We designed and prepared the ZnSe/CoSe2@NC/CNTs (ZCNC) cathode material for aluminum batteries (ABs). The ZCN (ZnSe/CoSe2@NC) is connected by the interwoven carbon nanotube (CNT) conductive network to form a beaded structure. CNTs and the carbon formed by carbonization of organic ligands is beneficial to improving the electrical conductivity of the material and reducing structural damage during cycling. The internal electric field generated at the interface of heterostructures can promote the transfer of electrons/ions. This special structure promotes ZCNC excellent electrochemical properties. At 100 mA/g, the specific capacity of the first discharge reaches 338 mAh/g, while the specific capacity after 500 cycles still reaches 217 mAh/g. Compared with ZCN and CN(CoSe2@NC), it demonstrates a great advantage.

Poor dispersibility of carbon nanotubes greatly hinders their practical applications. Herein, a long-term stable dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in peroxydisulfate (PDS) is achieved. MWCNTs at 40 mg L-1 are completely dispersed by PDS upon ultrasonication (US/PDS) within 64 min and a stable dispersion is maintained at least 20 days. Mechanistically, US created defects on the nanomaterial and PDS-origin free radicals attacked these defects to introduce O-containing moieties (─OH and ─COOH). Interestingly, dispersion efficiency of MWCNTs by US/PDS initially at pH 7 and 3.8 is comparable, but lower than that initially at pH 12. Both •OH and SO4 •- are produced under alkaline condition, while SO4 •- is the dominant free radicals initially at pH 7 and 3.8 during the whole dispersion period. Stronger dispersion of MWCNTs initially at pH 12 resulted from greater amounts of O-containing moieties mainly in ─OH (46.32%) rather than ─COOH (24.19%) form. This differential more strongly promotes MWCNTs-water interaction via hydrogen bonding, thereby enhancing the dispersion. Notably, no significant mass loss of MWCNTs occurred during dispersion. Overall, the developed method achieves long-term stable dispersion of MWCNTs in a manner that can significantly extend their applications.

Doping and carbon encapsulation modifications have been proven to be effective methods for enhancing the lithium storage performance of batteries. The hydrothermal method and ball milling are commonly used methods for material synthesis. In this study, a composite anode material rich in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) conductive tubular network connection and encapsulation of SnO2-MoS2@CNTs (SMC) was synthesized by combining these two methods. In this highly conductive network, nano-SnO2 particles are uniformly dispersed and embedded in MoS2 with a layered structure, and the obtained SnO2-MoS2 composite material is tightly connected and encapsulated by the tubular network of CNTs. It is worth noting that the incorporation of layered MoS2 not only effectively anchors the SnO2 nanoparticles, but also provides a broader space for lithium-ion movement due to the larger interlayer spacing. The conductive network of CNTs shortens the diffusion path of electrons and Li+ and provides more diffusion channels. The reversible capacity of the SnO2-MoS2@CNTs nanocomposite material remains at 1069.3 mA h g-1 after 320 cycles at 0.2 A g-1, and it exhibits excellent long-term cycling stability, maintaining 904.5 mA h g-1 after 1000 cycles at 1.0 A g-1. The composite material demonstrates excellent pseudocapacitive contribution rate performance, with a contribution rate of 87% at 2.0 mV s-1. The results indicate that SnO2-MoS2@CNTs has excellent electrochemical lithium storage performance and is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries.

Plastic waste pollution is the serious environmental problem, and catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics is an effective way to solve this problem. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are prepared by catalytic pyrolysis of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) waste plastics by one-stage method using iron nitrate and nickel nitrate as catalyst. The growth mechanism of CNTs is analyzed in detail. TPO, XRD, SEM and Raman analyses show that increasing Ni content contributes to the production of CNTs with good morphology and high graphitization degree. While the increasing Fe content contributes to improving the yield of CNTs. The outer and inner diameters of the FeNi12-CNTs-800 are about 21 nm and 8 nm with the length of 18.9 μm, respectively. LDPE pyrolysis gases are analyzed to determine that the primary carbon source required for CNTs growth is C2H4. The C2H4 adsorption and decomposition processes on FeNi alloys are performed to reveal the growth mechanism of CNTs, based on density functional theory calculation. Three kinds of the growth models are proposed to explain the difference of the CNTs tubular shape. FeNi12-CNTs-800 are used to remove microplastics from wastewater due to existence of magnetic. PVC can be quickly removed from wastewater with removal of 100 % at 20 min. This study provides an effective way for recycling and treatment of waste plastic.

Conventional systemic cancer therapy often causes numerous adverse events. However, discovering overexpressed folate receptors in solid tumors has paved the way for targeted chemotherapy. Folic acid (FA), a ligand for these receptors, is frequently combined with chemotherapeutic drugs to improve their effectiveness. Carbon nanotubes have emerged as a versatile and promising method for delivering these folate-conjugated nano-systems, ensuring targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to cancerous cells. When FA-conjugated nanotubes dissociate, they release the drug-loaded nanotubes inside the malignant cells, reducing off-target effects. These nanotubes can also be used for combination therapies, producing synergistic effects. This review aims to comprehensively gather and critically evaluate the latest methods for delivering therapeutics using FA-conjugated nanovehicles. Additionally, it seeks to enhance our comprehension of the pertinent chemistry and biochemical pathways involved in this approach.

