In the present study, SBA-15 silica-supported basic ionic liquid was prepared through grafting of 4-butyl-1,2,4-triazolium hydroxide onto SBA-15 silica using 3-chloropropyltriethoxysilane as a coupling reagent. The structural properties of the prepared catalysts were investigated by a series of techniques, such as Hammett titration method, elemental analysis, small angle XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and N2 adsorption–desorption. The characterization results demonstrated that the ionic liquid was successfully tethered on the SBA-15 support, and the hexagonally ordered mesoporous structure of SBA-15 silica was well retained even after the chemical grafting reaction. The so-obtained solid catalyst showed excellent catalytic activities toward the transesterification of soybean oil with methanol to produce biodiesel in a heterogeneous manner. The influences of various transesterification parameters such as the subtract ratio, reaction time, catalyst amount, and catalyst reusability on the oil conversion to methyl esters were investigated systematically. Using this solid catalyst for the transesterification reaction, the high conversion of 95.4% was achieved at reflux of methanol for 8 h when the methanol/oil molar ratio of 20:1 and catalyst loading of 7 wt % were employed. Moreover, the solid catalyst could be recycled for four cycles without significant degradation of catalytic activity.

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Developing advanced electrode materials with highly improved charge and mass transfer is critical to obtain high specific capacities and long-term cycle life for energy storage. Herein, three-dimensionally (3D) porous network electrodes with Cu(OH) 2 nanosheets/Ni 3 S 2 nanowire 2D/1D heterostructures are rationally fabricated. Different from traditional surface deposition, the 1D/2D heterostructure network is obtained by in situ hydrothermal chemical etching of the surface layer of nickel foam (NF) ligaments. The Cu(OH) 2 /Ni 3 S 2 @NF electrode delivers a high specific capacity (1855 F g –1 at 2 mA cm –2 ) together with a remarkable stability. The capacity retention of the electrode is over 110% after 35,000 charge/discharge cycles at 20 mA cm –2 . The improved performance is attributed to the enhanced electron transfer between 1D Ni 3 S 2 and 2D Cu(OH) 2 , highly accessible sites of 3D network for electrolyte ions, and strong mechanical bonding and good electrical connection between Cu(OH) 2 /Ni 3 S 2 active materials and the conductive NF. Especially, the unique 1D/2D heterostructure alleviates structural pulverization during the ion insertion/desertion process. A symmetric device applying the Cu(OH) 2 /Ni 3 S 2 @NF electrode exhibits a remarkable cycling stability with the capacitance retention maintaining over 98% after 30,000 cycles at 50 mA cm –2 . Therefore, the outstanding performance promises the architectural 1D/2D heterostructure to offer potential applications in future electrochemical energy storage.