Facile formation of hierarchical magnesium silicate hydrate microspheres as an adsorbent for the textile dyes

Hierarchical porous magnesium silicate hydrate (MSH) microspheres composed of sheets are successfully developed under facile conditions using a hard template. The role of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) on the formation and adsorption behavior was also observed for the methyl orange and methylene blue. The formed MSH possesses a surface area of 453.24 m^(2)/g, an average pore size of 6.38 nm, and a pore volume of 0.75 cm^(3)/g without CTAB. Based on the role of CTAB and the change in the ratio of Mg/Si, the MSH retained its sphere-like structure with a variation in pore parameters. The formed MSH was used as an adsorbent to remove methylene blue and methyl orange. The pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir Isotherm models are well-fitted, with a 256.4 mg/g removal capacity and 84.2 mg/g for methylene blue and methyl orange, respectively. The modified MSH with CTAB played a positive role for the methyl orange and a negative role for the methylene blue regarding removal performance.

Modification of biomaterials surface by mimetic cell membrane to improve biocompatibility

Modification of biomaterials surface by mimetic cell membrane for improving biocompatibility, to imitate the excellent biological and physiological proper- ties of the natural cell membrane, is an important research area in materials science. Numerous studies have been attempted to construct a mimetic cell membrane biointer- face composed of phosphorylcholine （PC）-containing polymers or other phospholipid analogues on biomaterials surface. PC-containing biointerfaces show outstanding characteristics, especially in biological aspects such as blood compatibility and antifouling property. In this mini-review, the strategies of membrane mimetic modification of biomaterials and their antifouling applications are summarized.

Improving the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells by photoanode surface modifications

Dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs) provide a promising alternative solar cell technology because of their high efficiency, environmental friendliness, easy fabrication,and low cost. Power conversion efficiency is an important parameter to measure the performance of DSSCs, but the severe charge recombination that occurs at the photoanode hinders the future improvement of power conversion efficiency. Therefore, one of the key goals for achieving high efficiency is to reduce the energy loss caused by the unwanted charge recombination at various interfaces. From this perspective, surface modification of the photoanode is the simplest method among the various approaches available in the literature for enhancing the performance of DSSCs by inhibiting the interfacial charge recombination. After some brief notes on DSSCs, in this review, we present a comprehensive discussion on surface modifications of different photoanodes that have been adopted in the literature not only for reducing recombination but also for enhancing light harvesting. Depending on the electrode materials, we discuss surface modifications of binary oxides such as TiO_2 and ZnO and ternary oxides, including Zn_2SnO_4, SrSnO_3, and BaSnO_3.We also talk about methods of surface modification and the materials suitable for surface treatment. Finally, we end with a brief future outlook of DSSCs.