2022 Vol. 7, No. 2

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Research highlight
Investigating ionic liquids for optimizing lithium metal anode
Lei Zhang, Mohammad Al-Mamun
2022, 7(2): 173-175. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2021.08.001
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Developing renewable energy technology is an effective way to address the global warming and air pollution problems derived from depleting fossil fuels. Due to the high theoretical capacity (3860 mAh g-1) and low electrochemical potential of lithium metal anode, lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have attracted tremendous research attention with the scalable application and vigorous deployment of electric vehicles. Unfortunately, the further commercialization of Li metal anode is hindered by the random growth of Li dendrites during the lithium plating/stripping processes, leading to the continuous consumption of active Li and the puncture on the separator. Just recently, Ma's group proposed a new approach to systematically investigate the relationship between functional groups and Li dendrite generation during the Li plating/stripping processes. The proposed new approach could be of an effective tool to gain new insights into functional groups in the electrolyte additives and Li dendrites formation, highly valuable for the rational structural design of highperformance Li metal electrode materials.
Review articles
A mini-review on ZnIn2S4-Based photocatalysts for energy and environmental application
Guping Zhang, Hao Wu, Dongyun Chen, Najun Li, Qingfeng Xu, Hua Li, Jinghui He, Jianmei Lu
2022, 7(2): 176-204. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.12.015
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As one of the most attractive and eco-friendly technologies, semiconductor photocatalysis is demonstrated as a potential strategy to solve global energy shortage environmental pollution problems. Regarding semiconductor-based photocatalysts, Zinc indium sulfide (ZnIn2S4) with various morphological structures has become research hotspots owing to its superior visible light absorption, high chemical durability and low cost. Nevertheless, the photocatalytic activity of pristine ZnIn2S4 is unsatisfactory due to limited range of visible light absorption and fast recombination rate of light-induced electrons and holes. Different modification strategies, such as metal deposition, element doping, vacancy engineering and semiconductor combination, have been systematically developed for enhancing the photocatalytic performance of ZnIn2S4 materials. In order to promote further developments of ZnIn2S4 in photocatalytic applications, this mini-review summarizes the progress of recent research works for the construction of highly activity ZnIn2S4-based photocatalysts for the first time. In addition, the typical applications of ZnIn2S4-based photocatalytic materials have been critically reviewed and described such as in hydrogen evolution from photocatalytic water splitting, carbon dioxide photoreduction, and treatment of water pollution. The current challenges and further prospects for the development of ZnIn2S4 semiconductor photocatalysts are finally pointed out.
Advanced silicon nanostructures derived from natural silicate minerals for energy storage and conversion
Hao Wan, Wei Ma, Kechao Zhou, Yijun Cao, Xiaohe Liu, Renzhi Ma
2022, 7(2): 205-220. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2021.04.001
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To effectively alleviate the ever-increasing energy crisis and environmental issues, clean and sustainable energy-related materials as well as the corresponding storage/conversion devices are in urgent demand. Silicon (Si) with the second most elemental abundance on the crust in the form of silicate or silica (SiO2) minerals, is an advanced emerging material showing high performance in energy-related fields (e.g. batteries, photocatalytic hydrogen evolution). For the improved performance in industry-scale applications, Si materials with delicate nanostructures and ideal compositions in a massive production are highly cherished. On account of the reserve, low cost and diverse micro-nanostructures, silicate minerals are proposed as promising raw materials. In the article, crystal structures and the reduction approaches for silicate minerals, as well as recent progress on the as-reduced Si products for clean energy storage/conversion, are presented systematically. Moreover, some cutting-edge fields involving Si materials are discussed, which may offer deep insights into the rational design of advanced Si nanostructures for extended energy-related fields.
