Graphene, a single-atom thick, two-dimensional carbon material with remarkable properties is heavily used in advanced functional applications. However, production quality and processes are of concern, and the need for post-modification leads to high cost. Here, a novel production and functionalization of few-layer graphene oxide-like nanosheets (FLGON) via a green process from biocarbons (BC) was synthesized

Biosensors can sensitively and selectively detect a wide range of compounds and macromolecules strongly relevant to human health diagnosis and environment monitoring. Laser induced graphene (LIG) fabricated from polyimide has recently received intense interest for biosensor application due to its unique properties, such as three-dimensional macroporous structure, good conductivity and superior facile

Nitrogen-doped mesoporous graphene hydrogel (MGHG) enjoys many unique characteristics for use as an efficient energy storage electrode material. Herein, a green one-pot hydrothermal synthesis strategy was employed to synthesize highly hydrophilic nitrogen-doped mesoporous graphene hydrogel. The morphological, structural, and compositional analyses were performed using FESEM, XRD, and XPS techniques

Spherical ZnTiO3 / multi-walled carbon nanotube (ZnTiO3 / MWCNTs) composite was synthesized via a simple one-step solvothermal strategy with subsequent sintering process. The obtained ZnTiO3 nanospheres in pure ZnTiO3 and ZnTiO3 / MWCNTs materials have a diameter of about 200–300 nm. The MWCNTs are well dispersed ZnTiO3 electrode materials and form a three-dimensional conductive network structure.

The efficient recycling of discarded batteries for critical metals such as cobalt and lithium is necessary to reduce environmental pollution and to mitigate the resource scarcity. In this work, electrode sheets of discarded batteries were crushed without manual separation, sieved, followed by microwave exposure. Dielectric properties and microwave response of electrode materials were investigated at

Green materials are considered as one of the prominent elements in designing an environmentally sustainable construction project. Studies have highlighted cement replacement is a popular method of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and replacing virgin materials in concrete. These options incur cost implications through sophisticated designs and technologies. The importance of maintaining a balance

Production and disposal of car tyres are major contributors to environmental damage. The first stage in tyre rubber recycling is granulation to smaller particle sizes. The sub-optimal physical, mechanical and chemical properties of mechanically ground tyre rubber (GTR) when incorporated into recycled blends are major obstacles to wider use of this potentially sustainable, recovered resource. Consequently

Historically the UK implemented a “nominal” twice-through cycle whereby used nuclear fuels were reprocessed, but uranium and plutonium were not recycled: they were stored pending a future decision by the UK Government. However, the policy for managing higher activity wastes is clear: it envisages their disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility. Consultations for siting a repository - which were suspended

Nanomaterials are highly efficient additives for the modification of microstructure, resulting in better mechanical properties and durability of concrete/mortar. This study investigates the effect of three different dosages (1%, 3% and 5%) of nano-SiO2 and nano-TiO2 on workability, mechanical strength, and corrosion resistance of fly ash-based cement mortars. It was found that the workability of mortar

Non-aqueous extraction (NAE) at ambient temperature is a promising substitute to the current commercial hot water process for mined oil sand, but several challenges remain largely due to the use of hazardous conventional organic solvents (COS) such as toluene or heptane. In this work, a more sustainable process for separating extra-heavy oil from oil sands ore using β-pinene, a naturally abundant green

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have emerged as one of the leading technologies to reduce global emissions, particularly in the mobility sector. Automotive electronics, such as sensors/actuators and microcontrollers (commonly known as electronic control units (ECU) which control one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a vehicle), play a key role in ICT. Sensors/actuators

Currently, most of the waste plastics cannot be recycled, causing serious environmental concerns. In this research, we investigated a compaction formation technology to fabricate structural materials with thermoplastic binders. When the compaction pressure was 70–100 MPa, with ~10 wt% polyethylene binder, the flexural strength was greater than that of typical steel-reinforced concrete, sufficient for

Graphene oxide (GO) is well known as a key material to the commercialization of graphene-based applications due to its excellent processability and abundant starting materials. However, producing high quality GO with excellent structural intactness still remains a challenge despite the significant research effort over the past decade. Herein, we demonstrate an effective approach to achieving well-oxidized

Separation of cathode materials from the current collector remains a challenging task for the recycling of both spent lithium-ion batteries and cathode scraps. Dissolving the organic binder polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) with an organic solvent to recover both cathode materials and Al foils is an efficient and promising method. However, the use of toxic solvents limits their practical application

After two hundred years development, surface and interface science becomes an active discipline with flourishing development tendency. As one of the most important phenomenon of surface science, superlyophobic/superlyophilic has attracted widespread attentions of scientists and engineers. Inspired by the natural organism, scientists have designed various biomimetic materials with special wettability

