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Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) represent a promising energy storage system due to the high theoretical energy density of the cathode; however, the high temperature and long‐time drying required for electrode production result in high energy consumption and low efficiency. Ultraviolet (UV)‐curing technology is an effective strategy to solve the abovementioned problems. However, carbon black and other conductive agents used in the production of the battery industry show strong absorption of UV light; thus, a single photoinitiator cannot absorb enough light intensity to realize initiation, limiting its application in the battery industry. In this work, the concept of full‐band absorption is introduced into the manufacturing process of the LSB cathode to solve the abovementioned problems. The full‐band absorption of photoinitiators in the UV band is successfully realized by combining the photoinitiators 2‐benzyl‐2‐dimethylamino‐1‐(4‐morpholinylphenyl)‐1‐butanone, 2‐isopropyl thioxanthone, and bis (2,4,6‐trimethyl benzoyl)‐phenoxyphosphine. An ultraviolet in situ polymerized polyurethane acrylate (PUA) binder is successfully prepared by the combination of photoinitiators. PUA is used as the binder of LSBs and exhibits an excellent long‐cycle performance of 1500 cycles with a low decay rate of 0.04% per cycle at 0.5 C. Thus, UV‐curing technology provides a new prospect and possibility of industrialization for battery manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: It is believed that the enantiorecognition mechanism based on macrocyclic antibiotics involves multimodal interactions via hydrogen bonding, π–π interaction, steric hindrance, hydrophobic interaction and so on. A variety of enantiomeric N-benzoylated amino acids were separated using balhimycin (A) or its analogues bromobalhimycin (B) and dechlorobalhimycin (C) as chiral mobile phase additive using a CE method, which combined the partial filling technique with the dynamic coating technique and the co-EOF electrophoresis technique. The enantioresolution and the migration time were highly relevant to the structure of analytes, especially to the substitutions on the N-tagged benzoyl moiety of the amino acids. A steric effect and π–π interaction based mechanism is proposed in order to explain some observed enantioresolution differences between positional isomers. Notably dechlorobalhimycin exhibited the best enantioresolution for several N-benzoylated derivatives of leucine, which was rarely observed for N-dansylated amino acid derivatives. The hydrophobicity difference of the aglycone pocket among three chiral selectors was assumed to account for this behaviour. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Some new chiral cyclic o-hydroxylarylphosphonodiamides were synthesized from (−)-α-phenylethylamine and found to be efficient ligands for the Ti(OPr-i)4 catalyzed asymmetric trimethylsilylcyanation of aromatic aldehydes. Corresponding cyanohydrins were obtained in good chemical yield and enantiomeric excesses up to 90%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A new chiral Schiff base 4 was synthesized, which was found to be efficient catalyst for the enantioselective silylcyanation of aldehydes. The enantioselectivities of 25.1–72.7% were obtained by using the chiral Schiff base-Ti(OiPr)4 complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data collected by sensors in modern chemical process systems are always contaminated by industrial noise, so robust fault detection is an important technology to ensure process safety. However, the existing robust detection techniques have limitations in extracting dynamic and time series features of chemical process data. In this paper, a robust fault detection method based on dynamic low-rank matrix and optimized LSTM is proposed for dynamic chemical processes under noise background. First, a new low-rank matrix decomposition method, dynamic principal component pursuit (DPCP), is proposed for the dynamic characteristics of process data containing noise. The PCP is improved using the time delay excursion method, i.e., the DPCP is constructed by embedding an augmented dynamic matrix with a time lag factor on the PCP and solved using the alternating direction multiplier method. The purpose is to strip the useless noise from the useful detection information and extract the dynamic low-rank matrix. Second, an optimized LSTM (OPLSTM) is proposed for the time series features of dynamic low-rank matrix. vector factors for feature selection of memory cells in the LSTM are reweighted to balance the time series features of industrial processes and avoid heavy reliance on erroneous fault information. In addition, support vector data description (SVDD) is used to describe the hypersphere with clear boundary, and distance-based statistic is constructed to achieve fault detection with high fault detection rate and low false alarm rate. Finally, to assess the effectiveness of the proposed method, we performed extensive experiments on the Tennessee Eastman Process and the electrolytic aluminum process, and compared them with multiple methods. The experimental results show that the proposed method is effective and robust for chemical processes fault detection in the background of industrial noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urban industrialization and agricultural production have led to the discharge of excessive phosphate into aquatic systems, resulting in a rise in water pollution. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore efficient phosphate removal technologies. Herein, a novel phosphate capture nanocomposite (PEI−PW@Zr) with mild preparation conditions, environmental friendliness, recyclability, and high efficiency has been developed by modifying aminated nanowood with a zirconium (Zr) component. The Zr component imparts the ability to capture phosphate to the PEI−PW@Zr, while the porous structure provides a mass transfer channel, resulting in excellent adsorption efficiency. Additionally, the nanocomposite maintains more than 80% phosphate adsorption efficiency even after ten adsorption–desorption cycles, indicating its recyclability and potential for repeated use. This compressible nanocomposite provides novel insights into the design of efficient phosphate removal cleaners and offers potential approaches for the functionalization of biomass−based composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cinnamon essential oil (CNO) is a natural and renewable antibacterial agent. However, CNO is highly volatile and unstable, which limits its practical application as a long-term and wide antibacterial agent. In order to improve the CNO stability, we have microencapsulated CNO into composite microcapsules basing on Pickering emulsion stabilized by silica (SiO2) nanoparticles. The CNO-loaded composite microcapsules possess the hybrid microcapsule shell including SiO2, xanthan gum and chitosan. Moreover, the results show that the microcapsules have spherical appearance. Microencapsulation technique effectively promotes the CNO stability, and the loaded CNO is slowly released from microcapsules. The antibacterial test indicates that the minimal inhibitory concentration of microcapsules was 2 mg mL−1 against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and the microcapsules can play an effective long-term antibacterial effect. Thus, Pickering emulsion templates is a convenient and effective technique to construct antibacterial essential oil-contained microcapsules, which can be used as long-term antibacterial agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a cationic photoinitiator (TAS) was used as a catalyst for the ring opening reaction of carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) and epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) under UV light to prepare CMCS-g-ESO conjugate, and the structure of the product was characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR and GPC. Then, the spinosad-loaded microcapsules (SSD@CMCS-g-ESO) were prepared by ultrasonic self-assembly method. The results showed that TAS could catalyze the ring opening reaction of CMCS and ESO under UV-irradiation and the optimum reaction time was 1 h, with the molecular weight of 15,745. The average particle size of SSD@CMCS-g-ESO was about 2.16 μm, and the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and drug loading content (LC) of SSD@CMCS-g-ESO were 85.39 ± 2.05% and 20.17 ± 1.84%, respectively. In vitro release revealed that SSD@CMCS-g-ESO exhibited sustained-release and pH-responsive property, and the accumulative release in the buffer solution of pH = 6.5 and 7.4 was higher than in pH = 9.0. Furthermore, SSD@CMCS-g-ESO had a good antifungal properties against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) compared with the unencapsulated SSD at the same drug dose. This work indicated that photo-chemical reactions could be used to prepare bio-based carrier materials to construct drugs delivery system for targeted treatment of fusarium wilt. • CMCS-g-ESO based conjugate was synthesized by photo-chemical reaction. • SSD@CMCS-g-ESO microcapsules showed sustained-release and pH-responsive properties. • SSD@CMCS-g-ESO microcapsules exhibited good wettability and antifungal activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we develop a facile one-pot approach to the fabrication of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) microsphere-incorporated calcium alginate (ALG-Ca)/hydroxyapatite (HAp) porous scaffolds based on HAp nanoparticle-stabilized oil-in-water Pickering emulsion templates, which contain alginate in the aqueous phase and PLLA in the oil phase. The emulsion aqueous phase is solidified by in situ gelation of alginate with Ca 2+ released from HAp by decreasing pH with slow hydrolysis of d -gluconic acid δ-lactone (GDL) to produce emulsion droplet-incorporated