Ethylene glycol was synthesized from dimethyl oxalate hydrogenation at ambient pressure over fullerene modified copper catalyst. Fullerenes show electron buffering effect to stabilize cuprous species and boost the copper catalysis. This finding provides a novel strategy for the design of stable catalysts using fullerenes as a molecular promoter.

Using in situ electron microscopy, it was directly observed that subcell flexibility of the zeolite framework occurred when benzene as a guest molecule was adsorbed into the straight channels of ZSM-5 zeolite nanosheets, where the opening pores stretched along the longest direction of confined benzene molecules with a maximum aspect change of 15%. This flexibility originates mainly from the topologically soft silicon-oxygen-silicon hinges between rigid tetrahedral SiO₄ units, which is very important for understanding molecular adsorption and shape selective catalysis.

By using supported gold-palladium alloyed nanoparticles in conjunction with a titanium silicate-1 (TS-1) catalyst, H₂O₂ can be generated in situ as needed, producing cyclohexanone oxime with >95% selectivity, comparable to the current industrial route. The ammoximation of several additional simple ketones is also demonstrated. Our approach eliminates the need to transport and store highly concentrated, stabilized H₂O₂, potentially achieving substantial environmental and economic savings. This approach could form the basis of an alternative route to numerous chemical transformations that are currently dependent on a combination of preformed H₂O₂ and TS-1, while allowing for considerable process intensification.

With the rapid development of modern industry, large amounts of mercury-containing compounds are discharged into the aqueous environment through various ways. Developing advanced technology for divalent mercury ion (Hg²⁺) removal from water is critical to reduce health risks and ensure ecological safety. As one of the effective water treatment technologies, the adsorptive removal of Hg²⁺ from aqueous solution has been concerned, and the key to make a breakthrough is to design adsorption materials with excellent performance. In recent years, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been widely used in the environmental remediation because of their high specific surface area, ordered porous structure and facile surface functionalization. Herein, the latest applications of COFs in adsorptive removal of Hg²⁺ from water are reviewed. The structure design, functionalized synthesis, Hg²⁺ adsorption behavior, reaction mechanism, affecting factors and potential to expand to large-scale applications of COFs are also discussed. Eventually, the future opportunities and development directions for COFs in Hg²⁺ removal are prospected.

Activation of C—H bond is one of the most important scientific topics in organic synthesis area. Hydroxylation of benzene to phenol with environmentally friendly oxidants like H₂O₂ and O₂ is a challenge in this filed for tens of years, since it involves not only the fundamental issue of the $\text C_{\text s \text p^{2}}— \text H $ bond activation for benzene, but also other issues such as the activation of H₂O₂/O₂, decomposition of H₂O₂, and deep oxidation of phenol product. More importantly, in the context of green chemical industry, this green process becomes more attractive due to the promising alternative to replace the current cumene route. In this review, recent researches on metal-based catalysts and newly emerging non-metal catalysts are summarized, clued by the catalytic reaction mechanism of hydroxylation of benzene to phenol. The structure-activity relationship between catalysts’ composition and structure with their reactive activity and selectivity is analyzed in detail based on radical and non-radical mechanisms. Outlook and suggestions on the further development of rational design of catalysts and deeper insights into reaction mechanism in this field are proposed. This review is hopefully to benefit the exploring of novel catalysts with higher activity and better stability for hydroxylation of benzene to phenol.

