Coal tar pitch-based porous carbon is prepared using coal tar pitch as the raw material and CaCO₃ as the pore-making agent, after undergoing oxidation modification with a mixed acid, it is utilized as a light absorber (NSCTP). Subsequently, it is combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to construct a coal tar pitch-based porous carbon hydrogel interfacial water evaporator (NSCTP@PVA). A systematic study is carried out to examine the microstructure, light-absorption properties, hydrophilicity, photothermal conversion characteristics, and solar-driven interfacial water evaporation performance of light absorbers and evaporators. The results show that the NSCTP@PVA hydrogel evaporator exhibits excellent water transport characteristics and photothermal conversion efficiency, with a water evaporation rate of 1.28 kg·m^-2·h^-1 and photothermal conversion efficiency of 74.16% under 1 kW·m^-2 light intensity. Even after long cycling in a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution and simulated brine, the evaporation rate remains stable at 1.20 kg·m^-2·h^-1, demonstrating remarkable cycling stability and evaporation performance. Furthermore, the NSCTP@PVA hydrogel evaporator shows excellent performance in seawater desalination, brine purification, dye removal, and industrial wastewater treatment.

It is of great significance to promote the development of carbon materials by studying the factors (composition of raw materials and preparation process) affecting the structure of mesophase asphalt as an important precursor for the preparation of high-performance carbon materials. Here, two fluid catalytic cracking slurries from Xinjiang were characterized by Gel Permeable Chromatography (GPC), ¹H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H-NMR), elemental analysis and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to clarify their composition and structural characteristics. In response to the high saturated fraction characteristic of oil slurry (>47%), a two-step method of optimizing the composition of raw materials by pyrolysis followed by thermal poly condensation was used to produce a wide-area mesophase asphalt with a softening point of 290 ℃ instead of the traditional solvent refining strategy.

The diffusion and loss of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) reduce the sulfur utilization rate and the catalytic conversion efficiency of sulfur species, resulting in early battery failure. Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ (LZTO), characterized by its stable spinel structure, exhibits high Li⁺ conductivity and holds great potential as an effective adsorbent for LiPSs. This study proposes a collaborative design concept of LZTO host–separator modifier, which offers a complementary and matching approach in the cathode side, effectively addressing the challenges associated with dissolution and inadequate conversion of LiPSs. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation substantiates the pronounced chemical affinity of LZTO towards LiPSs. More importantly, the high efficiency ion transport channels are achieved in separator coating due to the presence of the LZTO particles. Furthermore, the catalytic efficacy of LZTO is validated through meticulous analysis of symmetric batteries and Tafel curves. Consequently, the LZTO host–separator modifier-based cell displays satisfactory rate capability (1449 and 1166 mAh·g⁻¹ at 0.1 and 0.5 C) and an impressively capacity (606 mAh·g⁻¹ after 500 cycles at 1 C). The coordinated strategy of host–separator modifier is supposed to have wide applications in LSBs.