gels, followed by freeze-drying to form porous scaffolds containing microspheres. The pore structure of porous scaffolds can be adjusted by varying the HAp or GDL concentration. The compressive tests show that the increase of HAp or GDL concentration is beneficial to improve the compressive property of porous scaffolds, while the excessive HAp can lead to the decrease in compressive property. Moreover, the swelling behavior studies display that the swelling ratios of porous scaffolds reduce with increasing HAp or GDL concentration. Furthermore, hydrophobic drug ibuprofen (IBU) and hydrophilic drug bovine serum albumin (BSA) are loaded into the microspheres and scaffold matrix, respectively. In vitro drug release results indicate that BSA has a rapid release while IBU has a sustained release in the dual drug-loaded scaffolds. In vitro cell culture experiments verify that mouse bone mesenchymal stem cells can proliferate on the porous scaffolds well, indicating the good biocompatibility of porous scaffolds. All these results demonstrate that the PLLA microsphere-incorporated ALG-Ca/HAp porous scaffolds have a promising potential for tissue engineering and drug delivery applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional thermosetting materials lack of reprocessability, acid-degradability, and fire-safety, which limit the further popularization and application of materials. In this study, a hexasubstituted cyclotriphosphazene (HVP) was synthesized from abundant renewable vanillin, and then combined with two bio-based amines (castor oil polyamine and furan-derived diamine) to establish polyimine networks through a condensation reaction between amino groups and aldehyde groups. Five bio-based polyimine thermoset networks (FA-0, FA-25, FA-50, FA-75, and FA-100) were prepared with an ammonia-formaldehyde ratio of 1:1, and varying the ratio of the two bio-based amines allowed for regulating the final mechanical properties (from tough plastic-like to hard plastic-like) and flame resistance of the materials. Among the five experimental samples, FA-100 exhibited the best physical properties stress and Tg of 28.47 MPa and 63.8 °C, respectively. FA-100 networks also showed the best flame retardant properties (LOI, 28.8 vol/%). Furthermore, due to the dynamic imine bonds in the polymer network, the material could be recycled under hot pressing conditions (120 °C and 15 MPa). Meanwhile, the monomer HVP could be recovered under mild acidic circumstances. These thermosetting polyimine networks provide a new avenue for the development of multifunctional bio-based polymer materials for practical applications. [Display omitted] • Five bio-based polyimine networks were successfully prepared. • The ratio of two bio-based amines affects the properties of polymers. • Phosphoronitrile units make the polymer exhibit flame retardant properties. • The dynamic imine bond gives the material multiple recovery properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the polyphenol hydroxyl structure of tannic, this work reports a graphene-based anti-corrosive composite coating that integrates inhibition, self-healing and photothermal conversion properties. Electrochemical tests in solution and scratch phases illustrate that the inhibition effect of modified particles provide passive healing. For intact coating, after 50 days of immersion, the G 2 T 2 F 8 /AR coating maintains the highest impedance modulus throughout the entire process (1.04×1010 Ω cm2). More importantly, the scratch coating can achieve active healing of photothermal conversion through NIR stimulation. The combination of exogenous and intrinsic healing mechanisms enables the coating to own excellent self-healing and anti-corrosion effects. [Display omitted] • The GTF was modified using bio-based tannic acid and furan-derived diamine. • The GTF exhibit well-dispersion stability and passive corrosion inhibition ability. • The NIR stimulation was using for achieve active self-healing ability. • The GTF/AR coating showed excellent properties in the anti-corrosion field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • TGO nanosheets with emergency response closure function were fabricated. • The appropriate amount of TGO could improve the corrosion resistance of vinyl ester resin. • TGO significantly improved the barrier capacity of the broken composite coating. Vinyl ester resins (VER) are commonly used in the field of anticorrosive coatings. During the preparation and application of the coatings, it is inevitable to produce defects such as micro-porosity, micro-cracks, and scratches, which will reduce the barrier capacity of the anticorrosive coatings against corrosive media. In this paper, 2-(chloromethyl) pyridine is used to functionalize the silane-decorated graphene oxide for obtaining the functionalized modified graphene oxide (TGO). The aggregation of TGO nanosheets under the influence of Fe2+ ions generated by corrosion, achieving the response closure of TGO/VER coatings to hinder the diffusion path of corrosive media, thereby strengthening the anticorrosion effect of the coating. The water vapor transmission rate of TGO/VER coatings decreases significantly after immersion in Fe2+ solution. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests indicate that TGO/VER coatings have better corrosion resistance compared with VER coatings, in which the impedance modulus after immersion for 100 d of 0.3TGO/VER coatings (3.93 × 1010 Ω cm2) is about four orders of magnitude greater than that of the VER coatings (5.85 × 106 Ω cm2). The TGO/VER coatings provide the responsive closure function via complexation of TGO with Fe2+ to achieve the long-term corrosion resistance. These results suggest that TGO/VER system provides an effective strategy for the preparation and application of graphene-based long-term anticorrosive coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecologically feasible strategies for constructing superhydrophobic surfaces offer versatile applications in waterproofing, self–cleaning, selective absorption, and corrosion protection. Herein, we prepared low–surface–energy branched–chain–enriched micronanorod (F@SiO 2 @MNC) by hydrolyzing silane coupling agent and modifying fluoropolymer using micro–nanocellulose extracted from waste straw (Chinese hemp). These rods were sprayed and adhered to various substrates precoated with a binder, resulting in superhydrophobic surfaces. F@SiO 2 @MNC addition allowed for the formation of stable spherical liquid droplets when in contact with different types of aqueous liquids. Furthermore, these surfaces demonstrated excellent self–cleaning, robustness, abrasion resistance, UV resistance, cycling stability, and other multifunctionalities. They significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of filter paper, effectively separated oil water mixtures, and improved the corrosion resistance of metals. Our proposed strategy represents a novel approach for developing multifunctional coatings assembled from micronanocellulose. • Micro-nanocellulose (MNC) was extracted from Chinese hemp. • Rods (F@SiO 2 @MNC) enriched with low surface energy branched chains were prepared. • Rods were adhered stably to the surface of various substrates with a binder. • Various surfaces coated with superhydrophobic F@SiO 2 @MNC showed multifunctionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The usage of bio-based polymers to construct paper-based functional materials is currently an important topic in the food packaging industry. Nevertheless, the facile and effective construction of packaging paper materials with excellent water and oil repellency, self-cleaning property, biodegradability and recyclability currently faces distinct challenges. In this aspect, we have developed a one-step coating method for preparing hydrophobic and grease-resistant paper basing on templating dichloromethane-in-water (O/W) cellulose nanocrystals-stabilized Pickering emulsions, which contain chitosan (CS) and glutinous rice starch (GRS) in water phase and polylactic acid (PLA) in oil phase. Herein, the greaseproof polysaccharides CS and GRS are served as the coating film matrix, where the hydrophobic PLA is embedded in the form of microspheres. The optimized coated paper with rough surface structure display highly hydrophobic and water barrier properties with the water contact angle of larger than 130° and water vapor transmission rate of 3.57 × 10−10 gm−1s−1Pa−1, outstanding oil resistance with the kit rating of 9.5/12 and self-cleaning performance. Most interestingly, the soil burial test shows the favourable biodegradability of the coated paper. In addition, the pulp can be recycled from the coated paper and then reused to make paper, validating the recyclability of the coated paper. This study provides a new sustainable and universal research strategy for the large-scale preparation of fully bio-based, recyclable, hydrophobic and oil-resistant, self-cleaning, biodegradable paper materials, which exhibit the highly promising applications in food packaging industry. [Display omitted] • Pickering emulsion template is used to one-step prepare packaging paper coatings. • Water and oil resistance of paper clearly increased after coating treatment. • Coated paper displays excellent biodegradability and self-cleaning performance. • •Coated paper can be recycled by a simple recycling process. • Coated paper shows promising potential application in food packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel yolk/shell Fe3O4–polydopamine–graphene–Pt (Fe3O4@PDA/RGO/Pt) nanocomposite is synthesized using polydopamine as a moderate modifier for graphene as well as a coupling agent for the assembly of Pt nanoparticles. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared catalysts are characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The detailed formation mechanism of such yolk/shell nanocomposite is discussed. Subsequently, its catalytic activity towards the methanol oxidation is evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, electrochemical impedance spectra and CO-stripping voltammetry. Results show that such york/shell Fe3O4@PDA/RGO/Pt exhibits higher electrochemical activity and stability to methanol oxidation than Pt/graphene, which is not only attributed to the synergetic cocatalytic effect at the heterojunction interfaces between the Pt nanoparticles and the support, but also due to the high immobilization of Pt nanoparticles by the functional groups of polydopamine. In addition, the separation ability of Pt nanoparticles from the nanocomposite by Fe3O4 can decrease the CO poison from free Pt nanoparticles. Therefore, this unique yolk/shell nanocomposite may be suitable for the production of catalysts with low-cost and high activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Graphene oxide (GO) has abundant oxygen-containing functional groups, making it easy to undergo covalent and non-covalent modifications, coupled with its excellent physical barrier ability, which shows great prospects in improving the corrosion resistance of coatings. Unfortunately, GO has a strong van der Waals force and π-π interactions, which make it prone to self-aggregation, and at the same time, in the process of preparing the coating due to the volatilization of solvents, it is easy to produce micropores and other defects, which will not be conducive to the long-term corrosion resistance of the coating. Therefore, this work used silicone as a "bridge" to modify GO with nanodiamond, and then a composite coating with excellent anticorrosion properties was prepared with vinyl ester resin under heating conditions. This work not only effectively solved the dispersion and interface interaction of GO in the resin, but also the diluent in this process could fully participate in the polymerization reaction, effectively avoiding the volatilization of volatile gases. The results showed that the conductivity of the modified GO reached the level of the insulating material (9.6 × 10−9 S/cm, 30 MPa pressure). Electrochemical tests showed that the |Z| 0.01Hz value of the coating was as high as 1.00 × 109 Ω cm2 after soaking in 3.5 wt% brine for 120 days, which was three orders of magnitude higher than the control group. Compared to the control group, the protective efficiency of the coating remained at 97.8 %. This was mainly related to the synergistic anticorrosion effect of GO and nano-diamond. In short, this work provided a new research approach for the preparation of long-lasting anticorrosion coatings using zero-dimensional and two-dimensional materials. • The graphene oxide was successfully modified by silicone and nano-diamond. • The modified graphene oxide had excellent insulating properties. • In curing, the raw material was 100 % utilized and no VOC was released. • The coating had excellent corrosion resistance after being soaked for 120 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Oxidized graphene was modified by lignin and pyridine derivatives. • Inspired by mimosa, a long-term anti-corrosion composite coating was prepared. • Pyridine group and Fe2+ had a strong binding energy (-369.99 kcal/mol). Although the coating can effectively prevent metal corrosion, it is easy to form micro-pores and micro-cracks during the curing process, and the coating is inevitably damaged by the external environment during use, resulting in a reduction in its protective ability, thereby shortening the service life of the substrate. Inspired by the stress closure function of mimosa, an intelligent anti-corrosion coating with stress closure function against corrosion products (Fe2+) was prepared by using pyridine derivatives and lignin grafted graphene oxide (ATGO). By density functional theory calculation, the binding energy of pyridine group and Fe2+ was −369.99 kcal/mol, and their strong complexation would facilitate the formation of a dense protective layer at the metal corrosion interface. The test results showed that ATGO-CM coating had high fracture strength (86.9 MPa) and adhesion strength (2.03 MPa), as well as low water vapor permeability (1.3 × 10-6 g m−1 day−1 Pa−1). Electrochemical testing denoted that after soaking in 3.5 wt% saline solution for 100 days, the impedance modulus of the ATGO-CM coating remained at 5.36 × 109 Ω·cm2 at low frequencies (f = 0.01 Hz), which was two orders of magnitude higher than the blank group. Through scratch experiments showed that the complexation effect of pyridine groups and corrosive products could significantly improve the corrosion resistance of the coating, with R ct value of 1.8 × 104 Ω cm2 for the damaged coating, one order of magnitude higher than the blank group. This work not only provided a reference for the preparation of intelligent anti-corrosion coatings with bionic functions, but also increased the added value of biomass materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heavy anticorrosive coating industry demands coatings with exceptional mechanical properties and corrosion resistance to withstand the challenges of severe corrosion environments. Incorporating graphene with barrier function into vinyl ester resins (VER) to achieve above-mentioned performances enhancements has garnered considerable attention. Herein, a novel solvent-free, nearly 100 % raw materials utilization polyfunctional acrylate (SMAGO-VER) has been developed by using styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer and GO covalent cross-linked hybrid (SMAGO) and acrylic coring-opening epoxy resin. SMAGO exhibited well stability and dispersibility in the resin system. The composite coating containing SMAGO-VER showed enhanced mechanical properties, thermal stability and corrosion resistance due to the synergistic effect of copolymer and GO. The mechanism of enhancement was elucidated through various evaluation methods such as electrochemistry and equivalent circuit model. To conclude, this approach provides an effective strategy to address the limitations of traditional VER materials for better application in the field of heavy anticorrosive coatings. [Display omitted] • SMAGO was obtained by covalently grafting styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer onto GO. • The weakened hydrophilic SMAGO could be stably dispersed in vinyl ester resin (VER). • The addition of SMAGO improved the mechanical and thermal abilities of the coatings. • SMAGO-VER 1.0 % -coated tinplate was not corroded by salt water after 120 d of soaking. • The possibile anticorrosive mechanism of SMAGO-VER coatings on tinplate was revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heavy metal pollution control industry requires convenient and cost-effective solutions to address complex aqueous environment. Adsorption method can be an effective strategy to realize these goals. Considering the importance of environmental and sustainable development strategies, there is an urgent need to develop efficient, green and non-toxic heavy metal adsorbents. In this work, a robust aminated cellulose-based porous adsorbent (PGPW) was developed from delignified wood and amino-rich polymer using a solvent-free, mild, simple and efficient preparation method. Such adsorbent exhibited excellent adsorption capacity (188.68 mg g−1) for Cu(II), and its adsorption behavior was consistent with pseudo-second order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. Notably, PGPW with superior compressibility could be squeezed to achieve rapid desorption and reach equilibrium within 5 min, while still retaining 87 % adsorption efficiency after 50 cycles. In addition, PGPW showed remarkable selectivity towards various coexisting ionic systems and demonstrated a considerable adsorption capacity in natural water applications. The adsorption mechanism of heavy metal ions on porous adsorption material was elucidated. This approach provides a simple, gentle and sustainable strategy for preparing functionalized wood-based composites with efficient adsorption and ultra-fast desorption of heavy metal ions. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) suffer from well‐known fast capacity losses despite their extremely high theoretical capacity and energy density. These losses are caused by dissolution of lithium polysulfide (LiPS) in ether‐based electrolytes and have become the main bottleneck to widespread applications of LSBs. Therefore, there is a significant need for electrode materials that have a strong adsorption capacity for LiPS. Herein, a waterborne polyurethane (WPUN) containing sulfamic acid (NH2SO3H) polymer is designed and synthesized as an aqueous‐based, ecofriendly binder by neutralizing sulfamic acid with a tung oil‐based polyurethane prepolymer. UV–vis spectroscopy shows that the WPUN strongly immobilizes LiPS and thus is an effective inhibitor of the LiPS. Moreover, the WPUN binder has excellent adhesive and mechanical properties that improve the integrity of sulfur cathodes. The WPUN‐based cathodes exhibit a significant improvement in their specific capacity and maintain a capacity of 617 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.5C. Besides, the LSBs assembled with the WPUN‐based cathodes show good rate performance from 0.2C (737 mAh g−1) to 4C (586 mAh g−1), which is significantly higher than that of LSBs assembled with a commercial polymer binder. The structural design of the presented binder provides a new perspective for obtaining high‐performance LSBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biocompatible and bioactive scaffolds with multiscale porosity, shape memory effect and drug delivery performance are highly promising in bone tissue engineering applications within the approach of minimally invasive surgical implantation. In this study, we report an effective method to fabricate multiscale porous bioactive (MPB) scaffolds with shape memory effect by freeze drying of 3D printed high internal phase Pickering emulsion (Pickering