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A porous carbon electrode with a 3D honeycomb-like structure demonstrates a high removal efficiency for the removal of chromium(vi) from water.

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In this study, a structural factor approach is developed to allow a modular design method be used for the packaging design of thin-walled structures. Numerical simulations of the structural units are carried out to evaluate the influence of the structural factors under static loading, by using the commercial finite element code ABAQUS/Explicit. Empirical relations between the load-bearing capacity of structural units and structural factors are established based on numerical simulations. A database is then constructed that has the ability to provide valuable information for the loading performances of different structural units.

Polymeric amine encapsulation in high surface area MCM-41 particles for CO2 capture is well established but has the drawback of leaching out the water-soluble polymer upon exposure to aqueous environments. Alternatively, chemical (covalent) grafting amine functional groups from an alkoxysilane such as 3-aminopropyl­triethoxysilane (APTES) on MCM-41 offer better stability against this drawback. However, the diffusional restriction exhibited by the narrow uniform MCM-41 pores (2–4 nm) may impede amine functionalization of the available silanol groups within the inner mesoporous core. This leads to incomplete amine functionalization and could reduce the CO2 adsorption capacity in such materials. Our concept to improve access to the MCM-41 interior is based on the incorporation of nanostraws with larger inner diameter (15–30 nm) to create a hierarchical porosity and enhance the molecular transport of APTES. Halloysite nanotubes (HNT) are used as tubular straws that are integrated into the MCM-41 matrix using an aerosol-assisted synthesis method. Characterization results show that the intrinsic structure of MCM-41 remains unaltered after the incorporation of the nanostraws and amine functionalization. At an optimal APTES loading of 0.5 g (X = 2.0), the amine-functionalized composite of MCM-41 with straws (APTES/M40H) has a 20% higher adsorption capacity than the amine-modified MCM-41 (APTES/MCM-41) adsorbent. Furthermore, the CO2 adsorption capacity APTES/M40H doubles that of APTES/MCM-41 when normalized based on the composition of MCM-41 in the composite particle with straws. The facile integration of nanostraws in MCM-41 leading to hierarchical porosities could be effective toward the mitigation of diffusional restriction in porous materials with potential for other catalytic and adsorption technologies.