Gelatin possesses excellent film-forming ability, biodegradability, and biocompatibility, which makes it a promising alternative to petroleum-based plastics. However, its application in food packaging is limited by its brittleness, high water sensitivity, and insufficient microbial protection. In this study, curcumin was introduced as a chain extender into castor oil-based waterborne polyurethane (CWU), which was then blended with gelatin as a functional material to create reactive food composite films (CWGL). The effects of varying CWU concentrations on the microstructure and properties of the films were thoroughly investigated. The incorporation of CWU enhanced the mechanical properties, water solubility, water vapor barrier, oxygen barrier, and UV shielding capabilities of the gelatin-based composite films. Additionally, CWU imparted antioxidant, antibacterial, and pH-responsive properties to the CWGL. Packaging application tests demonstrated that CWGL could extend the shelf life of fresh pork up to 10 days under refrigeration. Furthermore, CWGL exhibited a visible color change (Delta E > 5) during pork storage, suggesting its potential use as a freshness-indicating innovative packaging. This study presents a novel strategy to advance the application of gelatin in innovative food packaging.

Monitoring spoilage of fresh-cut fruits is vital for reducing postharvest losses and facilitating intelligent, consumer-responsive food packaging. In this study, we report the first development of a CO2-responsive indicator system based on amphiphilic nanomicelles derived from carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), a natural, biodegradable polysaccharide. Oleic acid was grafted onto CMCS to produce CMCS-g-OA micelles capable of encapsulating hydrophobic pH-sensitive dyes (bromothymol blue and methyl red). Structural characterization (FT-IR, H-1 NMR) confirmed successful amidation, resulting in stable core-shell micelles (179.0-311.8 nm, -24.7 mV, PDI < 0.5). These micelles exhibited distinct, reversible color transitions (light green to orange) in response to CO2 generated during spoilage. For practical applications, they were embedded into a gelatin/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix to fabricate flexible biopolymer-based indicator films with enhanced mechanical properties and color stability (Delta E < 5). When applied to monitor fresh-cut kiwifruit, the system enabled non-destructive, real-time visual differentiation of spoilage stages, achieving 91.22 % classification accuracy via principal component analysis (PCA). This work presents a novel micelle-based sensing technology that integrates bio-derived polymers with intelligent gas responsiveness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of CMCS-based amphiphilic micelles used for freshness indication, offering a sustainable and scalable strategy for real-time monitoring in intelligent food packaging applications.

Organic room temperature phosphorescent (ORTP) materials have garnered significant interest in the fields of anti‐counterfeiting, optical display, and bio‐imaging owing to their distinctive optical properties. However, a major drawback of most existing ORTP materials is their short phosphorescence lifetime and low quantum yields (QYs), which greatly limit their applicability across multiple fields. In this paper, a covalently assisted host‐guest doping strategy that involves embedding three aminobenzoic acids with different carboxylate substitution positions into a cyanuric acid (CA) matrix through covalent bonding using microwave heating is proposed. All three prepared ORTP materials exhibit long phosphorescence lifetime exceeding 600 ms and high phosphorescence quantum yields (PhQYs) surpassing 20%. Among them, the composite of 2‐aminoterephthalic acid (2‐A) anuric acid stands out with its unique blue phosphorescence, boasting an exceptional absolute photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 98.95% and remarkable phosphorescence quantum yield (PhQY) of 76.42%, along with a long lifetime of 800 ms. Importantly, these high‐performance ORTP materials have been successfully utilized in anti‐counterfeiting and display applications.