HIPE) templates stabilized by hydrophobically modified hydroxyapatite and silica nanoparticles. MPB scaffolds containing a shape memory polymer matrix of poly(D,L-lactide-co-trimethylene carbonate) display high porosity and fully interconnected filament networks with multiscale pore structures. The in vitro biomineralization study verifies that MPB scaffolds are bioactive with the apatite formation ability. The thermal property testing shows that the glass transition temperature of MPB scaffolds is easily tuned to fall between 45.9 and 49.1 °C by varying the HIPE composition. Moreover, MPB scaffolds exhibit observable shape memory properties with fast shape recovery. The antibacterial drug enrofloxacin can be efficiently loaded into MPB scaffolds and then released in a sustained manner displaying effective antimicrobial effect. Furthermore, cell culture assays confirm that MPB scaffolds could sustain the cell growth, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation, indicating the cytocompatibility and osteoinduction activity of MPB scaffolds. Therefore, combining freeze drying with 3D printing of Pickering HIPE templates paves the way towards MPB scaffolds with shape memory effect, which are promising as minimally invasive implantation scaffolds in bone tissue engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shortcomings of oligomer resin, including its high viscosity, easy brittleness and lack of flame-retardant performance, obviously limit the application fields of the related coatings. Herein, a UV-curable polyfunctional biomass-based diluent (PAGMA) is conveniently and effectively synthesized by grafting glycidyl methacrylate onto phytic acid. The structural characterization of PAGMA is identified by FT-IR and 1H NMR tests. Moreover, PAGMA diluent is mixed with UV-curable epoxidized soybean oil-based acrylic resin (ESO-based resin), and the influences of PAGMA on the viscosity of ESO-based resin, the mechanical property and the flame-retardant efficiency of the related films are systemically researched. All results demonstrate that the viscosity of composite resin (R 2 resin) with 20 wt% PAGMA reduces by 39.2% compared with that of ESO-based resin. And the toughness of the cured film (F 2 film) prepared by R 2 resin achieves about 1.18 MJ·m-3, which is 2.26 times as large as the cured film prepared without PAGMA (F 0 film). Furthermore, the limiting oxygen index value of F 2 film improves by 31.2% compared with that of F 0 film, and the F 2 film can self-extinguish after being ignited. Thus, the prepared polyfunctional biomass diluent can be applied to UV-curable coatings to decline the coating viscosity and enhance the comprehensive properties of coating films, which assists in broadening the application fields of UV-curable materials, especially in fire prevention. [Display omitted] • A polyfunctional biomass diluent was prepared from phytic acid. • The diluent possessed flame-retardant and toughening effect. • The diluent can be widely used in the application of UV curing coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional thermosetting materials cannot be degraded, recycled, or reprocessed once they attain their end-of-life causing environmental pollution. Using renewable feedstocks to develop covalent adaptive networks (CANs) based on dynamic covalent bonds can make up for the above shortcomings. The design of new polymeric materials using renewable feedstocks is consistent with the concept of sustainability practices. Herein, castor oil, cysteamine and vanillin are used as building blocks to construct fully bio-based thermosetting polyimine vitrimers through imination between cysteamine functionalized castor oil and divanillin. Owing to its unique structure containing flexible chains, aromatic hydrocarbon and imine bonds, polyimine vitrimers integrate fine mechanical properties, good thermal stability, excellent adhesion, rapid self-healing performance, degradability, recyclability and antibacterial ability. Specifically, the tensile strength of 5.21 MPa, lap-shear strength of 6.07 MPa on 304 stainless steels, self-healing within 30 min at 80 °C, and antibacterial rate against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli > 90% are observed for this fully bio-based polyimine vitrimers. Additionally, discarded materials can be recovered multiple times for repeated usage by thermo-compression reprocessing and solvent treatment. The original monomer DV is obtained by degradation under 1 M aqueous acetic acid solution with a recovery rate of 92.7%. Therefore, this work will provide a new research strategy for the application of multifunctional bio-based polymer materials, especially in adhesives. [Display omitted] • A fully bio-based polyimide was prepared from castor oil, vanillin and cysteamine. • Catechol-like units endow the polyimide polymer with excellent adhesion property. • The dynamic imine bond gives the polyimide material multiple recovery properties. • The polyimide material displays the clear antibacterial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epoxy vinyl ester resin is widely used in the field of corrosion protection because of its excellent corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. However, due to the ease of hydrolysis of the ester group in the ester resin, the barrier ability of the coating is reduced, which will accelerate metal corrosion. The existing literature shows that the use of nano-sheet materials such as graphene oxide (GO) can effectively enhance the barrier properties of the coating. In order to solve the poor compatibility and electrical corrosion phenomenon of GO, in this work, renewable vanillin and silicone with excellent anti-corrosive properties were grafted to GO (APGO) by insertion reaction and D-A reaction. Subsequently, a series of new APGO-based epoxy vinyl ester resin composites with excellent mechanical properties and anti-corrosion properties were prepared by thermal crosslinking polymerization. The results showed that when the additive amount of APGO was 0.1 wt%, the comprehensive performance of the composite was the best: the conductivity (1.9 × 10−13–5.6 × 10−13 S/cm) of the composite was far lower than the critical electrical insulation value (10−9 S/cm), the breaking strength was improved by 38.0 %, the contact angle was increased by 65.7 %, and its anti-corrosion efficiency was up to 99.03 %. After 70 days of immersion in 3.5 wt% salt water, the impedance modulus of the composite at low frequency (Z f = 0.01 Hz) remained 2.23 × 1010 Ω cm2, which was 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of pure epoxy vinyl ester resin (2.43 × 108 Ω cm2). The above results were not only related to the maze effect formed by APGO, but also related to the increased crosslinking density of the system. This work provided a novel strategy for preparing GO-based composites with excellent comprehensive properties. • The solvent was 100 % utilized and the process was environmentally friendly. • Vanillin and organosilicon were used to modify GO by insertion and D-A reaction. • The composite had excellent insulation, mechanical and anti-corrosive properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the cinnamon oil (CMO)‐loaded antibacterial composite microcapsules with silicon dioxide (SiO2)/poly(melamine formaldehyde) (PMF) hybrid shells are effectively and facilely constructed by in situ polymerization of SiO2 nanoparticle–stabilized Pickering emulsion templates. The morphological structure, composition, and thermal performance of the microcapsules are determined by scanning electronic microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis. In addition, in vitro CMO release and antimicrobial investigations of the microcapsules are also performed, respectively. The results demonstrate that the microcapsules own an approximately spherical shape with a core–shell structure. Moreover, the micro‐encapsulation of CMO clearly increases its thermal stability, and meanwhile results in obtaining microcapsules with the controlled CMO release and visibly long‐term antimicrobial effects. All the results show that in situ polymerization based on templating Pickering emulsions is an attractive method to construct antibacterial essential oil–loaded microcapsules, which can be served as promising antibacterial materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel tri-functional bio-based methacrylate prepolymer was prepared from castor oil. • Low VOCs and high reactive UV-curable active bio-based prepolymer was synthesized. • The castor oil content of the prepared bio-based prepolymer is greater than 57%. • The castor oil-based prepolymer has promising applications in UV-curable coatings. A novel tri-functional castor oil-based methacrylate prepolymer (MCOG) was developed by mercapto castor oil (MCO) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) in this study through a two-step method. Primarily, the mercapto castor oil (MCO) was prepared through thiol-ene reaction of castor oil and mercaptoacetic acid, and subsequently an esterification reaction based on above product and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was conducted. FT-IR and 1H NMR spectra collectively revealed that MCOG was successfully synthesized. As a dominant component, MCOG was formulated with other additives including a reactive diluent pentaerythritol tri-acrylate (PETA), a photo-initiator (TPO) and another self-made polyurethane acylate prepolymers (B-215) and cured under UV irradiations. UV-curing kinetics of the MCOG/PETA/B-215 film was detailly investigated by tracing the ATR-IR spectroscopy and gel content and it demonstrated that the cured films had more than 95% C C double bond conversion. Moreover, dynamic mechanical property, thermal stability and mechanical property of the cured films were respectively determined by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and tensile measurement. DMA testified that with the increasing