Research papers
B-doped activated carbon as a support for a high-performance Zn-based catalyst in acetylene acetoxylation
Fulong Zhu, Mingyuan Zhu, Lihua Kang
2022, 7(2): 221-228. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.07.027
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A series of boron-doped (B-doped) catalysts with dissimilar mass ratios of boric acid and activated carbon (AC) were prepared by an impregnation method for acetylene acetoxylation. The introduction of a number of boron atoms activates the stable π electrons in AC, which not only enhances the electron transfer between Zn and the reactants, but also improves the adsorption ability of CH3COOH. Improving the conversion rate of CH3COOH from 50% to 65% effectively. The inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis confirmed the content of zinc approximately 7.3 wt% for both Zn/AC and Zn/0.02 B-AC-900 catalysts. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis demonstrated that the introduction of boron changed the electron cloud density of Zn, and the strength of the Zn–O (from CH3COOH) bond was increased. In addition, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) analysis revealed that the Zn/0.02 B-AC-900 catalyst enhanced the adsorption of CH3COOH and reduced the adsorption of C2H2, thus the conversion rate of CH3COOH was increased.
High recycling Fe3O4-CdTe nanocomposites for the detection of organophosphorothioate pesticide chlorpyrifos
Yanxue Guo, Hui Liu, Dong Chen, Jianglan Qu, Jun Yang
2022, 7(2): 229-235. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.09.001
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To alleviate the secondary contamination of our environment when using quantum dots (QDs) to detect the organophosphorothioate pesticides (OPPs), we herein report a strategy to assemble magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles and luminescent CdTe quantum dots (QDs) into a composite nanosystem, which possesses both the magnetic property of Fe3O4 nanoparticles and the luminescent character of CdTe QDs, for the detection of chlorpyrifos, one of the typical OPPs. This strategy involves the isolated synthesis of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles with positive charges and luminescent CdTe QDs with negative charges, and their subsequent assembly by electrostatic interaction. The as-prepared Fe3O4–CdTe nanocomposites have a detection limit as low as 10 ppb for chlorpyrifos, and are also selective for the OPPs with a phosphorothioate moiety (P＝S bond). In specific, the Fe3O4–CdTe nanocomposites can be conveniently harvested by a normal magnet, and the recycling rate for both Cd and Fe determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) is higher than 96%, showing great potential in alleviating the Cd pollution on the environment.
Hierarchical Cu3P-based nanoarrays on nickel foam as efficient electrocatalysts for overall water splitting
Zhuojun Yang, Yongxiao Tuo, Qing Lu, Chen Chen, Mengshan Liu, Bingyan Liu, Xuezhi Duan, Yan Zhou, Jun Zhang
2022, 7(2): 236-245. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.09.002
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Exploring the efficient bifunctional catalysts and binder-free electrode materials for both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is receiving continuous interest. Herein, we report the fabrication of hierarchical copper phosphide nanoarrays (Cu3P) on three-dimensional (3D) nickel foam (NF) through a template-directed synthetic strategy as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting. Specifically, the Cu3P/NF electrode demonstrates a remarkably low overpotential of ~331 mV to approach the current density of 50 mA cm-2 in the OER, and an overpotential of ~115 mV to achieve -10 mA cm-2 current density in the HER. Meanwhile the Cu3P/NF catalyst could hold a great stability for both reactions in alkaline condition, reflected in 37 h for OER and 24 h for HER of consistent galvanostatic electrolysis. As revealed by TEM, STEM and XPS characterizations, the high catalytic OER activity can be ascribed to the 3D open structure of Cu3P/NF and the abundant CuO active sites in hierarchical CuO/Cu3P/NF structure after in-situ activation. Furthermore, the overall water splitting is conducted in a two-electrode cell, which requires only a cell voltage of 1.63 V to approach 10 mA cm-2 with a good stability of 20 h. This protocol of Cu3P/NF electrode affords a general strategy to construct hierarchically structured metal phosphides for clean energy-related application.
