In this study, 3D BiOBr@hollow carbon sphere (BiOBr@C) hybrids were synthesized via template-assisted hydrothermal methods. The effect of BiOBr@C on the catalytic decomposition of phenol was investigated. Compared with BiOBr, the BiOBr@C hybrid exhibited a significantly increased specific surface area. Furthermore, the BiOBr@C hybrid also showed improved visible-light absorption capacity because of the synergistic effect between the carbon spheres and BiOBr. Phenol decontamination experiments demonstrated that the BiOBr@C hybrid achieved an optimal catalytic decomposition efficiency of 34% within 24 h, outperforming both pure BiOBr and carbon spheres alone. Kinetic analysis indicated that the phenol decontamination process on BiOBr@C fit the Weber‒Morris intraparticle diffusion model, suggesting that the catalytic decomposition mechanism involved multiple processes, including intramolecular diffusion and surface chemical adsorption, rather than simple physical adsorption. This study provides a promising strategy for designing efficient BiOBr-based photocatalysts for phenol decontamination applications.

Owing to unprecedented merits such as high theoretical capacity, superior energy density and low cost, lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) show a bright future both in scientific and industrial areas. Whereas, the inherent issues, including highly insulating character, undesired shuttle behavior and lithium dendrites growth, are seriously impeding its practical usage. Here, a metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) derived N, S co-doped carbon nanotube hollow architecture confining with CoS₂ nanoparticles (CoS₂/NSCNHF) modified separator is designed to surmount these obstacles. Compared with Celgard separator, this designed separator shows obviously enhanced flame retardancy, giving 73.1% and 53.0% reductions in peak heat release rate and total heat release, separately. Concretely, its hollow structure, conductive feature, electrocatalytic activity and Lewis acid-base interaction enable the efficient inhibition on shuttle behavior as well as boost in polysulfides conversion kinetics. The cell with modified separator delivers a high discharge capacity of 1, 284.5 mAh·g^–1. After running for 100 cycles, a discharge capacity of 661.3 mAh·g^–1 is remained. Markedly, the suppression on lithium dendrites growth is also observed, manifesting the enhanced battery safety. Overall, this work may shed light on the effective usage of MOFs-derived hierarchical composite in achieving LSBs with high electrochemical performance as well as safety.