A novel water-swellable rubber (WSR) has been prepared by blending chlorobutadiene rubber (CR), reactive clay and other additives with crosslinked sodium polyacrylate (CSP), which was modified by interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) technology with crosslinked P(AA-co-BA). The structure of WSR was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical properties, water-swelling ratio by mass, and the percentage loss of CSP in the WSR were investigated. The results showed that the modified CSP grains can be dispersed well in the CR, and that it resulted in increase of mechanical properties and water-swelling ratio and in decrease of percentage loss of CSP, compared with the unmodified one. When the percentage content of crosslinked P(AA-co-BA) used to modify CSP reached 30%, the tensile strength, elongation at break, and water-swelling ratio of WSR exhibited maximum value, and percentage loss of CSP exhibited minimum value. When the content of CSP in WSR was 30 phr, the tensile strength, elongation at break, and water-swelling ratio and percentage loss of CSP of the WSR containing CSP modified were 7.7 MPa, 1530, 438, and 2.5%, respectively.

Gaseous CO 2 reduction driven by solar energy is a promising solution to the current energy crisis and environmental problems. Although thermocatalysts, electrocatalysts, and photocatalysts are developed as classical strategies for CO 2 reduction, it remains a challenge for high efficiency and CO 2 net reduction during this process. Here, a multi-field driven hybrid catalyst, Pt/ZnO nanorod arrays/Bi 1-x Er x CuSeO, is designed using the photothermoelectric effect, which can take advantage of both photocatalysis and thermocatalysis. The results indicate that the maximum CO production rate of 2.91 µmol g -1 h -1 at 423 K can be realized in such Pt/ZnONR/ Bi 0.9 Er 0.1 CuSeO hybrid catalyst, as can be ascribed to a synergetic photothermoelectric effect (i.e., light irradiation can provide heat, photo-excited carriers, and the concomitant Seebeck voltage). The band alignment of ZnO/BiCuSeO heterojunction and carriers transport are proposed to be optimized by the Er doped BiCuSeO thermoelectric supports, greatly enhancing the catalytic performance. The application of thermoelectric support could be promising in the structure design of multi-field driven hybrid catalysts, and such a photo-thermoelectric catalytic process demonstrates a desirable way of solar energy utilization in CO 2 transformation.

Layer-structured Bi2O2CO3 is a novel photocatalyst for eliminating environmental pollutants. In this work, Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets were synthesized by hydrothermal methods, followed by annealing in nitrogen. (002) oriented Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets were obtained and characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, BET and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra. Photocatalytic properties were investigated by toluene removal in air, with the assistant of Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets under artificial irradiation. Our results show that Bi2O2CO3 annealed in nitrogen exhibited high full-light-driven photocatalytic activity for toluene photocatalytic decomposition, which may be ascribed to facet orientation evolution during the annealing process and enhanced efficient charge separation. The sample annealed at 150 °C for 8 h (BOC-150-8 h) showed high stability and the highest toluene removal rate, which was up to 99%. The final degradation products were detected by gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and CO2 was verified to be the primary product. Photocatalytic mineralization of toluene in air over Bi2O2CO3 was proposed. This work may provide a foundation for application of annealed Bi2O2CO3 in indoor air purification.

In work, (002) oriented flower-like Bi2O2CO3(BOC) composites are synthesized by a facile chemical route and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are modified on their surfaces through a hydrothermal method. The synthesized samples (CQD/BOC) are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis diffuser reflectances (DRS), BET and TEM/HRTEM. The morphologies of CQD/BOC composites are the flower-like shapes, the irregular flaky structures and the fine spherical particles of CQDs attached. Photocatalytic performances were investigated in terms of removing gaseous toluene at a concentration of 94.3ppm in air, with the assistance of CQD/BOC under artificial irradiation. Our results show that CQDs modified (002) oriented Bi2O2CO3 exhibits good photocatalytic activity for toluene decomposition, which can be attributed to the enhanced efficient charge separation. A certain ratio composite photocatalyst (BOC-CQD-15) shows a toluene removal rate of 96.62% in three hours, as well as great stability. CO2 was verified to be the primary product. The oriented flower-like Bi2O2CO3 with carbon quantum dots on the surface shows great potential in the field of solar driven air purification.