of B-215 content, storage modulus, cross-linking density of the cured films dropped, whereas the corresponding glass transition temperatures (Tg) increased. TGA showed that the maximum thermal decomposition temperatures were all above 460 °C. Tensile tests indicated that the better tensile strength was obtained with the content of 20% of the B-215 in the cured film. Additionally, transparency and flexibility of the cured films were respectively analyzed by digital image and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Besides, these cured films displayed high pencil hardness (5H–6H) and excellent resistance to acidic and alkali solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A spiro-bisphosphate (MFR) was designed and synthesized via the reaction of spirocyclic pentaerythritol bisphosphorate disphosphoryl chloride (SPDPC) and 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone (UV-0) with dual functions of flame retardance and ultraviolet absorption. The chemical structure was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The flame retardancy performance of MFR was investigated in the commercial epoxy resin E−44 with respect to pyrolysis and fire behavior by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), limiting oxygen index test (LOI), vertical burning test (UL 94) and cone calorimeter test. The results showed that EP/20%MFR thermoset (EP thermoset with 20 wt% MFR adding) passed the V-0 level in UL 94, and attained a LOI value of 32.2%. The peak heat release rate (p-HRR), total heat release (THR), average effective heat combustion (av-EHC), average mass loss rate (av-MLR) and total smoke release (TSR) of EP/20%MFR thermoset decreased compared with those of neat EP. The flame retardant mechanism of EP/MFR thermoset has been studied in detail. Adding MFR significantly increased char residues and mainly be responsible for the good flame retardancy of MFR. Besides, MFR demonstrated the better UV absorption capability than UV-0. • A bisphosphate (MFR) with dual functions of flame retarding and ultraviolet absorbing was synthesized. • MFR endowed EP with good flame retardancy through promoting the formation of compact and continuous char layers. • MFR has decent ultraviolet absorption capability as a promising ultraviolet absorber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• One-pot synthesis of castor and tung oil-based polyurethane-imides was developed. • The introduction of Diels-Alder adducts notably increases the mechanical properties. • The thermal stability improves with the incorporation of imide groups. • The resulting polymers have high bio-renewable content. Herein, castor and tung oil-based polyurethane-imides with tailored thermal and mechanical performance were developed by a one-pot method. First, tung oil (TO) was transformed into eleostearic acid diethanol amide (EADEA) by methyl-esterification and amidation. The resulting EADEA was then mixed with castor oil (CO), N -(2-hydroxyethyl)-maleimide (HEMI) and isophorone diisocyanate to prepare biobased polyurethane-imides. The formation of Diels-Alder (DA) adducts from EADEA and HEMI during the curing process was determined by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The effect of DA adducts contents on the thermal and mechanical properties of corresponding polymers was investigated. The results show that the introduction of TO-maleimide DA adducts significantly increases the glass transition temperature, tensile strength, Young's modulus and gel content of the resulting polyurethanes. The highest tensile strength of the resulting polymers can reach 48.2 MPa. Besides, the thermal stability was also improved with the incorporation of imide groups. This technique reported here demonstrates several advantages, such as one-pot synthesis, high bio-renewable content, low cost and tunable performance, and it is promising to find application in coatings, adhesives and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • A series of solvent-free thermosetting coatings were prepared from tung oils. • The effects of maleic anhydride content on the coatings properties were investigated. • The thermosetting coatings show comparable corrosion resistance to commercial resin. Abstract A novel bio-based methacrylate monomer (MEAM) derived from tung oil was synthesized through a two-step synthetic procedure involving amidation and esterification reactions. The chemical structure of MEAM was confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared and gel permeation chromatography. Then, a series of tung oil-derived thermosets were produced by the polymerization of this methacrylate monomer with different contents of maleic anhydride (MA). The dynamic mechanical analysis, tensile properties and pencil hardness were conducted on the obtained thermosetting films. It was revealed that with the increase of the content of MA, T g values, the tensile strength and the pencil hardness of the films varied in the range from 63.3–109.2 °C, 12.8±0.8–22.7±1.2 MPa, and 4H to 6H, respectively. And the thermal stabilities and mechanical properties of these films could be adjusted simply by controlling molar ratios of MEAM to MA. Furthermore, the thermosetting films demonstrated comparable corrosion resistance to commercial epoxy methacrylic coating, and had good chemical resistance, adhesion and water boiling resistance. These results indicate that the prepared tung oil-derived thermosetting films are suitable to be applied as bio-based anticorrosion coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries have received considerable attention due to their high theoretical specific capacity (1675 mAh g–1) and environmental friendliness. Whereas, the development of Li–S batteries has been limited by the shuttle effect and volume expansion. Binders play a key role to alleviate the above issues as an essential part of the Li–S batteries. However, there are few studies about the application of vegetable oils for preparing Li–S batteries binders. Herein, a cross–linked reactive castor oil–based binder (CAB) initiated by UV light is reported. The robust covalent cross–linking network relieves the volume expansion and ensures the stability of the electrode while numerous polar groups such as –C O and –NH– suppress the shuttle effect by immobilizing polysulfides. Therefore, the Li–S batteries with CAB binder exhibits excellent cycling stability (an initial discharge specific capacity of 1037 mAh g–1, 510 mAh g–1 after 500 cycles), and a remarkable areal capacity of 3.8 mAh cm–2 after 70 cycles even though a high sulfur loading (5.3 mg cm–2). The reactive eco–vegetable oil–based binder confirms the feasibility of UV–curable CAB as the binder for Li–S batteries and contributes to the development of efficient vegetable oil–based, reactive binders with the improved mechanical properties. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vinyl ester resin (VER) has been regarded as one of effective anti-corrosive resins, which is commonly used in anti-corrosion coating fields. However, the barrier effect of VER-based films against the corrosion medium is seriously reduced due to the inevitable generation of pores and cracks during the VER-based film formation process. In this work, the modified lamellar graphene oxide (GO560) nanoparticles used as functional fillers are introduced into the VER-based film matrix to address the above issue. Herein, GO nanoparticles are modified by epoxy-terminated silane coupling agent (KH560) to improve their dispersibility and hydrophobicity. And then the GO560 nanoparticles are bridged with VER through the tung oleic acid maleic anhydride (TOAMA). The study results of stand test, Fourier infrared spectrum (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) indicate that the ring opening reaction of carboxylic anhydride (TOAMA) with epoxy groups from GO560 nanoparticles and epoxy resin assists in the good dispersibility of GO560 nanoparticles in the VER composite film matrix. Moreover, the electrochemical impedance measurement shows that the low-frequency impedance of GO560/VER films (7.08 × 1010 Ω cm2) is 4 orders of magnitude higher than that of Blank/VER film (1.11 × 107 Ω cm2) after 100-day immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution, which implies the obviously improvement of corrosion resistance for VER-based film by introducing GO560 nanoparticles. This study provides a promising method for uniformly dispersing the epoxidized GO nanosheets by the bridged linkage effect of bio-based materials into VER-based film, and then construct multifunctional nanosheets-VER composite tough films with the favorable and long-lasting anti-corrosion performance, which have the great potential in the marine anti-corrosion application including ships and marine engineerings. [Display omitted] • The dispersion of GO560 particles in VER resin was enhanced through TOAMA, and the corrosion resistance was improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract Bioactive and biocompatible scaffolds possessing hierarchical porous structures and tunable multi-functional performance have attracted increasing interest in the biomedical field, especially in bone tissue engineering. In this work, we report a convenient and effective approach to construct bioactive nanoparticle/poly(ε-caprolactone) (BNPCL) scaffolds with hierarchical porous structures based on solvent evaporation of 3D printed water-in-oil high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templates, containing hydrophobically modified hydroxyapatite and silica nanoparticles in the oil phase. The hierarchical porous structures consist of mm-scale macropores formed by 3D printing and μm-scale micropores from HIPE templates. The micropore structures and mechanical properties of BNPCL scaffolds are easily tailored by varying the preparation conditions of the HIPE templates. An in vitro biomineralization study shows that BNPCL scaffolds possess excellent bioactivity because of effective formation of apatite particles on them. Moreover, the in vitro drug release studies using ibuprofen display the potential of BNPCL scaffolds as drug carriers. Furthermore, cell culture assays prove that BNPCL scaffolds have good cytocompatibility to effectively support cell adhesion, growth and proliferation. All the results imply that combining solvent evaporation with 3D printing of HIPE templates is a promising alternative approach to fabricate hierarchical porous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Low VOCs and high reactive UV-curable active monomers were synthesized by renewable tung oil. • The prepared tung oil-based UV-curable active monomers exhibit high curing activity and rigid properties. • The cured films have promising applications in UV-curable anticorrosion coating and wood coating field. Abstract With the rapid development of industry and the growing shortage of fossil energy, tung oil has attracted much attention of researchers because of its environment-friendly and renewable advantages. In this work, we successfully synthesized two kinds of tung-oil-derived renewable UV-curable active monomers, tung-acid-maleic tri-acrylate (TOAH) and tung-maleic tetra-acrylate (TMPG). 