Absolute film separation of dyes/salts and emulsions with a superhigh water permeance through graded nanofluidic channels

UV absorption enhanced polydopamine coating

Mussel-inspired polydopamine (PDA) coatings have gained significant attention in various fields, including biomedicine, energy, detection, and UV protection, owing to their versatile and promising properties. Among these properties, UV shielding stands out as a key feature of PDA coatings. Nevertheless, the current methods for tuning the UV-shielding properties of PDA coatings are quite limited, and only rely on thickness adjustment, which might involve additional issues like color and visible light transmittance to the coating layer. In this study, we propose a facile and modular approach to enhance the UV absorption of PDA coatings by incorporating thiol-heterocycle (TH) derivatives. Both pre- and post-modification strategies can effectively impede the formation of conjugated structures within PDA, leading to enhanced UV absorption within the PDA layers. More importantly, these strategies can improve the UV absorption of PDA coatings while reducing the visible light absorption. Furthermore, this method enabled efficient regulation of the UV absorption of PDA coatings by altering the ring type (benzene ring or pyridine ring) and substituent on the ring (methoxyl group or hydrogen atom). These PDA coatings with enhanced UV absorption demonstrate great promise for applications in UV protection, antibacterial activity, wound healing and dye degradation.

Recent Advances in the Removal of Organic Dyes from Aqueous Media with Conducting Polymers, Polyaniline and Polypyrrole, and Their Composites

Water pollution by organic dyes, and its remediation, is an important environmental issue associated with ever-increasing scientific interest. Conducting polymers have recently come to the forefront as advanced agents for removing dye. The present review reports on the progress represented by the literature published in 2020-2022 on the application of conducting polymers and their composites in the removal of dyes from aqueous media. Two composites, incorporating the most important polymers, polyaniline, and polypyrrole, have been used as efficient dye adsorbents or photocatalysts of dye decomposition. The recent application trends are outlined, and future uses also exploiting the electrical and electrochemical properties of conducting polymers are offered.