to-NH results in poor selectivity for NH and excess NO evolution in electrolyte solution. Herein, a Ni substitution strategy for developing oxide heterostructure in Co/Fe layered double oxides (LDOs) was designed and employed as tandem electrocataltysts for NO RR.

Spontaneous generation of singlet oxygen on microemulsion-derived manganese oxides with rich oxygen vacancies for efficient aerobic oxidation.

Developing innovative catalysts for efficiently activating O into singlet oxygen (O) is a cutting-edge field with the potential to revolutionize green chemical synthesis. Despite its potential, practical implementation remains a significant challenge. In this study, we design a series of nitrogen (N)-doped manganese oxides (N-MnO, where represents the molar amount of the N precursor used) nanocatalysts using compartmentalized-microemulsion crystallization followed by post-calcination.

Constructing Gold Single-Atom Catalysts on Hierarchical Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanocages for Carbon Dioxide Electroreduction to Syngas.

Precious-metal single-atom catalysts (SACs), featured by high metal utilization and unique coordination structure for catalysis, demonstrate distinctive performances in the fields of heterogeneous and electrochemical catalysis. Herein, gold SACs are constructed on hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon nanocages (hNCNC) via a simple impregnation-drying process and first exploited for electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CORR) to produce syngas. The as-constructed Au SAC exhibits the high mass activity of 3319 A g at -1.

Developing a class of dual atom materials for multifunctional catalytic reactions.

Dual atom catalysts, bridging single atom and metal/alloy nanoparticle catalysts, offer more opportunities to enhance the kinetics and multifunctional performance of oxygen reduction/evolution and hydrogen evolution reactions. However, the rational design of efficient multifunctional dual atom catalysts remains a blind area and is challenging. In this study, we achieved controllable regulation from Co nanoparticles to CoN single atoms to CoN dual atoms using an atomization and sintering strategy via an N-stripping and thermal-migrating process.

Developing Ni single-atom sites in carbon nitride for efficient photocatalytic HO production.

Photocatalytic two-electron oxygen reduction to produce high-value hydrogen peroxide (HO) is gaining popularity as a promising avenue of research. However, structural evolution mechanisms of catalytically active sites in the entire photosynthetic HO system remains unclear and seriously hinders the development of highly-active and stable HO photocatalysts. Herein, we report a high-loading Ni single-atom photocatalyst for efficient HO synthesis in pure water, achieving an apparent quantum yield of 10.

Coupling of Dissolved Organic Matter Molecular Fractionation with Iron and Sulfur Transformations during Sulfidation-Reoxidation Cycling.

Iron (oxyhydr)oxides and organic matter (OM) are intimately associated in natural environments, and their fate might be linked to sulfur during sulfidation-reoxidation cycling. However, the coupling of DOM molecular fractionation with Fe and S transformations following a full sulfidation-reoxidation cycle remains poorly understood. Here, we reacted Fh and Fh-OM associations with S(-II) anaerobically and then exposed the sulfidic systems to air.

Theoretical study on the inhibition mechanisms of heavy metal ions on urease activity.

Soil urease is highly sensitive to soil heavy metal pollution, and thus its activity can be used as bio-indicator of soil health. However, little is known about the inhibition mechanisms of heavy metals on urease. The effects of dimetallic substitution (i.

Modeling the Interaction and Uptake of Cd-As(V) Mixture to Wheat Roots Affected by Humic Acids, in Terms of root cell Membrane Surface Potential (ψ).

The joint toxicological effects of Cd and As(V) mixture on wheat root as affected by environmental factors, such as pH, coexisting cations, and humic acids etc., were investigated using hydroponic experiments. The interaction and toxicological mechanisms of co-existing Cd and As(V) at the interface of solution and roots in presence of humic acid were further explored by incorporating root cell membrane surface potential ψ into a mechanistic model of combined biotic ligand model (BLM)-based Gouy-Chapman-Stern (GCS) model and NICA-DONNAN model.

Sabatier Phenomenon in Hydrogenation Reactions Induced by Single-Atom Density.

The Sabatier principle is a fundamental concept in heterogeneous catalysis that provides guidance for designing optimal catalysts with the highest activities. For the first time, we here report a new Sabatier phenomenon in hydrogenation reactions induced by single-atom density at the atomic scale. We produce a series of Ir single-atom catalysts (SACs) with a predominantly Ir-P coordination structure with densities ranging from 0.

Phosphorus doping significantly enhanced the catalytic performance of cobalt-single-atom catalyst for peroxymonosulfate activation and contaminants degradation.

Increasing studies have been conducted to explore strategies for enhancing the catalytic performance of metal-doped C-N-based materials (e.g., cobalt (Co)-doped CN) via heteroatomic doping.

Regulating the electronic structure through charge redistribution in dense single-atom catalysts for enhanced alkene epoxidation.

Inter-site interaction in densely populated single-atom catalysts has been demonstrated to have a crucial role in regulating the electronic structure of metal atoms, and consequently their catalytic performances. We herein report a general and facile strategy for the synthesis of several densely populated single-atom catalysts. Taking cobalt as an example, we further produce a series of Co single-atom catalysts with varying loadings to investigate the influence of density on regulating the electronic structure and catalytic performance in alkene epoxidation with O.

Changes in molybdenum bioaccessibility in four spiked soils with respect to soil pH and organic matter.

Investigation of the inherent relationship between soil physicochemical properties and pollutant's bioaccessibility (BAc) by analyzing different soil types may produce erroneous results or bias, owing to the complexity of natural soil characteristics. However, use of single factor analysis (e.g.

Selective CO electrolysis to CO using isolated antimony alloyed copper.

Renewable electricity-powered CO evolution from CO emissions is a promising first step in the sustainable production of commodity chemicals, but performing electrochemical CO reduction economically at scale is challenging since only noble metals, for example, gold and silver, have shown high performance for CO-to-CO. Cu is a potential catalyst to achieve CO reduction to CO at the industrial scale, but the C-C coupling process on Cu significantly depletes CO* intermediates, thus limiting the CO evolution rate and producing many hydrocarbon and oxygenate mixtures. Herein, we tune the CO selectivity of Cu by alloying a second metal Sb into Cu, and report an antimony-copper single-atom alloy catalyst (SbCu) of isolated Sb-Cu interfaces that catalyzes the efficient conversion of CO-to-CO with a Faradaic efficiency over 95%.

A molecular level understanding of antimony immobilization mechanism on goethite by the combination of X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations.

A molecular level understanding of antimony (Sb) immobilization mechanism on Fe oxides is required to clarify the fate of Sb in the soil. In this study, macroscopic sorption experiments, combined with extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT), were utilized to explore the interaction between Sb and goethite. The ion strength has no effect on Sb sorption on goethite, indicating the inner-sphere complex Sb formed on goethite.