1H NMR and FT-IR results collectively revealed that the targeted active-monomers were successfully prepared. UV-curing kinetics of the films was studied by Photo-DSC, thermal properties of their cured films were investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and general performance of UV-curing films including acidic, alkaline resistance and boiling-water resistance were also investigated. Tensile properties of the cured films were also tested. Dynamic mechanical analysis demonstrated that the storage modulus and glass transition temperatures of the cured films increased while increasing the content of TMPG monomer. The crosslinking density of the cured copolymers also increased with the increasing content of TMPG monomer. TGA showed that the maximum thermal decomposition temperatures (T max) of the cured copolymers were all above 420 °C. Tensile tests indicated that the tensile properties were better in the cured systems when the mixed films consisted of 50TOAH/50TMPG and 30% HDDA reactive diluent. Finally, all the results demonstrated that comparable balanced properties could be obtained by mixing these two bio-based monomers together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Biobased thiol-epoxy network was obtained from gallic acid-based thiol. • The resulting network has comparable shape memory properties to the petroleum ones. • Epoxidized vegetable oils were incorporated into the thiol-epoxy networks. • The introduction of vegetable oils has no impact to the shape-fixity ratio. Abstract Shape memory polymers play an increasingly significant role in the fields of electronics, aerospace and medical science. However, the most of shape memory polymers are derived from petroleum resource nowadays. Herein, biobased thiol-epoxy shape memory network was obtained from gallic acid-based thiol and diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). The resulting network shows good shape memory performance with the shape-fixity ratio of 98.7%, shape-recovery ratio of 97.7% and excellent cycle stability, which is comparable to the petroleum counterparts. Further, epoxidized vegetable oils were incorporated into the above thiol-epoxy network to investigate the effect of epoxidized vegetable oils on the properties of the resulting networks. After introducing the vegetable oils, shape-fixity ratios show irrelevance with the network structures and keep above 96%. Shape-recovery ratio declines with the increase of epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) contents, but when ELO content equals to 20 wt% of DGEBA, shape-recovery speed enhances compared to the network without epoxidized vegetable oils. This is the first attempt to fabricate the thiol-epoxy shape memory networks from renewable biomasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • The cationic polymerization mechanism of tung oil was discussed in details. • The non-toxic photoinitiator was used to replace boron trifluoride diethyl etherate. • A novel method that can realize fast curing of tung oil without any modified was studied. • Dual curing can effectively promote the properties and polymerization rate of polymers. Abstract With the increasing shortage of petroleum-based resources, the exploitation and application of the polymers derived from the renewable resources has becomes increasingly important for the industrial development. In this work, in order to promote the direct application of tung oil in the coating field, the tung oil-based polymers with the excellent mechanical properties by using cationic photoinitiator as the "green" initiator were prepared. The cationic polymerization mechanism and the optimal polymerization conditions of methyl eleostearate (ME) induced by triarylsulfonium salt (TAS) are characterized via the nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The effects of different monomers on the properties of tung oil-based polymers and the post curing behaviors of the polymers are studied by dynamic mechanical test and microtensile test. The results display that the heating treatment after UV irradiation is necessary and favorable for the cationic polymerization of ME induced by TAS. And the optimal reaction condition is 500 W of irradiation energy, 5 wt% of initiator concentration, 60 min of irradiation time, 100 °C of heating temperature and 3 h of heating time. Moreover, tung oil-based polymers with good hydrophobicity can be obtained under the optimal reaction condition. In addition, adding 20 wt% divinylbenzene and 10 wt% styrene to the tung oil can effectively increase the mechanical properties and glass transition temperatures (T g) of tung oil-based polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • A PEC immunosensor was constructed by HCR, EPI and BCP multiple cascade amplification strategy. • CdS/Fe 2 O 3 co-sensitized TiO 2 NRAs with high photo-to-current conversion efficiency were used. • Au@PANI loaded Ab 2 as the recognition of antibody and a DNA primer as the initiator of HCR. • MC-LR was sensitively detected by such PEC immunosensor. Abstract A competitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunosensor for microcystin-LR (MC-LR) detection was developed based on hybridization chain reaction (HCR), exciton-plasmon interactions (EPI) and enzymatic biocatalytic precipitation (BCP) multiple cascade amplification strategy. Firstly, The CdS/Fe 2 O 3 co-sensitized TiO 2 nanorod arrays were directly grown on the FTO electrode to immobilize antigens, while Au@polyaniline nanocomposites were used to immobilize secondary antibody as the recognition of MC-LR antibody and a DNA primer as the initiator. Secondly, by using HCR, the DNA chain was associated with streptavidin-labeled alkaline phosphatase decorated gold nanoparticles, which can induce silver metallization on the gold nanoparticles and insoluble biocatalytic precipitation, thus the photocurrent can be changed by energy transfer and the inhibition of electron conduction. Taking the advantage of multiple amplification strategy, the immunosensor showed a linear range from 0.5 ng/L to 100 μg/L with a detection limit of 0.3 ng/L. Moreover, it possessed satisfactory performance of stability, selectivity and reproducibility, thus this PEC immunosensor might be attractive in the field of environmental detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a series of bio-based polyols were prepared from olive, castor, corn, canola, rice bran, grape seed and linseed oil by thiol-ene photo-click reaction. The relationship between carbon-carbon double bonds in the backbone of vegetable oil fatty acid chains and the functionalities of the polyols was elucidated. The advantage and disadvantage between thiol-ene photo-click reaction and traditional methods for vegetable oil based polyols are summarized and compared. These bio-based polyols were used to prepare cationic waterborne polyurethane dispersions. With the increase of the vegetable oil based polyols’ hydroxyl values, the tensile strength, Young’s modulus, T g , water contact angle of the waterborne polyurethane films increase from 1 to 11 MPa, 10 to 395 MPa, 23 to 50 °C and 38˚ to 46˚, respectively, but the elongation at break and thermal stability of them decrease. Thiol-ene photo-click reaction offers a bio-based platform to create a variety of waterborne polyurethanes that promises economic and environmental benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biocompatible porous scaffolds with tunable microstructures and drug delivery ability have aroused increasing attention in the application of the biomedical fields, especially in tissue engineering. In this study, we have facilely fabricated the poly(L-lactic acid)-modified halloysite nanotubes (m-HNTs)/poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) porous scaffolds by direct solvent evaporation of m-HNTs stabilized water in oil Pickering emulsion templates, which contain PCL in the oil phase. The obtained scaffolds have possessed the porous microstructures, which can be easily tailored by varying the preparation conditions of emulsion templates including m-HNTs concentrations and the volume ratios of water to oil. Furthermore, the antibacterial drug enrofloxacin (ENR) has been loaded into the scaffolds, and the in vitro release studies show the potential of m-HNTs/PCL porous scaffolds as drug carriers. And the antimicrobial test results have proved that the ENR-loaded porous scaffolds exhibit obvious and long-term antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli. In addition, mouse bone mesenchymal stem cells (mBMSCs) are cultured on the m-HNTs/PCL porous scaffolds, and the results of cell counting kit-8 assay and confocal laser scanning microscope observation show that the m-HNTs/PCL porous scaffolds are cytocompatible, because mBMSCs can attach, develop and proliferate well on the porous scaffolds. All the results indicate that the m-HNTs/PCL porous scaffolds hold great potential applications in tissue engineering as scaffolds and/or drug carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyploidization is an effective means of improving the active components and quality of secondary metabolism in medicinal plants. In the present study, we compared the immunostimulatory effects of crude polysaccharides from tetraploid and diploid Echinacea purpurea. The results showed that the carbohydrate contents of crude polysaccharide of tetraploid E. purpurea (CPE4) and diploid E. purpurea (CPE2) were 85.51% and 44.65%, respectively. 