Constructing Ti3C2 MXene/ZnIn2S4 heterostructure as a Schottky catalyst for photocatalytic environmental remediation
Sijian Li, Luhua Shao, Zhenfei Yang, Shu Cheng, Cong Yang, Yutang Liu, Xinnian Xia
2022, 7(2): 246-256. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.09.005
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It is highly demanded to steer the charge flow in semiconductor for efficient photocatalytic environmental remediation. Herein, we designed an interfacial contact Ti3C2 MXene/ZnIn2S4 nanosheets (TC/ZISNS) Schottky heterostructure which could greatly enhance photogenerated charge separation of ZnIn2S4 (ZIS). Through TEM and XPS measurement, the strong interface coupling between 2D ZnIn2S4 nanosheets and 2D Ti3C2 MXene were explained, and the formation of Schottky heterostructure was demonstrated by electrochemical method. To investigate the photocatalytic activity of as-prepared samples, the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) and photocatalytic oxidation degradation tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-H) experiments were carried out. The results showed that the Schottky catalyst (10%-TC/ZISNS) possessed the optimum photocatalytic efficiency. Especially, the apparent rate constant of Cr(VI) reduction with 10%-TC/ZISNS was 3.9 times than that of pure ZIS. The photocatalytic performance of 10%-TC/ZISNS toward degradation rate of TC-H was 1.8 times than that of pure ZIS. Finally, a possible mechanism for great enhancement of visible-light driven photocatalytic activity in the TC/ZISNS system was provided. On the whole, this work provided a new insight on 2D/2D contact Schottky heterostructure for enhancing photocatalytic activity.
Selective conversion of biomass-derived furfuryl alcohol into n-butyl levulinate over sulfonic acid functionalized TiO2 nanotubes
Shuolin Zhou, Jinhua Lai, Xianxiang Liu, Geng Huang, Gaolin You, Qiong Xu, Dulin Yin
2022, 7(2): 257-265. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.09.009
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Sulfonic acid functionalized titanate nanotubes were prepared by the sulphonation reaction of hydrothermally synthesized TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) using chlorosulfonic acid as the sulfating agent. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, thermogravimetry-differential thermal gravimetry (TG-DTG) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The characterization results revealed that the catalysts retained the tubular structure of the TNTs and possessed a large number of active sulfonic acid sites. The catalytic performance of the catalysts for the synthesis of n-butyl levulinate was investigated via the alcoholysis of biomass-derived furfuryl alcohol under atmospheric pressure. The effects of the reaction factors such as the catalyst dosage, reaction time, and temperature on the alcoholysis of the furfuryl alcohol were systematically studied. Under mild conditions, about 79.9% yield of n-butyl levulinate was achieved. In addition, the catalysts showed a stable catalytic performance after four consecutive cycles. Furthermore, no leaching of the active species was observed during the hot filtration testing, which can be attributed to the covalently linked –SO3H groups on the TNTs surface. In addition, the opened tubular nanostructure of the catalyst and the introduced strong Brønsted acid sites exhibited synergistic effects, which facilitated the selective conversion of the furfuryl alcohol to butyl levulinate.
Lithium-conductive LiNbO3 coated high-voltage LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 cathode with enhanced rate and cyclability
Haifeng Yu, Shouliang Wang, Yanjie Hu, Guanjie He, Le Quoc Bao, Ivan P. Parkin, Hao Jiang
2022, 7(2): 266-274. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.09.011
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LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM523) cathode materials can operate at extremely high voltages and have exceptional energy density. However, their use is limited by inherent structure instability during charge/discharge and exceptionally oxidizing Ni4+ at the surface. Herein, we have developed a citrate-assisted deposition concept to achieve a uniform lithium-conductive LiNbO3 coating layer on the NCM523 surface that avoids self-nucleation of Nb-contained compounds in solution reaction. The electrode–electrolyte interface is therefore stabilized by physically blocking the detrimental parasitic reactions and Ni4+ dissolution whilst still maintaining high Li+ conductivity. Consequently, the modified NCM523 exhibits an encouraging Li-storage specific capacity of 207.4 mAh g-1 at 0.2 C and 128.9 mAh g-1 at 10 C over the range 3.0–4.5 V. Additionally, a 92% capacity retention was obtained after 100 cycles at 1 C, much higher than that of the pristine NCM523 (73%). This surface engineering strategy can be extended to modify other Ni-rich cathode materials with durable electrochemical performances.
