Shell-thickness-induced spontaneous inward migration of mercury in porous ZnO@CuS for gaseous mercury immobilization

• Porous structure of ZnO@CuS are beneficial for mercury capture. • The mercury bonding stability depended largely on CuS shell thickness. • ZnO@CuS [4:3] could adapt to a wider temperature window. • Gaseous mercury tended to migrate inward the ZnO@CuS for firmer combination. Inducing gaseous substances to migrate inward into a solid material is one of the effective methods to improve the interfacial adsorption stability. However, the gaseous...