The development of effective and practical adsorbents for eliminating pollutants still remains a significant challenge. Herein, we synthesized a novel magnetically separable composite, Co0.6Fe2.4O4/MIL-101-NH2, through the in-situ growth of MIL-101-NH2 on magnetic nanoparticles, designed specifically for the removal of Congo red (CR) from aqueous solutions. MIL-101-NH2 possessed high BET surface area (240.485 m2•g−1) and facile magnetic separation function and can be swiftly separated (within 30 s) through an external magnetic field post-adsorption. The investigation systematically explored the influence of crucial parameters, including adsorbent dosage, pH, adsorption duration, temperature, and the presence of interfering ions, on CR adsorption performance. Findings indicate that CR adsorption adheres to the pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model. Thermodynamic analysis reveals the spontaneity, endothermic nature, and orderly progression of the adsorption process. Remarkably, the adsorbent with 0.1 g•L−1 boasts an impressive maximum adsorption capacity of 1756.19 mg•g−1 for CR at 298.15 K, establishing its competitive advantage. The reuse of the adsorbent over 5 cycles remains 78

Waste soybean oil resulting from repeated cooking and heating is a significant component of food industry waste. Transforming this waste soybean oil into eco-friendly and various products offers an efficient solution to enhance resource utilization. This study employed thermal cycling treatment to simulate the cooking process of soybean oil and analyzed its impact on synthesizing epoxidized soybean oil, soybean oil polyols, and soybean oil-based waterborne polyurethanes. Waste soybean oil was demonstrated to be a cost-effective feedstock for producing vegetable oil-based waterborne polyurethanes. For more diversified applications, the synthesized waterborne polyurethanes were utilized in the preparation of carbon quantum dots, resulting in a diverse range of colors through the incorporation of gardenia pigments. Moreover, through complexing with gelatin, robust composite films and multicolored fluorescent anti-counterfeiting inks were produced. The waterborne polyurethane is found to form a composite cross-linking network with gelatin, resulting in an increase in tensile strength of 130.72% and elongation at break of 258.98% for the composite film compared to the pure gelatin film. In comparison to physical blending, chemical grafting of gardenia pigment enhances the printability and firmness of the ink. The printed pattern produced by the ink emits a vivid blue fluorescence when excited at a wavelength of 365 nm, making it valuable for anti-counterfeiting ink applications.

Transition metal-based catalysts are commonly used for water electrolysis and cost-effective hydrogen fuel production due to their exceptional electrochemical performance, particularly in enhancing the efficiency of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode. In this study, a novel approach was developed for the preparation of catalysts with abundant active sites and defects. The MoCoFe-phosphide catalyst nanosheets were synthesized using a simple one-step hydrothermal reaction and chemical vapor deposition-based phosphorization. The resulting MoCoFe-phosphide catalyst nanosheets displayed excellent electrical conductivity and a high number of electrochemically active sites, leading to high electrocatalytic activities and efficient kinetics for the OER. The MoCoFe-phosphide catalyst nanosheets demonstrated remarkable catalytic activity, achieving a low overpotential of only 250 mV to achieve the OER at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. The catalyst also exhibited a low Tafel slope of 43.38 mV dec-1 and maintained high stability for OER in alkaline media, surpassing the performance of most other transition metal-based electrocatalysts. The outstanding OER performance can be attributed to the effects of Mo and Fe, which modulate the electronic properties and structures of CoP. The results showed a surface with abundant defects and active sites with a higher proportion of Co2+ active sites, a larger specific surface area, and improved interfacial charge transfer. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that the catalyst's high activity originates from the presence of Mo6+/Mo4+ and Co2+/Co3+ redox couples, as well as the formation of active metal (oxy)hydroxide species on its surface.

There are many disadvantages such as small detection range and environmental restrictions on application conditions, when the single quantum dot powder or solution is used for fluorescent probe detection. In this paper, the blue fluorescent silicon quantum dots and green fluorescent carbon quantum dots were prepared, and their fluorescence color changes after mixing in different proportions were investigated under different pH conditions. When the two quantum dots were mixed with a concentration of 0.1 mg·mL–1 and a mass ratio of 1:1, the fluorescence color change could be better displayed at a pH from 1 to 14. Meanwhile, the double quantum dots were prepared into two forms (ink and film), successfully realizing the device application of the fluorescent probe. The films and inkjet-printed labels were used to test the spoilage of food (pork, milk, etc.), and the color change data of the labels were collected during the spoilage test. These data were used for neural network training to predict the spoilage changes of foods.