Efficient hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol by magnetically recoverable RuCo bimetallic catalyst
Yongxing Wang, Tianyu Gao, Yaowei Lu, Yinghao Wang, Qiue Cao, Wenhao Fang
2022, 7(2): 275-287. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.09.014
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A magnetically recoverable RuCo bimetallic catalyst was reported for the catalytic hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol under ambient H2 pressure. The magnetic catalyst was prepared by H2 treatment of the RuCo composite precursor from a facile one-pot hydrolysis of Co and Ru salts by NaBH4 solution. This catalyst can totally convert furfural to 98–100% furfuryl alcohol at 120 ℃ under 1 bar H2 in isopropanol or water using only molecular H2 as hydrogen source. Moreover, the catalyst showed excellent stability during recycling test and can be easily and completely recovered by magnet from reaction solution. The influence of Ru/Co ratio and H2-treatment temperature was studied, which were shown to be important for the structural evolution and the metal interaction in RuCo active sites, based on the comprehensive characterizations including XRD, TGA, TEM, XPS, H2-TPR, CO adsorbed DRIFT-IR. It was demonstrated that the cooperative Ru0–Co0 bimetallic active sites in strong interaction can significantly promote activity and selectivity of the catalyst due to an enhanced adsorption and activation of furfural and H2, and simultaneously created a strong magnetism in the RuCo catalyst for simple physical separation.
High-gravity-assisted engineering of Ni2P/g-C3N4 nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic performance
Zhijian Zhao, Dan Wang, Yuan Pu, Jie-Xin Wang, Liang-Liang Zhang, Jian-Feng Chen
2022, 7(2): 288-295. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.09.006
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Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with transition metal phosphides has been studied extensively as potential photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. However, in-situ approaches to realize intimate interfacial contacts have rarely been reported. In this study, Ni2P nanoparticles-decorated g-C3N4 photocatalysts were prepared via liquid exfoliation of g-C3N4 followed by in-situ loading of Ni2P nanoparticles in a rotating packed bed (RPB) reactor. The optimized Ni2P/g-C3N4 exhibits high performance in visible-light-driven (λ > 420 nm) hydrogen evolution (~561 μmol g-1 h-1), which is 103 times higher than that of pristine g-C3N4. The superior photocatalytic performance and durability originate from the robust interfacial structure. Therefore, a Z-scheme route with enhanced transfer of photoinduced electron was proposed, and Ni2P/g-C3N4 composites with smaller bandgaps than those of g-C3N4 were realized. Due to the intensified mass transfer and mixing of RPB reactor, the adsorption and nucleation processes of Ni2P on g-C3N4 were enhanced, enabling scalable solar light-driven H2 production.
Covalent organic framework shows high isobutene adsorption selectivity from C4 hydrocarbons: Mechanism of interpenetration isomerism and pedal motion
Wei Chen, Mian Li, Wen-Li Peng, Ling Huang, Chao Zhao, Dinesh Acharya, Wentao Liu, Anmin Zheng
2022, 7(2): 296-306. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.09.016
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Adsorption and separation of C4 hydrocarbons are crucial steps in petrochemical processes. Employment of porous materials for enhancing the separation efficiency have paid much attention. Covalent-organic frameworks of diamond-topology, dia -COFs, often exhibit unique structural properties such as interpenetration isomerism and pedal motion. Herein, in order to get a deep insight into the structure-performance correlation of such dia -COFs, a series of dia -COF materials have been proposed and theoretically investigated on the C4 separation. It is found that these dia -COFs display an excellent adsorption and separation property towards isobutene with respect to other C4 hydrocarbons (i.e., 1,3-butadiene, 1-butene, 2-cis-butene, 2-trans-butene, isobutane and n-butane). What’s more, the correlation between the topology parameters and experimental synthesis feasibility has been established for COF-300 (), and the unreported COF-300 () is predicted to be experimentally feasible synthesized. Our findings not only provide a deep insight into the mechanism of topology characteristics of dia -COFs on C4 adsorption and separation properties but also guide the design and synthesis of novel highly-effective porous materials.