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) analyses showed no major differences in the overall structure and molecular weight of polysaccharides between CPE4 and CPE2. However, some differences in the relative content of the same polysaccharides group were observed between CPE4 and CPE2. In in vitro tests, EP4 could stimulate lymphocyte proliferation and secretion of cytokines maximally at the concentration of 0.0312 mg/mL, and EP2 could stimulate lymphocyte proliferation and secretion of cytokines maximally at the concentration of 0.125 mg/mL. In in vivo tests, EP4 was more effective at promoting the proliferation of lymphocytes and secretion of cytokines in mice immunosuppressed by cyclophosphamide than EP2 at the same concentration. Taken together, these data demonstrated that the relative content of the partial polysaccharides group is increased, and the immunoregulatory effect is enhanced in tetraploid E. purpurea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the urushiol analogues (CAT-ME) carrying the functional groups of double bonds and phenolic hydroxyls were synthesized by Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction of methyl eleostearate (the main component of tung oil) with catechol via ultraviolet photocatalysis. By comparison of catalytic results of different photoinitiators, it was found that cationic photoinitiators (triarylsulfonium salts) could be used to catalyze this alkylation reaction, which could not only dramatically boost the yield (71%) of the urushiol analogues, but also greatly shorten the reaction time (8 min) at a low UV light (100 W). And the chemical structures of the target compounds were also confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC–MS). In addition, the photoactivity of the urushiol analogues was also discussed and the results showed that the UV-cured polyurethane films mixed with CAT-ME had excellent mechanical property and thermal stability, and the gel fraction of the film mixed with 15% CAT-ME reached 99.5%, and the tensile strength was up to 25.07 MPa while the breaking elongation increased by 4.57%. Thus, this approach of photocatalysis using cationic photoinitiators as catalysts showcases a promising method to direct other chemical reactions and provides a platform to guide the further modification of other unsaturated natural oil, expanding the application of vegetable oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various methods have been used to cope with heavy metal ion contamination in wastewater, which caused serious hazards to ecological and human health. Adsorption is one of the most frequent, economical and effective methods for removing these contaminants. Herein, a porous and amino-rich cellulose-based composite adsorbent (PEI-PCS) with anisotropic property was successfully prepared by covalently cross-linking polyethyleneimine on delignified corn straw. Combined with the porosity of straw substrate and the chelating ability of amino group to metal ions, the as-prepared PEI-PCS exhibited universality (various metal ions), rapid adsorption behavior (within 180 min achieve adsorption equilibrium), high adsorption capacity (85.47 mg g−1 for Cu(II)), and good durability (70 % of adsorption efficiency after 5 cycles). In addition, the adsorption process was conformed to pseudo-second-order dynamics and the Langmuir isotherm models. Lastly, the adsorption mechanism was also elucidated. This study provides a sustainable pathway for the manufacture of efficient biomass-based adsorbents and confirms that functionalized corn straw is a promising material for the treatment of heavy metal ions. • An amino-rich cellulose-based adsorbent (PEI-PCS) obtained from natural corn straw. • PEI-PCS showed good adsorption capacities for various heavy metal ions via chelation. • PEI-PCS exhibited excellent adsorption behavior and good cyclic stability. • Adsorption conformed to pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. • The possible adsorption mechanism for heavy metal ions removal was elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of industry and the growing shortage of fossil energy, tung oil has attracted much attention of researchers because of its environment-friendly and renewable advantages. In this work, the curing mechanism of tung oil under UV irradiation is studied by the titration of the peroxide value, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In addition, the effects of different photoinitiators on the UV curing behavior of tung oil are investigated through monitoring the gel fraction of the cured films. Finally, the morphology and the solvent resistance of the films cured with different condition are estimated by scanning electron microscope and solvent resistance testing. The results display that UV curing of tung oil is composed of oxidative polymerization and free radical polymerization. Among the different photoinitiators, the triarylsulfonium salts at amount of 5 wt% is one of the most efficient ones for the UV curing of tung oil. A novel UV curable system containing tung oil is constructed to supply a reference to expand the application of drying oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cinnamon oil (CMO) has a wide variety of promising applications due to its multifunctional activity, especially excellent antibacterial activity. However, CMO is highly unstable and volatile, which clearly limit its application fields. In this work, CMO is encapsulated in composite emulsion hydrogels to solve the above issue. The CMO-loaded composite emulsion hydrogels are facilely and effectively fabricated by free radical polymerization of acrylamide in the continuous phase of oil-in-water concentrated emulsion templates. Gelatin serves as the effective polymer emulsifier to prepare the CMO-in-water concentrated emulsions. The study results display that the CMO can be effectively loaded into the hydrogel matrix. And the microstructure and mechanical properties of the composite hydrogels can be easily tuned by changing internal phase fraction of the concentrated emulsion templates. Increasing internal phase fraction leads to the increase of pore sizes and the decrease of the Young’s modulus and compressive stress. Moreover, the release studies indicate that the CMO-loaded composite hydrogels display the sustained CMO release profiles. Furthermore, the antibacterial assays verify that the CMO-loaded composite hydrogels demonstrate an excellent and long-term antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli . All the results indicate that the CMO-loaded composite emulsion hydrogels prepared in this study can be applied as promising long-term antibacterial materials. Free radical polymerization based on concentrated emulsion templates is a promising alternative approach to fabricate antibacterial essential oil-loaded composite emulsion hydrogels, which could be acted as antibacterial materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The super stretchability, ultrahigh toughness, good self-recovery and shape memory performance are very important for the practical application of hydrogels. However, most of hydrogels do not demonstrate the above-mentioned features at the same time. In this study, we develop a promising and versatile strategy for the synthesis of novel tough poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid)-carbon dot-ferric ion (PAmAc-C dot -Fe 3+ ) nanocomposite (NC) hydrogel with a dual cross-linked network, which is triggered by carbon dots (C-dots) and Fe 3+ ions as physical cross-linkers. The introduction of Fe 3+ ions into the first C-dot cross-linked hydrogel can form strong coordinate bonds with COO − groups of PAmAc chains and C-dots, and obviously increase the mechanical properties of hydrogels. Varying C-dot content, Ac content, or immersing time in FeCl 3 solution can facilely adjust the mechanical properties of hydrogels. At optimal conditions, the PAmAc-C dot -Fe 3+ NC hydrogel displays extremely balanced and high mechanical properties (the fracture strain of 2663%, fracture stress of 4.00 MPa and toughness of 71.30 MJ/m 3 ), good self-recovery capacity (ca. 80.5% toughness recovery after 4 h of resting) and fatigue resistance. Basing on the dynamic and reversible nature of coordination bonds, the PAmAc-C dot -Fe 3+ hydrogel also shows the stimulation-triggered shape memory performance. All the above results indicate that the introduction of strong coordinate bonds into NC hydrogel is a promising alternative method to fabricate dual cross-linked NC hydrogels with excellent comprehensive properties and functions, which have potential applications in load-bearing soft devices and soft actuators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a novel oil–adsorption sponge with superhydrophobicity was fabricated using polymer–assisted electroless deposition and dip–coating techniques for depositing a rough polydopamine layer, magnetic particles, and low surface energy polydimethylsiloxane onto the surface of a sponge skeleton. The as–prepared superhydrophobic sponge (WCA > 150° and SA < 5°) exhibited rapid adsorption behavior, large adsorption capacity (up to 50.6 times its own dry weight