Long-term and efficient utilization of solar energy is an eternal issue for sustainable development. Among the solar energy conversion techniques, photo(electro)catalysis plays an overwhelming role in clean energy production and pollutant treatment. Carbon-based catalysts have been studied as promising candidates achieving low cost, high energy conversion efficiency and environmental friendliness. Very recently, the family of graphynes (GYs) is rising as a superb new star of carbon allotrope. It consists of merely sp- and sp²- hybridized carbon atoms, constructing a huge conjugated network and expanded two-dimensional porous structure. The unique topological structures endow GYs distinctive semiconductor and optical properties, excellent charge mobility and intrinsic band gap. Therefore, a broad application in the conversion and utilization of solar energy is expected. Since graphdiyne, one of the graphyne-family members has been firstly synthesized in 2010, many efforts have been made in the fields of photo(electro)catalysis. The enhanced photocatalytic or photoelectrocatalytic efficiencies of these carbon allotropes either alone or combined with other photocatalysts are reported. Generally, according to current reports, the enhancements are mainly attributed to the high carrier mobility promoting charge transfer, the natural pore structure which is conductive to mass transport and more exposed active sites for catalysis. However, as a newly-emerged family of carbon allotrope, the essential potential of GYs-based photocatalysts are expected to be further explored. In this review, the synthesis of GYs with different morphology and the structural characterization methods are briefly introduced. Then the photocatalysts based on GYs for specific chemical reactions are comprehensivey included. The synthesis, performances and mechanisms of these photocatalysts are elucidated systematically in the applications of polution degradation, water splitting, CO₂ reduction and photoelectrolysis as well as nitrogen fixation and bacterial disinfection (noted in few reports). Furthermore, some problems existing in the current research are put forward, and the perspectives and challenges are presented aiming at photo(electro)catalytic efficiency elevations.

Facing the challenge of severe environmental pollution caused by petroleum and the development of new energy, the desulfurization of petroleum fuels and sustainable clean alternative energy are regarded as important solutions. As a clean and sustainable energy carrier, hydrogen (H₂) is considered one of the most promising alternatives to carbon fuels. Therefore, hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and electrolysis of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are effective ways to solve the current energy and environmental problems caused by petroleum, and the development of high-efficiency and low-cost non-precious metal-based catalytic materials is a key step to achieve industrialization. Sulfided transition metals have high valence, unique crystal structure and thermal stability. Among them, MoS₂ and WS₂ are a type of band gap two-dimensional semiconductors with high planar carrier mobility and are used as non-noble metal sulfided catalysts representative material. It is worth noting that MoS₂ and WS₂ can realize HDS and HER processes at the same time. They not only serve as high-performance HDS catalysts to reduce the sulfur content of petroleum, but also shine in sustainable and clean green hydrogen production. Polyoxometalates (POMs), as a kind of inorganic nanoclusters with a clear structure composed of a variety of transition metals and oxygen atoms, are suitable precursors for preparing transition metal sulfided electrode materials. The sulfided catalyst can exhibit electrocatalytic performance close to that of noble metal-based catalysts, realizing green and efficient energy production and processing. Therefore, in recent years, sulfided catalysts prepared by POMs have become a research hotspot in green chemistry. This paper reviews the research progress of POMs-based sulfided catalysts in the HDS and HER fields, focusing on the working principles and interrelationships of the two types of processes. The catalytic mechanism, structural advantages and existing problems of POMs-based sulfided catalysts are summarized and discussed. Finally, some prospective of POMs-based sulfided catalysts for their application in those fields are proposed.

Tandem hydroformylation reaction is based on hydroformylation, with one or more different types of reactions "one pot" to achieve the follow-up directional conversion of aldehydes, to get new organic molecules. The products have very important applications in the production of daily chemical industry, agriculture or medical intermediates. In this paper, the importance of olefin tandem hydroformylation to prepare high value-added chemicals in recent years is briefly introduced, then several common tandem hydroformylation (Tandem “Isomerization-hydroformylation”, Tandem “Hydroformylation-acetalization”, Tandem “Hydroformylation-hydrogenation”, Tandem “Hydroformylation-(reductive) amination”) in the design of new (multifunctional) catalyst systems and efficient synthesis of target products are introduced. Finally, the existing problems and future development of the reaction are prospected.