Selective adsorption of propene over propane on Li-decorated poly (triazine imide)
Yong Wang, Xiaoxia Jia, Libo Li, Jiangfeng Yang, Jinping Li
2022, 7(2): 307-313. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.10.001
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Solid adsorbents that simultaneously have high selectivity and uptake capacity are highly promising as alternatives to conventional cryogenic distillation of propene/propane (C3H6/C3H8) separation. Coordinatively unsaturated metal sites (CUS) plays a vital role in selective adsorption of olefins over paraffins. Ultrathin poly (triazine imide) (PTI) nanosheets can reach rapid gas adsorption equilibrium, due to its large surface-to-volume ratio. In this work, combining the advantages of the CUS and the PTI nanosheets, Li CUSs were introduced into the PTI nanosheets for C3H6/C3H8 separation. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated the thermodynamic feasibility of incorporating Li CUSs into the PTI nanosheets. These highly exposed Li CUSs were predicted to have a higher adsorption affinity toward C3H6 than C3H8. Using the DFT-derived force field parameters, we further performed grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations to investigate C3H6/C3H8 adsorption on the Li–PTI complexes slit pore model with different pore widths (H). We found that the Li–PTI complexes display considerable C3H6/C3H8 selectivity (4.2–7.9) under relevant conditions. Moreover, the Li–PTI complexes slit pore have large C3H6 working capacities (1.5–4.0 mmol g-1), superior to those calculated for the most of adsorbent materials that have been reported. The Li–PTI complexes with slit pore architecture show potential as C3H6/C3H8 separation materials.
Controllable fabrication and structure evolution of hierarchical 1T-MoS2 nanospheres for efficient hydrogen evolution
Huanran Li, Xiaobo Han, Suyu Jiang, Lili Zhang, Wei Ma, Renzhi Ma, Zhen Zhou
2022, 7(2): 314-323. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.09.003
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The layered materials have demonstrated great prospects as cost-effective substitutes for precious electrocatalysts in hydrogen evolution reaction. Research efforts have been devoted to synthesizing highly conductive MoS2 with the substantial cardinal plane and edge active sites. Here, we successfully synthesized a hierarchical 1T/2H–MoS2 with sodium ion insertion via a facile hydrothermal method. The contents of the 1T-phase can be flexibly controlled by different hydrothermal temperatures (160 ~ 200 ℃). And the modified uniformly dispersed 1T/2H–MoS2 nanospheres with different d spacings were designed to enhance the electrocatalytic efficiency by adding SiO2 and through the ion exchange process of NaOH and HF solution. The as-synthesized Na+ intercalated 1T-MoS2 nanosphere with an expanded interlayer of 0.95 nm obtained at 160 ℃ exhibits a prominent electrocatalytic performance of hydrogen evolution reaction with a comparable overpotential of 255 mV and a remarkably small Tafel slope of 44 mV/decade. Therefore, this study provides a facile and controllable strategy to yield interlayer-expanded 1T-MoS2 nanospheres, making it a potentially competitive hydrogen evolution catalyst for the hydrogen cell.
Pt-confinement catalyst with dendritic hierarchical pores on excellent sulfur-resistance for hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene
Xilong Wang, Chengkun Xiao, Mohnnad H. Alabsi, Peng Zheng, Zhengkai Cao, Jinlin Mei, Yu Shi, Aijun Duan, Daowei Gao, Kuo-Wei Huang, Chunming Xu
2022, 7(2): 324-333. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.10.012
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Metal confinement catalyst MoS2/Pt@TD-6%Ti (TD, TS-1/Dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles composite) in dendritic hierarchical pore structures was synthesized and showed excellent sulfur-resistance performance and stabilities in catalytic hydrodesulfurization reactions of probe sulfide molecules. The MoS2/Pt@TD-6%Ti catalyst combines the concepts of Pt-confinement effect and hydrogen spillover of Pt noble metal. The modified micropores of Mo/Pt@TD-6%Ti only allow the migration and dissociation of small H2 molecules (0.289 nm), and effectively keep the sulfur-containing compounds (e.g. H2S, 0.362 nm) outside. Thus, the MoS2/Pt@TD-6%Ti catalyst exhibits higher DBT and 4,6-DMDBT HDS activities because of the synergistic effect of the strong H2 dissociation ability of Pt and desulfurization ability of MoS2 with a lower catalyst cost. This new concept combining H2 dissociation performance of noble metal catalyst with the desulfurization ability of transition metal sulfide MoS2 can protect the noble metal catalyst avoiding deactivation and poison, and finally guarantee the higher activities for DBT and 4,6-DMDBT HDS.
