The synthesis of sulfur-doped activated coke (SAC) using SO₂ as an activator enables simultaneous desulfurizer production and sulfur resource utilization. This study systematically investigated the evolution of carbon properties through sulfur doping and the enhanced desulfurization mechanism through experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results demonstrated that SO₂ was primarily converted to elemental sulfur (maximum yield: 92.17 %) via redox reactions with carbon, while doped sulfur mainly existed as thiophene and oxidized sulfur groups (maximum doping: 18.92 wt%). Surface sulfur doping modified carbon's physicochemical properties and produced unique saddle-shaped SO₂ adsorption curves. Transient experiments and DFT calculations revealed enhanced hydrophilicity through strengthened H₂O interactions with sulfur-containing groups (the maximum adsorption energy of H₂O reached −58.70 kJ/mol, 2.64 times that of pristine sulfur-free carbon), which promoted H₂SO₄ migration in micropores via concentration-gradient diffusion to enhance desulfurization. This work provided both a waste-to-resource strategy for desulfurizer preparation and atomic-level insights into the desulfurization enhancement mechanism of SAC, offering design principles for advanced carbon materials in flue gas purification.

Compliant micromechanisms (CMMs) acquire mobility from the deflection of elastic members and have been proven to be robust by millions of silicon MEMS devices. However, the limited deflection of silicon impedes the realization of more sophisticated CMMs, which often require larger deflections. Recently, some novel manufacturing processes have emerged but are not well known by the community. In this paper, the realization of CMMs is reviewed, aiming to provide help to mechanical designers to quickly find the proper realization method for their CMM designs. To this end, the literature surveyed was classified and statistically analyzed, and representative processes were summarized individually to reflect the state of the art of CMM manufacturing. Furthermore, the features of each process were collected into tables to facilitate the reference of readers, and the guidelines for process selection were discussed. The review results indicate that, even though the silicon process remains dominant, great progress has been made in the development of polymer-related and composite-related processes, such as micromolding, SU-8 process, laser ablation, 3D printing, and the CNT frameworking. These processes result in constituent materials with a lower Young’s modulus and larger maximum allowable strain than silicon, and therefore allow larger deflection. The geometrical capabilities (e.g., aspect ratio) of the realization methods should also be considered, because different types of CMMs have different requirements. We conclude that the SU-8 process, 3D printing, and carbon nanotube frameworking will play more important roles in the future owing to their excellent comprehensive capabilities.