Sulfines play an important role as reactive intermediates in organic synthesis. Various methods have been developed for the synthesis of sulfines. These methods can be divided into the oxidation reaction of thiocarbonyl compounds, β-elimination reaction of sulfinyl derivatives, the modified Peterson reaction, hetero-Wolff-rearrangement of diazomethyl sulfoxides and so on. In view of the importance of sulfines, a number of reactions have been developed. Sulfines as reactive intermediates can be attacked on their sulfur atom or carbon atom by nucleophiles to generate sulfoxides or new sulfine compounds, respectively. At the same time, sulfines can also be served as nucleophilic reagents to react with other electrophilic reagents. Furthermore, sulfines as dienophiles and acyl/vinyl sulfines as dienes can take place in normal or inverse electron-demand Diels-Alder reactions to obtain cycloadducts. In addition, sulfines can be employed both as dipolarophiles and dipoles to generate heterocyclic products through dipolar cycloaddition reactions. Furthermore, due to the high activity of sulfines, desulfur and dimerize reactions can happen easily under sunlight or heating conditions. It is hoped that this review article can provide some valuable information for the organic chemists who are interested in the reaction of sulfine compounds and promote the development on the synthesis and application of sulfine compounds.

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have shown great commercial application prospects in the fields of solid-state lighting and display, due to their novel optoelectronic and mechanical characteristics. In recent years, arylsilanes groups have received extensive attention in the synthesis of high-performance host materials for the electroluminescent device. Due to the easy modification and multi-function of the arylsilanes group, a host material with excellent performance can be synthesized by connecting functional units with different structures, in order to realize an efficient organic electroluminescent device. In this review, we start from the design and classification of materials and describe the current research status of arylsilanes host materials. The molecular structure design and synthesis, thermodynamic properties, photophysics properties, electrochemical properties, and electroluminescent device performance are summarized. Finally, the current problems of arylsilanes host materials in organic electroluminescent materials are discussed, and the perspective and development are also presented.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are artificially constructed materials that mimic the recognition mechanism of antigens and antibodies. The construction of MIPs with excellent aqueous recognition capacity has been a long-term challenge in molecular imprinting fields. In recent years, aqueous recognition MIPs have attracted extensive attention from analytical chemists, materials scientists and environmentalists due to their excellent aqueous recognition and anti-matrix interference ability. In this article, we summarize the preparation and application of aqueous recognition MIPs in sample pretreatment in recent years. Firstly, the construction principles, advantages of MIPs and challenges of MIPs in aqueous recognition are briefly introduced. Secondly, sample pretreatment and its importance are introduced. Thirdly, combined with various emerging materials and preparation techniques of MIPs, the application of aqueous recognition MIPs in sample pretreatment is comprehensively summarized from the perspective of sample pretreatment techniques involving solid phase extraction, dispersive solid phase extraction, magnetic solid phase extraction, solid phase microextraction, pipette tip solid phase extraction and stir bar adsorption extraction. Meanwhile, the advantages of various methods in the analysis of water environment samples are discussed in combination with material properties and analytical parameters. Finally, the challenges and future development trends in this field are presented from perspectives of the construction of aqueous recognition MIPs and sample pretreatment.

As the most abundant non-protein sulfhydryl compound in cells, glutathione plays an important role in maintaining normal physiological activities of the human body. Therefore, it is of great significance to be able to detect glutathione efficiently and sensitively. Fluorescent probe method has become the main method for the determination of glutathione in biological samples due to its advantages of convenient operation, excellent specificity and high sensitivity. The successful application of fluorescent probe method is also attributed to the special structural features of GSH, such as the nucleophilicity of sulfhydryl groups, reduction, high affinity for metal ions and the synergistic reaction ability of amino groups. Based on the classification of the probe structure, the fluorescent probes that can specifically detect glutathione in the past five years are divided into two categories: organic fluorescent probes and inorganic fluorescent probes. According to the structural characteristics of coumarin, BODIPY, rhodamine, cyanine, benzothiazole, naphthalimide, metal-organic framework, semiconductor quantum dots, carbon dots, metal nano, manganese dioxide nanosheet, graphene quantum dots, etc., organic fluorescent probes/inorganic fluorescent probes, the sensing mechanisms of Michael addition reaction, nucleophilic substitution, reduction reaction, and thiol-induced breakage reaction and complexation reaction of 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfonyl are reviewed. Meanwhile, the design strategy, response model for glutathione and practical application of the probes are described and analyzed. We really look forward to providing a new idea for the construction of a new glutathione fluorescent probe.