Interfacial solar-driven water evaporation, as a promising strategy for solving global water shortage, has become increasingly prominent. Carbon-based solar absorbers, which are based on naturally abundant low-cost carbon materials, possessing simply engineered and easily scalable structures, high solar absorption, natural water channels and impressive thermal transportation capability, have demonstrated

Plastic demand is continuously growing and, with it, the amount of plastic waste. The packaging industry is by far the largest source of single-use plastic products that, after use, end up in landfills and oceans. Mechanical recycling is the solution most widely implemented in the global industry and its effectiveness and reliability have been demonstrated for processing post-industrial plastic scrap

Composites using renewable lightweight aggregates were produced with carbon fiber waste as reinforcement. The effects of the carbon fiber waste and high energy milling process on the physical, mechanical and durability properties of the cement/coir pith composite were evaluated. The utilization of the milling process resulted in improved mechanical properties, with performance gains of 87% in the compressive

Due to the ongoing revolution of energy production and use as well as the increasing proliferation of electronic devices, improvements of fabrication methods and materials for electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs), such as batteries and supercapacitors, have sparked massive research interest. Recently, printing technologies have emerged as promising fabrication methods for EESDs, while newly

A review of separating methods used in domestic and electric vehicle lithium ion battery recycling is presented, focusing on physical processes which are commonly utilized prior to further chemical processing and purification steps. The four processes of stabilization, disassembly, separation and binder negation are reviewed and the strengths and weaknesses in current research identified. The main

In this study, bio-degradable green composite energy absorbing structure with embedded self–sensing device is proposed as a viable alternative to the conventional synthetic ones without sensing device. The goal of the study is to introduce the promising potentials of integrating a low-cost self sensing device into green composite energy absorbing structure so as to achieve green high performance capabilities

Production of concrete's constituent materials has led to the depletion of the environment and natural resources. This experimental study is, therefore, geared towards the sustainable production of concrete that involves the use of a large volume of industrial waste in concrete. Nigerian electric arc furnace steel slag (EAFS) as industrial waste was used as coarse aggregate in concrete for the replacement

Highly dispersed molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets are perpendicularly grown on the phosphorus-doped carbon nitride ((C,P)3N4) nanolayers assisted with nickel and cobalt as metal-ion bridges in order to form high-quality (C,P)3N4-M (Ni2+, Co2+)-MoS2 electrocatalysts for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Our research demonstrates that nickel and cobalt ions assisted growth could remarkably

Economic, efficient, and stable layered double hydroxides (LDHs) based oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts are recognized as promising substitutions of precious catalysts. While LDHs composites suffer from low intrinsic activity, which slightly impedes their wide utilization in energy conversion. Here, we demonstrate a kind of three-dimensional (3D) freestanding flower-like NiCo-LDHs materials

In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, over 500 million tons of copper rich rock were removed from mines and treated in chemical baths to extract copper. Toxic substances have been seeping into the watersheds from the resultant waste stamp sands. Recent work on developing a circular economy using recycled plastic for distributed manufacturing technologies has proven promising, and this study investigates

Porous carbon materials with a tunable porosity and degree of graphitization were successfully synthesized using acai stone as a precursor. The acai stone was chosen due to the large volume of waste generated during the processing of acai fruit (>85% of the fruit), which has become a great concern to the population of the Amazon region in Brazil. To that end, the biomass waste was carbonized at 600 °C

This study investigates the recycling of mobile printed circuit boards through physical treatment followed by hydrometallurgical processing. Copper dissolution of the feed and processed fractions using different lixiviants were studied. Fluidization provided an effective separation of metallic values, and ~ 88% carbon removal were observed. The ferrous fraction was separated using a low-intensity magnetic

The effects of transition metal doping of calcium carbonate on the subsequent performance of the material during CO2 release and recapture have been evaluated for calcination under low-pressure (~0.1 mbar) water vapour and water plasma conditions. The initial samples were prepared by precipitation method from analytical grade carbonate, calcium and transition metal (Fe, Co, Zn, Cu and Ni) containing

Chlorination is a widely adopted disinfection method in water and wastewater treatment for the protection of public health, as it greatly reduces pathogen risks and associated incidence of waterborne diseases. Chlorination, however, also creates disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as trihalomethanes, which, epidemiologically, have been associated with a higher incidence of some forms of cancer. Therefore

Due to global demand for sustainability, more advanced techniques have been recommended for improvement cement and construction purposes. Reduction in emissions for all infrastructural projects can be realized when there will be swift scale-up in the use of novel cement alongside the integration of positive policies. This study investigates approaches such as RPC, steel fiber reinforcement, green cement

Direct recycling of lithium-ion is a promising method for manufacturing sustainability. It is more efficient than classical methods because it recovers the functional cathode particle without decomposition into substituent elements or dissolution and precipitation of the whole particle. This case study of cathode-healing™ applied to a battery recall demonstrates an industrial model for recycling of