Today, the principles of green chemistry are being fundamentally applied in the chemical industry, such as the nitrobenzene industry, which is an essential intermediate for various commercial products. Research on the application of response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize nitrobenzene synthesis was conducted using a sulfated silica (SO4/SiO2) catalyst and batch microwave reactor. The nitrobenzene synthesis process was carried out according to RSM using a central composite design (CCD) design for three independent variables, consisting of sulfuric acid concentration on the silica (%), stirring time (min), and reaction temperature (°C), and the response variable of nitrobenzene yield (%). The results showed that a three-factorial design using the response surface method could determine the optimum conditions for obtaining nitrobenzene products in a batch microwave reactor. The optimum condition for a nitrobenzene yield of 63.38 % can be obtained at a sulfuric acid concentration on the silica of 91.20 %, stirring time of 140.45 min, and reaction temperature of 58.14 °C. From the 20 experiments conducted, the SO4/SiO2 catalyst showed a selectivity of 100 %, which means that this solid acid catalyst can potentially work well in converting benzene to nitrobenzene.

Carbon foam composites containing hollow microspheres, reinforced by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and montmorillonite (MMT), have been developed as the thermal insulation and EMI shielding layer. The effects of additive amounts of CNTs/ MMT on microstructure and properties of the carbon foam composites were investigated. Results showed that carbon foam composites had hierarchical porous structure, with CNTs and MMT being relatively uniformly dispersed in the composites. The addition of multiscale additives improved the mechanical, electromagnetic shielding effectiveness and thermal insulation properties of carbon foam composites. The composites containing 0.2 wt.% CNTs and 5 wt.% MMT, showed outstanding compressive strength, up to 8.54 MPa, increased by 116% to pure carbon foam. Their electromagnetic shielding effectiveness was as high as 65 dB, increased by 75%. Due to the hierarchical porous structure and MMT’s heat barrier effect, carbon foam composites presented remarkable thermal insulation properties. The minimum thermal conductivity was 0.45 W·m−1·K−1 at 800 °C. Their exceptional thermal protection can also be evidenced by ablation resistance under flame at 1000 °C. Therefore, such multifunctional carbon-based composites are ideal for use in thermal protection.

Moso bamboo, as a kind of renewable functional material, exhibits outstanding development potential. It is promising to prepare activated carbon with good mechanical strength and high specific surface area using moso bamboo as raw material. In this work, we employed a hydraulic extruder to extrude the bamboo charcoal and the adhesive to obtain the moso bamboo activated carbon, and improved the specific surface area of the columnar activated carbon through high-temperature water vapor activation. Through the catalytic role of the water vapor activation process, the formation and expansion of the pores were promoted and the internal pores were greatly increased. The obtained columnar activated carbon shows excellent mechanical strength (93%) and high specific surface area (791.54 m2/ g). Polyacrylamide@asphalt is one of the most effective adhesives in the high-temperature water vapor activation. The average pore size (22.99 nm) and pore volume (0.36 cm3/ g) of the prepared columnar activated carbon showed a high mesoporous ratio (83%). Based on the excellent pore structure brought by the activation process, the adsorption capacity of iodine (1135.75 mg/g), methylene blue (230 mg/g) and carbon tetrachloride (64.03 mg/g) were greatly improved. The resultant moso bamboo columnar activated carbon with high specific surface area, excellent mechanical properties, and outstanding adsorption capacity possesses a wide range of industrial applications and environmental protection potential.

The intensive development of the petrochemical industry globally reflects the necessity of an efficient approach for oily sludge and wastewater. Hence, for the first time, the current study utilized magnetic waxy diesel sludge (MWOPS) to synthesize activated carbon coated with TiO2 particles for the removal of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and COD from oily petroleum wastewater (OPW). The photocatalyst was characterized using CHNOS, elemental analysis was performed using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), Raman, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), MAP thermo-gravimetric analysis/ differential thermo-gravimetric (TGA–DTG), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The optimization of synthesized highly porous AC/Fe3O4/TiO2 photocatalyst was conducted considering the impacts of pH, temperature, photocatalyst dosage, and UVA6W exposure time. The results demonstrated the high capacity of the MWOPS with inherent magnetic potential and desired carbon content for the removal of 91% and 93% of TPH and COD, respectively. The optimum conditions for the OPW treatment were obtained at pH 6.5, photocatalyst dosage of 250 mg, temperature of 35 °C, and UVA6W exposure time of 67.5 min. Moreover, the isotherm/kinetic modeling illustrated simultaneous physisorption and chemisorption on heterogeneous and multilayer surfaces. Notably, the adsorption efficiency of the AC/Fe3O4/TiO2 decreased by 4% after five adsorption/desorption cycles. Accordingly, the application of a well-designed pioneering photocatalyst from the MWOPS provides a cost-effective approach for industry manufacturers for oily wastewater treatment.

This study responds to literature calls to investigate the different social and psychological antecedents of negative consumer emotional well-being in the context of the health crisis Covid-19. We perform a path analysis on a sample of Australian consumers during the Covid-19 lockdown. We find that social norms and word-ofmouth increase consumer fear-of-missing-out which in turn fuels panic buying behavior. Such behavior is moreover spurred by positive motivations to panic buy. By contrast, we find that consumer ability to self-regulate during Covid-19’s reduces their tendencies to succumb to panic buying. We moreover find that such self-regulation is enhanced through sustainable product consumption behavior during Covid-19. Lastly, it was found that panic buying has a negative influence on emotional well-being of consumers. Implications of our findings for theory and future research directions are provided.

This research aims to analyse consumers’ (Millennials and Gen Z) luxury consumption behaviour by focusing on the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that drive consumption of luxury goods. Then, the study investigates whether they prefer to purchase offline or online for luxury goods. Lastly, it analyses which media most influences individuals when it comes to luxury consumption. An online survey is developed and distributed to Millennials and Gen Z. A first round of data collection took place in 2022 and a second round of data collection will take place at the beginning of 2024. Initial findings show that consumers are driven by intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivations when purchasing and who influences more when buying luxury online. Furthermore, it emerges that consumers prefer to shop offline, highlighting the importance of physical stores.