Biomaterials aim to achieve tissue regeneration and repair by regulating the interaction between materials and cells. The adhesion determines whether cells could perform the expected biological functions absolutely. Therefore, it is critical for biomaterials to regulate cell adhesion by surface physical and chemical properties, which have aroused more and more attention recently. The physical modification on materials surface usually includes the regulation of surface roughness, morphology, modulus, and porous properties in order to build a suitable environment for cell adhesion. On the other hand, the chemical modifications such as surface charge and hydrophobicity regulation, covalently grafting and encapsulating adhesion-promoting molecules into the surface have made great effort to improve the interaction between the material surface and the cell, which will be capable of promoting cell adhesion. In recent years, a great number of breakthroughs have been accomplished in the field. In addition to covalently graft various adhesion-promoting molecules on the surface, it is reported that the adhesion performance would be significantly promoted by precise control of the sequence of the adhesion-promoting molecules. The sequence modulation represents a new strategy of surface modification, which can greatly enhance cell adhesion without the introduction of more powerful cell-promoting molecules or increasing their density. Besides, the intelligent change of adhesion-promoting and anti-adhesion surface can be accomplished according to the stimuli of external signals, which has been successfully applied in cell sheet tissue engineering and shows promising potential to be put into clinical application. Consequently, the review comprehensively summarizes the influences of material surface properties on cell adhesion by physical and chemical surface modification as well as the regulation of stimuli-responsive surface, the designs of adhesion-promoting surface, the technologies of adhesion-promoting surface preparation, and discusses their prospects.

Skin is the largest organ of the human body and can perceive and respond to complex environmental stimuli. As a 2D atomic layer of sp²-hybridized carbon arranged in a hexagonal network, graphene is regarded as a promising material for nanoelectronics owing to its high crystallinity and interesting semimetal electronic properties. In addition, graphene has extremely strong perception ability and high selectivity for different stimuli, and graphene-based materials have been widely used as key perceiving materials of artificial flexible sensors to imitate the flexibility and stretchability of human skin, which is one of the most promising wearable and sensing materials for potential commercialization. This paper first introduces the main working mechanisms of piezoresistive type, capacitive type, piezoelectric type and transistor type, as well as the key performance evaluation parameters such as sensitivity, detection range, response speed and so on of sensors. At the same time, the advantages and synthesis methods of graphene materials are also briefly summarized. In conjunction of our recent research works of graphene-based composite materials made up of graphene and polyaniline, Ag nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, Ni(OH)₂(Ⅱ) and quantum dots for flexible sensors, this paper then reviews the applications of graphene-based single function flexible sensors in detecting pressure, strain, temperature, humidity, chemical molecules, biomolecules, gas and other fields, as well as several graphene-based multifunctional flexible sensors. Finally, the future development of graphene-based flexible sensors is prospected.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a novel class of crystalline materials with the ordered porous network frameworks, are formed by the coordination of metal ions and organic bridging ligands. Because of special and unique features such as the large surface area, tunable structure and high porosity, MOFs have attracted a lot of attention in materials, environment, biomedicine and so on. However, MOFs have some disadvantages including of being easily hydrolyzed, low stability, and low electrical conductivity. It is an ideal strategy that MOFs combined with other materials to improve their features and performances. In particular, graphene shows outstanding chemical stability, good electrical conductivity, optical properties and mechanical properties. Graphene compositing with MOFs can effectively improve the photoelectric properties, stability and recyclability of MOFs. Hence, in the current paper, preparation methods of graphene/MOFs composites, including in situ growth method, interfacial growth method and blending molding method, are reviewed. We also discuss their superior performance in the fields of gas separation and storage, water purification, chemical sensors, and catalysts. Moreover, the preparation development and potential applications of graphene/MOFs composites are proposed.