To improve the electrochemical performance of positive electrode materials, constructing graded nanostructures is a worthwhile approach. This study successfully synthesized nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQD) modified (Ni0.5Co0.5)3V2O8 on a carbon nanotube (CNT) substrate to construct self-supporting electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors. The (Ni0.5Co0.5)3V2O8 nanosheets were successfully wrapped onto the CNT surface through a solution impregnation process, which increased the specific surface area and interlayer spacing of the material. Furthermore, the electrochemical properties of the electrode material underwent significant enhancement due to the synergistic interplay between metal ions and the numerous redox centers. The embedding of the NGQD enriched the materials with active sites and further improved its specific capacity without compromising the structure intergrity of the layer configuration. Using CNT as the substrate ensured the self-supporting nature of the electrode. Consequently, the (Ni0.5Co0.5)3V2O8/NGQD@CNT composite exhibits an ultra-high specific capacitance of 3018.2 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 and 2332 F g-1 at 10 A g-1. The asymmetric supercapacitor constructed with (Ni0.5Co0.5)3V2O8/NGQD@CNT and activated carbon (AC) presented an impressive energy density of 160.2 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 800 W kg-1. After 8000 charge-discharge cycles, the capacity retention rate was 78.5 %, with a Coulo mbic efficiency consistently above 98 %.

The optimization of flame retardancy and thermal conductivity in epoxy resin (EP), utilized in critical applications such as mechanical components and electronics packaging, is a significant challenge. This study introduces a novel, ultrasound-assisted self-assembly technique to create a dual-functional filler consisting of carbon nanotubes and ammonium polyphosphate (CNTs@APP). This method, leveraging dynamic ligand interactions and strategic solvent selection, allows for precise control over the assembly and distribution of CNTs on APP surfaces, distinguishing it from conventional blending approaches. The integration of 7.5 wt.% CNTs@APP10 into EP nanocomposites results in substantial improvements in flame retardancy, as evidenced by a limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of 31.8% and achievement of the UL-94 V-0 rating. Additionally, critical fire hazard indicators, including total heat release (THR), total smoke release (TSR), and the peak intensity of CO yield (PCOY), are significantly reduced by 45.9% to 77.5%. This method also leads to a remarkable 3.6-fold increase in char yield, demonstrating its game-changing potential over traditional blending techniques. Moreover, despite minimal CNTs addition, thermal conductivity is notably enhanced, showing a 53% increase. This study introduces a novel approach in the development of multifunctional EP nanocomposites, offering potential for wide range of applications.

Electronic devices continue to shrink in size while increasing in performance, making excess heat dissipation challenging. Traditional thermal interface materials (TIMs) such as thermal grease and pads face limitations in thermal conductivity and stability, particularly as devices scale down. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have emerged as promising candidates for TIMs because of their exceptional thermal conductivity and mechanical properties. However, the thermal conductivity of CNT films decreases when integrated into devices due to defects and bundling effects. This study employs a novel cross-sectional approach combining high-vacuum scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) with beam-exit cross-sectional polishing (BEXP) to investigate the nanoscale morphology and thermal properties of vertically aligned CNT bundles at low and room temperatures. Using appropriate thermal transport models, we extracted effective thermal conductivities of the vertically aligned nanotubes and obtained 4 W m-1 K-1 at 200 K and 37 W m-1 K-1 at 300 K. Additionally, non-negligible lateral thermal conductance between CNT bundles suggests more complex heat transfer mechanisms in these structures. These findings provide unique insights into nanoscale thermal transport in CNT bundles, which is crucial for optimizing novel thermal management strategies.

Water splitting technology can convert renewable energies such as solar and wind into hydrogen energy, which is key to achieving a low-carbon hydrogen economy cycle. However, Pt-based catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are too expensive, thus it needs to develop efficient non-noble metal catalysts as alternatives. Herein, Ni-BDC-loaded carbon cloth (CC) is co-pyrolyzed with urea to obtain a composite structure of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and porous carbon (PC) embedded with W-doped Ni nanoparticles on CC, resulting in NiW-CNT/PC/CC. Benefiting from the synergistic effect between Ni and W, the high conductivity of CNT, and the high mass transfer rate of PC, NiW-CNT/PC/CC exhibits excellent HER activity in KOH, which only requires a low overpotential of 45 mV to drive a current density of 10 mA cm-2 with stability exceeding 40 h. Simulation calculations confirm that the W doping in metal Ni can optimize its electronic structure by lowering the d-band center and weakening hydrogen adsorption, thus reducing its HER barrier.

Sensors that can accurately assess oxygen (O2) concentrations in real time are crucial for a wide range of applications spanning personal health monitoring, environmental protection, and industrial process development. Here a high-performance chemiresistive sensor that allows for the rapid detection of O2 at room temperature under visible light illumination is described. Inspired by the operating principles of dye-sensitized solar cells, the chemiresistor is based on a single-walled carbon nanotube-titania hybrid (SWCNT-TiO2) bearing a molecular Re-based photosensitizer [(Pbpy)(CO)3ReBr] (Pbpy = 4,4\'-[P(O)(OH)2]2-2,2\'-bipyridine). The resulting SWCNT-TiO2-Re composite undergoes photoinduced charge transfer that is sensitive to ppb levels of O2, thereby yielding a rapid and reversible chemiresistive response. Owing to its unique mode of operation and robust components, the sensor shows a high degree of selectivity for O2 over a range of interferants, humidity tolerance, and multimonth benchtop stability. The approach presented herein demonstrates the translatability of concepts in light harvesting to the development of robust, rapid, and low-power sensing technologies.