Smart packaging has been introduced to change the way that food freshness is managed. In this study, a new pH- sensitive film based on chitosan (CS), methylcellulose (MC), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs), and black wolfberry (BW) anthocyanins was developed and characterized. The composite film showed high sensitivity to total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), with clear and distinguishable color changes, improving freshness monitoring. The film demonstrated ultraviolet (UV) absorbance with an optimum concentration of ZnO-NPs at 4%, enhancing UV protection. The Visual Encoder Transformer (VET) model, trained on 4000 high-resolution images, predicted seafood freshness with an accuracy of 98.44%, outperforming other models. Additionally, the moisture content of the composite films decreased significantly from 18.64% to 7.35%, and the water contact angle increased to 92.89 degrees with the incorporation of ZnO-NPs. The developed system, integrated with an Intelligent Color Recognition (ICR) mobile application, provides a real-time, non-invasive solution for monitoring food freshness, offering both high accuracy and practical usability in seafood packaging.

Ultralong room-temperature phosphorescent (URTP) materials have attracted wide attention in anti-counterfeiting, optoelectronic display, and bio-imaging due to their special optical properties. However, room-temperature blue phosphorescent materials are very scarce during applications because of the need to simultaneously populate and stabilize high-energy excited states. In this work, a stepwise stiffening chromophore strategy is proposed to suppress non-radiative jump by continuously reducing the internal spin of the chromophore, and successfully developing a series of blue phosphorescent materials. Phosphorescence lifetimes of more than 3 s are achieved, with the longest lifetime reaching 5.44 s and lasting more than 70 s in the naked eye. As far as is know, this is the best result that has been reported. By adjusting the chromophore conjugation, multicolor phosphorescences from cyan to green have been realized. In addition, these chromophores exhibit the same excellent optical properties in urea and polyvinyl alcohmance (PVA). Finally, these materials are successfully applied to luminescent displays.

Long-life room temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials hold significant potential in the fields of optoelectronic devices, information encryption, and bio-imaging due to their excellent optical properties. However, achieving multi-color tunable RTP materials has proven challenging. In this study, molecular engineering strategies are employed to select precursor molecules with varying degrees of conjugation such as phthalic anhydride (PA), naphtho[2,3-c] furan-1,3-dione (23NA), and naphthalic anhydride (NA). By combining these guest molecules with a host boric acid matrix through a one-step microwave method, carbon dots (CDs)composites (PA@BA, 23NA@BA and NA@BA) exhibiting excellent RTP properties are successfully prepared. As the degree of precursor conjugation increased gradually, the phosphorescence color modulation of the composites demonstrates satisfactory transitions from blue to yellow. Notably, CDs are derived in situ within the boric acid matrix while covalent and hydrogen bonds formed between CDs and borate matrix effectively suppress nonradiative leaps and facilitate composite RTP activation. Furthermore, the boric acid matrix acts as insulation against oxygen diffusion and prevents quenching of triplet excitons by external factors. The rationality behind phosphorescence emission mechanism and wavelength modulation is further conformed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Finally, CDs composites are successfully applied for advanced message encryption of text and images. Ultra-long-lived phosphorescent carbon quantum dot materials are derived in situ in a boric acid matrix by molecular engineering strategy, and the phosphorescence color is redshifted with increasing conjugation of the precursor, achieving a change from dark blue to orange. The longest lifetime reaches 1.68 s. This presents a general strategy for realizing long-lived room-temperature phosphorescent materials with multiple colors.image