Thermoresponsive Al3+-crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/alginate composite for green recovery of lithium from Li-spiked seawater
Sung Ho Park, Sang Joon Lee
2022, 7(2): 334-344. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.10.006
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With the rapid increase in the demand for lithium as an energy-critical element, the recovery of Li+ ions from seawater is a worldwide challenging issue. Herein, we propose a new facile and fast selective recovery approach of Li+ using an Al3+-crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)/alginate (Alg) (PNP/Alg(Al)) adsorbent. The in situ TEM images indicate that Alg–Al3+ coordination is reorganized via the rearrangement of PNIPAAm and Alg networks, as the temperature increases. The reorganization eventually leads to the formation of polycrystalline structure. The in situ FTIR results exhibit that PNP/Alg(Al) composite has peculiar phase transitions, which includes a retrogressive phase change from hydrophobic to hydrophilic. The synergetic effect of the strong repulsion force of Al3+ ions and the attractive force of negatively charged polymeric chains enables the efficient adsorption of Li+ ions with a low affinity from Li-spiked seawater. 7.3% of Li+ ions are recovered from Li-spiked seawater although the concentration of Li-spiked seawater is very high. In addition, Li+ ions can be extracted from PNP/Alg(Al) composite with the use of a small thermal energy. The proposed thermoresponsive IPN gel provides a strong potential in practical applications for Li+ recovery as an innovative energy-material strategy.
Fabrication of Cu+ sites in confined spaces for adsorptive desulfurization by series connection double-solvent strategy
Shu Shi, Yu-Xia Li, Shuai-Shuai Li, Xiao-Qin Liu, Lin-Bing Sun
2022, 7(2): 345-351. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.10.009
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Cu+-containing materials have shown various application prospects especially in adsorption and catalysis, because they are versatile, non-toxic and low cost. To date, developing a mild and controllable approach for the fabrication of Cu+ sites has remained a pronounced challenge. Herein, we report a series connection double-solvent strategy (SCDS) for fabricating Cu+ sites within MIL-101(Cr), a typical metal–organic framework. By employing the SCDS in which vitamin C is chosen as the environmentally benign reducing agent, Cu2+ was incorporated in the pores and then transformed to Cu+ in the confined spaces. Compared to the conventional high-temperature autoreduction method conducted under harsh environment (700 ℃ for 12 h) with a low Cu+ yield (less than 50%), SCDS can selectively reduce Cu2+ to Cu+ at room temperature without generating any Cu0. The resulting Cu+ modified MIL-101(Cr) exhibits good desulfurization performance in view of both uptake and recyclability.
Conversion of Au(III)-polluted waste eggshell into functional CaO/Au nanocatalyst for biodiesel production
Jiadi Liu, Minghuan Liu, Shaoyun Chen, Bingqing Wang, Jin Chen, Da-Peng Yang, Shangzhou Zhang, Wenxiao Du
2022, 7(2): 352-359. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.07.019
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Developing an environmental-friendly and highly active catalyst in transesterification for biodiesel production is of great importance for a more economic biodisel process. Herein, we reported that waste eggshells were used to adsorb Au(III) in water and convert the Au(III)-polluted eggshells into the functional nanocatalyst-CaO/Au for the transesterification reaction between soybean oil and methanol to the preparation of biodiesel. By coupling of CaO and Au nanoparticles, CaO/Au nanoparticles showed superior catalytic activity for the transesterification reaction between soybean oil and methanol. An optimum performance was observed over CaO/Au nanocomposites in a methanol-oil molar ratio at 12 : 1 with catalyst content of 1.0 wt% at 70 ℃ for 3 h. Besides, the catalytic activity of CaO/Au nanocatalyst was almost unchanged after recycling for 5 times and the yield of biodiesel still kept at 88.9%. The proof-of concept study provided us a sustainable method for utilization of waste eggshells to remedy the metal ions-polluted wastewater and the synthesis of functional nanocomposite for biodiesel production, show great potential application of waste eggshell in adsorption and catalytic reactions.

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