Continuous Synthesis of Nanodroplet-Templated, N-Doped Microporous Carbon Spheres in Microfluidic System for CO2 Capture

Upcycling biowaste into advanced carbon materials via low-temperature plasma hybrid system: applications, mechanisms, strategies and future prospects

This review focuses on the recent advances in the sustainable conversion of biowaste to valuable carbonaceous materials. This study summarizes the significant progress in biowaste-derived carbon materials (BCMs) via a plasma hybrid system. This includes systematic studies like AI-based multi-coupling systems, promising synthesis strategies from an economic point of view, and their potential applications towards energy, environment, and biomedicine. Plasma modified BCM has a new transition lattice phase and exhibits high resilience, while fabrication and formation mechanisms of BCMs are reviewed in plasma hybrid system. A unique 2D structure can be designed and formulated from the biowaste with fascinating physicochemical properties like high surface area, unique defect sites, and excellent conductivity. The structure of BCMs offers various activated sites for element doping and it shows satisfactory adsorption capability, and dynamic performance in the field of electrochemistry. In recent years, many studies have been reported on the biowaste conversion into valuable materials for various applications. Synthesis methods are an indispensable factor that directly affects the structure and properties of BCMs. Therefore, it is imperative to review the facile synthesis methods and the mechanisms behind the formation of BCMs derived from the low-temperature plasma hybrid system, which is the necessity to obtain BCMs having desirable structure and properties by choosing a suitable synthesis process. Advanced carbon-neutral materials could be widely synthesized as catalysts for application in environmental remediation, energy conversion and storage, and biotechnology.

CO2 adsorption performance of template free zeolite A and X synthesized from rice husk ash as silicon source

In this work, zeolite NaA (RA) and NaX (RX) have been successfully synthesized using rice husk ash and it is a low cost synthesis process and it does not produce environmental hazards. Sodium silicate (SS) is extracted from rice husk ash which is an alternative silica source for zeolite synthesis. The zeolites are prepared by using a SS silica source extracted from the rice husk ash, and it has been used as an adsorbent for the CO₂ adsorption process which may help in controlling the global warming problems. The zeolites are synthesized by a hydrothermal method without using any organic templating agent. FESEM and TEM micrographs revealed that the synthesized zeolites RA and RX have “Ice cube” and octahedral morphology respectively. From the N₂ sorption studies, the BET surface area of the synthesized zeolites have been found and are 106.25 m² g⁻¹ and 512.79 m² g⁻¹ respectively. The maximum CO₂ adsorption capacities of zeolite RA and RX are 2.22 and 2.45 mmol g⁻¹, respectively at a temperature of 297.15 K. The recorded data are fitted by using non-linear adsorption isotherm models of Langmuir, Freundlich and Toth isotherm models. The fitted isotherm models are observed to be a type I adsorption isotherm according to the IUPAC classification criterion.

In this work, zeolite NaA (RA) and NaX (RX) have been successfully synthesized using rice husk ash as source and it is a low cost synthesis process and it does not produce any environmental hazards.

Core-shell microparticles: From rational engineering to diverse applications

Core-shell microparticles, composed of solid, liquid, or gas bubbles surrounded by a protective shell, are gaining considerable attention as intelligent and versatile carriers that show great potential in biomedical fields. In this review, an overview is given of recent developments in design and applications of biodegradable core-shell systems. Several emerging methodologies including self-assembly, gas-shearing, and coaxial electrospray are discussed and microfluidics technology is emphasized in detail. Furthermore, the characteristics of core-shell microparticles in artificial cells, drug release and cell culture applications are discussed and the superiority of these advanced multi-core microparticles for the generation of artificial cells is highlighted. Finally, the respective developing orientations and limitations inherent to these systems are addressed. It is hoped that this review can inspire researchers to propel the development of this field with new ideas.

Mechanically Coherent Zeolite 13X/Chitosan Aerogel Beads for Effective CO2 Capture

The constant increase of CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere is recognized worldwide to severely impact the environment and human health. Zeolites possess a high adsorption capacity for CO₂ removal, but their powdery form prevents their use in many practical applications. When binding agents are used, a partial occlusion of the porosity can severely compromise the adsorption capacity. In this regard, a great challenge is producing compact composite adsorbents while maintaining a high specific surface area to preserve the pristine performance of zeolites. Here, this goal was achieved by preparing beads with a high content of zeolite 13X (up to 90 wt %) using a chitosan aerogel as the binding agent. A facile preparation procedure based on the freeze-drying of hydrogel beads obtained by phase inversion led to a peculiar microstructure in which a very fine polymeric framework firmly embeds the zeolite particles, providing mechanical coherence and strength (compressive strain >40% without bead fragmentation, deformation <20% under 1 kg_f-load) and yet preserving the powder porosity. This allowed us to fully exploit the potential of the constituents, reaching a high specific surface area (561 m² g^-1) and excellent CO₂ uptake capacity (4.23 mmol g^-1) for the sample at 90% zeolite. The beads can also be reused after being fully regenerated by means of a pressure swing protocol at room temperature.