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The study presents enhancement of photocatalytic hydrogen generation after metal–organic framework (MOF5) carbonization at 700 °C and its utilization as a co-catalyst of graphitic carbon nitride (gCN). Thermal treatment of MOF5 affected the formation of ZnO nanoparticles which played the role of co-catalyst for H2 evolution. Moreover, significant band-gap narrowing of MOF5 was observed, which also affected the narrowing of the hybrid band gap. The appropriate conduction band position of the carbonized MOF allowed photogenerated electron transfer from gCN to the carbonized MOF, hence, improving the separation of the charge carriers and reducing the overpotential for H2 generation. The mechanism of the photocatalytic process was also discussed.

In this work, exfoliated tungsten disulfide (WS2) functionalized with metal oxides as a filler of polyethylene (PE) was used. An efficient exfoliation procedure resulted in the synthesis of 7–9 layered flakes of WS2. Flakes of exfoliated WS2 were functionalized by iron oxide and nickel oxide nanoparticles, respectively. The nanomaterials were mixed with polyethylene by extrusion. Methods such as Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) or Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the materials. Flame retardant properties were investigated by microcalorimetry. Comparing the obtained values of heat released during combustion, it can be observed that the addition of fillers reduces flammability significantly compared to neat polyethylene. It is revealed that this composite can provide a certain physical barrier and inhibit the diffusion of heat and gaseous products during combustion. Thermogravimetric analysis of composites showed increased thermal stability with addition of nanofillers and reduction of carbon monoxide generation in the whole range of the nanofiller addition (from 0.5 to 2 wt% in PE). Results suggested that the composite with Ni2O3 could endow the best flame retardance for PE. The peak heat release rate of this sample with 2 wt% nanofiller was reduced to 792 W g−1 (1216 W g−1 for PE), and the total heat release was decreased to 39 kJ g−1 (47 kJ g−1 for PE). A very significant increase in thermal conductivity for all composites was observed as well.

The study presents enhancement of photocatalytic hydrogen generation after metal-organic framework (MOF5) carbonization at 700 °C and its utilization as a co-catalyst of graphitic carbon nitride (gCN). Thermal treatment of MOF5 affected the formation of ZnO nanoparticles which played the role of co-catalyst for H

In our study we prepared MOF-5 derived carbon to reveal the thermodynamics of CO

The present paper reports a facile method to synthesize CNT-Fe2O3 and CNTs-Fe3O4@C beaded structures by deposition of Fe2O3 and carbon layers on CNTs, which integrate both electronic conductivity and buffering matrix design strategies. The CNT-Fe2O3 and CNTs-Fe3O4@C were tested as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, CNT-Fe2O3 showed excellent cycling performance, the reversible capacity retention after 80 cycles is stable at 410 mA h g−1. However, CNTs-Fe3O4@C exhibited improved reversible capacity and better cycling performance when compared to CNT and CNTs-Fe2O3. The highly improved reversible capacities are attributed to the combination of (a) the network structured CNTs, which improve the matrix electrical conductivity, (b) the mesopores created by the carbon coating on Fe3O4 nanoparticles and CNTs, which increases lithium-ion mobility and storage, and (c) the Fe3O4 nanoparticles attached to the CNTs facilitate the transport of electrons and shorten the distance for Li+ diffusion. This study provides a cost-effective, highly efficient method to fabricate nanomaterials which combines carbon nanotubes with iron oxide nanoparticles for the development of lithium ion batteries with high-performance.

CFs and CNTs showed a synergistic effect on significantly improving the thermal stability and flame retardancy of PP.

Correction for ‘Synergistic effect of carbon fibers and carbon nanotubes on improving thermal stability and flame retardancy of polypropylene: a combination of a physical network and chemical crosslinking’ by Jiang Gong et al., RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 5484–5493.

Correction for ‘Simultaneously improving the thermal stability, flame retardancy and mechanical properties of polyethylene by the combination of graphene with carbon black’ by Jiang Gong et al., RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 33776–33784.

Here, we report an efficient method for the transformation of waste car bumpers into mesoporous magnetic carbon material. Nearly 25 wt% of polypropylene was transformed into carbon material when an optimized amount of catalysts was introduced into the bumper composite. In addition, due to the presence of Fe and Co nanoparticles, the carbon nanomaterial exhibits magnetic properties. The obtained product was used as an effective adsorbent for the removal of dye pollutants from water – nearly 100% of rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) can be efficiently removed from an aqueous solution in a short duration. Furthermore, benefiting from their strong saturation magnetization, the obtained carbon materials can be easily separated from the solution by a magnet and reused multiple times. Based on the experimental results, the proposed route can pave a way to recycle waste plastics to provide large amounts of highly valuable carbon products in the future.