or above 90% of its own volume), excellent durability (above 80% of the adsorption capacity after 80 recycles), and a self–cleaning property owing to sufficient open–cell pores and superelasticity provided by the melamine–formaldehyde host as well as the hierarchical roughness and convenient magnetic recovery enabled by the polymer–assisted electroless deposition approach. The pump–, gravity–, and solar–driven oil–water separation devices based on the fabricated cubic composites were also demonstrated, particularly the separation of high–viscosity oil–water mixtures via the solar–driven mode, demonstrating the broad prospects of such modified sponges in actual applications. This study provides a new avenue for rationally designing novel oil adsorption and separation materials. [Display omitted] • A polymer–assisted strategy for constructing superhydrophobic sponge was proposed. • The deposited PDA coating endowed PDMS–MF roughness and photothermal conversion. • The Ni layer provided PDMS–MF with magnetism and enhanced thermal conductivity. • PDMS–MF showed robust mechanical stability, oil adsorption capacity and durability. • Mult–means–driven apparatus were designed to continuously collect various oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene oxide (GO) acted as an inorganic filler has attracted great attention in the construction of polymer-based composite coating film. Nevertheless, the high surface area, obvious van der Waals forces, and abundant hydrophilic groups of GO result in its poor dispersion behavior and compatibility in hydrophobic polymer, which greatly limits its widespread practical application. To solve the above issue, we have prepared SiO 2 -decorated GO (GO-SiO 2) nanoparticles using the sol-gel hydrolysis method. The FTIR, Raman spectra, XPS and SEM analysis displayed that GO-SiO 2 nanoparticles were successfully constructed and the SiO 2 nanoparticles are covalently grafted onto GO sheet surfaces. Moreover, the GO-SiO 2 nanoparticles are further employed as inorganic fillers into the non-solvent UV-curable castor oil-based polyurethane acrylate (COPUA) systems for the preparation of composite coating films. Herein, the GO-SiO 2 nanoparticles can be uniformly dispersed in hydrophobic COPUA-based coating precursor, and have favorable compatibility with COPUA resin. The incorporation of GO-SiO 2 nanoparticles into the coating film matrix would slightly decrease the gel content of coating films (all gel contents are above 91.5 %) while improving the hydrophobic property of coating films. Furthermore, the thermal stability and mechanical performance of coating films have reasonably enhanced trends by the incorporation of GO-SiO 2 nanoparticles. The prepared coating films display favorable acid, alkali, and solvent resistance, and the high content of GO-SiO 2 nanoparticles is beneficial to aggrandize the anticorrosion performance of coating films. This work provides a universal approach to modify GO sheets and construct multifunctional modified GO/polyurethane composite film for coating application. [Display omitted] • SiO 2 -decorated GO sheets (GO-SiO 2) are prepared by the sol-gel hydrolysis method. • GO-SiO 2 has nice suspendability and compatibility in hydrophobic coating system. • GO-SiO 2 /castor oil-based polyurethane film is formed by non-solvent UV-curing way. • GO-SiO 2 avails to enhance thermal, mechanical and anticorrosive properties of film. • This work provides a facile method to prepare GO/polyurethane-based coating film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The raw materials of commercial resin for photoresists nearly all come from petroleum resources. To follow the policy of "green chemistry", it is urgent to employ renewable, biodegradable, green biomass resources instead of petroleum for the construction of photoresist resin. In this study, the alkaline soluble biobased epoxy acrylic resins are successfully prepared via a ring-opening reaction of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) with the modified acrylic precursor (MMHEA), followed by diisocyanate modifying to introduce a small amount of polyurethane. The structures of the precursor and product resin are characterized and determined by FT-IR and 1H NMR analysis. Subsequently, the properties of the resins and the related UV-curable coating films are tested detailedly. The results show that the product resin modified by diisocyanate possesses significantly improved viscosity (higher than 123 Pa s), and the UV-curable coating film containing hexamethylene diisocyanate has a moderate crosslinking density of 1443.18 mol m-3 and the excellent mechanical performances with the tensile strength of 20.40 ± 0.53 MPa, elongation at break of 30.74 ± 1.00% and toughness of 4.44 ± 0.11 MJ m-3. Moreover, the UV-curable coating films can dissolve completely in 10 wt% NaOH solution at room temperature within 40 min. The prepared product resin is in line with the requirements of photoresist, which can be used in the printed circuit boards. This study develops and provides a solvent-free and one-pot method to prepare biobased epoxy acrylic resins, which are suitable to use as photoresist resin. The use of biomass raw materials and green UV-curing technology follows the principles of green chemistry. And the preparation method of biobased functionalized resins with universal applicability can be easily extended to use in large-scale industrial resin production construction. [Display omitted] • A renewable polyfunctional resin was prepared from epoxy soybean oil. • The UV-curable resin with alkali solubility can be used for the photoresist. • Good toughness, thermal stability and crosslinking density properties of resin. • The utilization rate can reach 100% by solvent-free and one-pot method. • The resin can be used in large-scale industrial production applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the authors report an effective one-pot method to prepare poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-incorporated bovine serum albumin (BSA)/calcium alginate/hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocomposite (NC) scaffolds by templating oil-in-water high internal phase emulsion (HIPE), which includes alginate, BSA, and HAp in water phase and PCL in oil phase. The water phase of HIPEs is solidified to form hydrogels containing emulsion droplets via gelation of alginate induced by Ca2+ ions released from HAp. And the prepared hydrogels are freeze-dried to obtain PCL-incorporated porous scaffolds. The obtained scaffolds possess interconnected pore structures. Increasing PCL concentration clearly enhances the compressive property and BSA stability, decreases the swelling ratio of scaffolds, which assists in improving the scaffold stability. The anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen can be highly efficiently loaded into scaffolds and released in a sustained rate. Furthermore, mouse bone mesenchymal stem cells can successfully proliferate on the scaffolds, proving the biocompatibility of scaffolds. All results show that the PCL-incorporated NC scaffolds possess promising potentials in tissue engineering application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tung oil, a kind of natural plant oil, has recently received increasing attention due to its high value of research and application. In this study, we report a facile approach to synthesize novel urushiol-like compounds (CAT-ME) starting from tung oil using silica-supported phosphotungstic heteropoly acid (PW/SiO 2 ) as an effective and recyclable catalyst. To be specific, firstly, eleostearic acid glyceride, the main component of tung oil, is reacted with methanol by trans -esterification to obtain methyl eleostearate. And then Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction of methyl eleostearate with catechol is carried out in the presence of a solid acid catalyst PW/SiO 2 . And the CAT-ME productive rate is about 69.3%. Furthermore, the chemical structures of the target compound CAT-ME are characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometer (UV–vis), proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra (1H NMR), carbon nuclear magnetic resonance spectra (13C NMR) and mass spectra. The characterization results show the designed alkylation products similar to urushiol have been synthesized successfully. Noting that urushiol (the major component of raw lacquer) can be cured by UV irradiation under air atmosphere without any photoinitiator. Thus, this present study develops a promising approach to guide the further modifications of tung oil and other unsaturated natural oils, which can improve the functional properties and expand the application fields of unsaturated natural plant oils by introducing new UV curing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the authors report a novel class of super tough nanocomposite hydrogels with physically dual-crosslinking effects (DC hydrogels) through introducing strong ionic coordination interactions. Herein, graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and iron (Fe3+) ions act as physical cross-linkers. GO nanosheets trigger the formation of the first cross-linking points through hydrogen bonding with poly(acrylamide -co-acrylic acid) (p(AAm -co-AAc)) chains, while the second cross-linking points are formed by strong ionic coordination interactions between Fe3+ ions and COO− groups of p(AAm -co-AAc) chains. The optimal tough DC hydrogel displays superstretchability (≈20.8 times), remarkable tensile strength (≈3.7 MPa), high toughness (≈48.71 MJ m−3), good self-recovery property (≈84.1% toughness recovery within 4 h without any external stimuli) and fatigue resistance. In summary, this study opens up a new avenue to design and fabricate highly tough hydrogels with outstanding comprehensive properties by the synergistic effects of nanocomposite and dual-crosslinked hydrogels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]