KOH-activated N -doped hydrochar (KHCN) was synthesized via co-activation method to eliminate atrazine (AT) in water efficiently. Compared to primitive HC, KHCN had advantages of splendid specific surface area (1205.82 m 2 /g) and developed microsphere structures on the surface. Specially for KHCN, the extra melamine added strengthened and preserved partial structure of polar oxygen-containing groups that were decomposed in the process of pore making. Besides, the estimated uptake amount of AT onto KHCN (216.50 mg/g) was remarkably superior to KHC (114.25 mg/g). KHCN exhibited the pH-dependence for AT removal, and presented excellent uptake capacity at a relatively neutral environment. Notably, the proposed mechanisms for AT removal by KHCN included electrostatic attraction, pore filling, π-π EDA, H-bond as well as hydrophilic effect. Hence, the porous N -doped hydrochar was a kind of adsorbent which was easy to prepare and had the application prospect for AT removal in natural water.
Simultaneous acquisition of satisfactory bifunctional activities toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for single transition metal sulfides is challenging, which greatly restrict their applications as cathode catalysts in the rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs). Herein, Fe 0.96 S/Co 8 FeS 8 nanoparticles co-embedded in 3D porous N, S codoped carbon (Fe 1 Co 1 S x @NSPC) were fabricated with regulated ratio of iron to cobalt. Compared with single iron sulfide catalyst (Fe 0.96 S@NSPC), the obtained Fe 1 Co 1 S x @NSPC exhibits enhanced activities in both ORR and OER , whose half-wave potential and overpotential (at 10 mA cm −2 ) are 0.82 V, 0.39 V. The improved electrocatalytic activities are believed to be from the synergistic effects between the binary sulfides and the N, S co-doping and the 3D porous structures. As expected, the home-made aqueous ZAB based on Fe 1 Co 1 S x @NSPC exhibits a high peak power density (159 mW cm −2 ), large specific capacity (807 mAh g −1 ) and a long-term charge/discharge cycling stability over 378 cycles at about 852 mV. Moreover, the self-made all-solid-state button ZAB based on Fe 1 Co 1 S x @NSPC shows a high peak power density (71 mW cm −2 ) and a well maintained cycle life at about 841 mV over 100 charge/discharge cycles.