Heterogeneous Fenton reactions have attracted tremendous attention for recalcitrant organic contaminants removal, as the reaction between solid Fenton catalysts and H₂O₂ can generate highly reactive hydroxyl radicals. Additionally, compared to the homogeneous Fenton reaction, it has the advantages of wide pH response range, good catalyst stability and reusability, as well as less-production of iron sludge. However, some defects of heterogeneous Fenton reaction, such as metal ion precipitation, low effective utilization of H₂O₂ and slow formation rate of Fe(Ⅱ), limiting its application in real wastewater treatment. Therefore, numbers of research have introduced numerous techniques to overcome these drawbacks. In the present review, we summarize the mechanism of homogeneous and heterogeneous Fenton reaction. We also elucidate the strategies for accelerating the formation of Fe(Ⅱ) and promoting the decomposition of H₂O₂. We believe this review will provide a new insight into the future direction research in the heterogeneous Fenton catalyst.

Zero-valent aluminum (ZVAl), an excellent electron donor due to its chemical properties of very low redox potential, which is a potential zero-valent metal in the field of environmental engineering. However, because of its strong reducibility, ZVAl can be easily to form a dense oxide layer, passivated again when expose to oxygen or water medium even if the surface oxide film has destroyed, and react with impurities in medium to reduce utilization of electrons, which will constrain the reaction with pollutants. The studies have shown that ZVAl modified by carbon materials could not only improve the reaction efficiency of ZVAl by initiating galvanic and intergranular corrosion, strengthening mass transfer; but also endow the composite with excellent mechanical strength, overcome its own disadvantages, shield against oxygen and corrosive media, maintaining the durability of composite; moreover, the adjustable hydrophobic properties, surface charge, functional groups of carbon materials improve the specific adsorption to pollutants, the high catalytic activity enables the substrate to achieve directional transformation, which improves the electron utilization efficiency of the ZVAl system. Above all, this paper systematically summarizes the effects of carbon materials such as activated carbon, graphite, carbon nanotubes and graphene on ZVAl under different modification methods; and discusses the influence by parameters that include the ratio and type of carbon materials, the type of process control agents temperature and time of heat treatment, the geometry of ZVAl during the modified process, furthermore based on accurately control processing parameters and deeply explore underlying mechanism to realize the selective preparation of functionalized composites to broaden their application value. Through the in-depth understanding of related fields of different disciplines to promote the further application of aluminum-carbon composites in the field of environmental pollution control.

The application of the zerovalent iron (ZVI) for water treatment of metal(loid) (oxyan)ions has been a research hotspot in recent years. In practical applications, how to simultaneously improve the reactivity and electron efficiency of contaminants sequestration by ZVI are highly critical for the progress in ZVI-based technology. This review summarizes the improvements of ZVI technologies proposed in the past 10 years (2011—2021), including the sulfidation, weak magnetic field (WMF), dosing of Fe²⁺ and oxidants, along with other novel technologies. In addition, the performances (e.g., reactivity, removal capacity and electronic efficiency) and mechanisms of these technologies for contaminants removal are summarized and compared. The enhanced performance of ZVI technology should be complementarily analyzed not only from the broad-spectrum studies of different systems but also from the specific study of a single system. Finally, in order to promote the further improvement and development of ZVI technology, the future research direction of ZVI technology is outlooked. This review is expected to provide a new research direction and a complete theoretical basis for improving the performances of ZVI technology in real environmental application.

MXenes is advanced two-dimensional inorganic compound materials that consist of transition metal carbides, nitrides or carbonitrides at a few atomic thicknesses, which are widely used in energy, optics, catalysis, adsorption and other fields. Due to the high hydrophilicity, large specific surface area, negative surface charge and strong ion exchange capability, it is considered an excellent adsorption material. Based on the excellent adsorption performance of MXene, this material has significant potential for environmental remediation. MXene is expected to become an ideal carrier for heavy metal ions and radionuclides through electrostatic attraction and ligand chelation. The full text mainly reviews the application of MXene as an adsorbent in the field of environmental remediation. The structure and synthesis method of MXene, and the application of MXene for extracting heavy metal ions (such as chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni)) and radionuclides (such as uranium (U), cesium (Cs), europium (Eu), barium (Ba) and strontium (Sr)), etc. are reviewed systematically. In particular, the interactive mechanism of different MXene systems is discussed and highlighted. In addition, the existing challenges of MXene materials for environmental remediation and its future development are presented for a prospect.