Reliable self-powered provision and stretchability are significant challenges for achieving portable gas detection, but reports have difficulties to achieve either so far. In this paper, 2D layered PANI@MoS2 composite with promising energy storage and NH3-sensitive properties was synthesized by NH4+ insertion and in-situ growth technique. Because of the unique layered structure facilitating rapid reversible diffusion of charge ions, the energy storage properties of composite was significantly improved (838.7 F/g at 1A/g current density), and the assembled device could power a LED bulb for more than 20 min. Furthermore, due to the formation of p-n heterojunction and Schottky barrier between PANI and MoS2, as well as the enhancement of PANI’s structure and dispersion via polystyrene sulfonic acid along with nylon filter membrane, the sensitivity of sensor film exceeded 287 Ω/ppm, and the theoretical detection limit even reached 0.662 ppb by calculation. Ultimately, benefit from the outstanding stability and stretchability of the devices, by integrating the supercapacitor and sensor film, a semi-quantitative, real-time detection of spoiled food and exhaled gas from people was achieved. The self-powered sensing device was anticipated to be an important candidate in flexible wearable sensing arena.

In this study, we explord the catalytic activity of NiCoFe_phosphide nanosheets as highly active and stable catalysts for OER. Electrochemical analysis exhibits a low overpotential of 259 mV in (1 M KOH), achieving a current density of 10 mA cm−2 with a low Tafel slope of 50.47 mV dec−1.

To quickly and quantitatively detect the concentration of harmful Cr6+ in food and packaging, biomass nitrogen-doped blue fluorescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method using longan peel. The synthesized biomass CQDs are spherical, and the particle size is distributed between 1 and 6 nm. There are functional groups such as carboxyl, hydroxyl and amino groups on the surface of the CQDs, which promotes the excellent water dispersibility of the CQDs. CQDs have good fluorescence stability in salt solutions, different pH environments and long-term storage. A fluorescence sensor for detecting Cr6+ was constructed, based on the specific quenching effect of Cr6+ on the fluorescence of CQDs. There is a good linear relationship between the fluorescence quenching rate of the fluorescence sensor and the Cr6+ concentration of the detected sample. The sensor has a linear range of 20-200 mu M and a detection limit of 1.4 mu M. In addition, the CQDs fluorescence sensor has an ideal recovery rate in the actual water sample spiked with Cr6+. This research innovatively combined longan and hydrothermal method to prepare a quantitative, fast and wide detection limit Cr6+ sensor.

Hyperbranched glycidol (HPG) was synthesized from trimethylolpropane (TMP) and glycidol through anionic ring-opening polymerization via one-pot method. Then, toluene di-isocyanate (TDI), 1,4-butanediol (BDO), TMP, and synthetic HPG were used as cross-linking agents to react with Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) to prepare polyurethane elastomers (PUs). The structure characteristic of HPG was systematically confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, 1H NMR, and Gel-Permeation Chromatograph. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), X-ray Diffractograms Analysis, Scanning Electronic Microscopy, and tensile tests were, respectively, carried out to evaluate the properties of various PUs. The results showed that the tensile strength and elongation at break of PUs were greatly improved with the introduction of the cross-linking agent. Compared with pure PUs (none HPG as blank sample), the tensile strength and elongation at break reach 1.23 MPa and 107.24% on the HPG-based PUs, respectively. The TGA and DSC curves indicated that the HPG-based PUs had hardly affected the thermal stability and slightly reduce the glass transition temperature (Tg). The results showed that the introduction of HPG as a cross-linking agent could effectively improved the mechanical properties and lowed temperature resistance of Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) based solid propellant.

Nowadays human’s uncontrolled production and living activities have caused global environmental pollution. Nitrogen/Sulfur containing compounds (NCCs/SCCs), harmful gases, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), personal medicines and nursing products (PPCPs), dyes and heavy metals are the six common pollutants in the environment, and the first three are mainly in liquid form in fuel oil or released into the air as gases, while the latter three are principally enriched in wastewater. MOF-derived materials (MDMs) inherit excellent properties of MOF and avoid their application defects, making MDMs be widely used in the adsorption of pollutants. This paper reviews the progress of the application of MDMs in the adsorptive removal of these six pollutants, summarizes the most suitable MOF precursors for the preparation of MDMs for each type of pollutants, and prospects the outlook of the adsorption applications of MDMs, which can provide theoretical support for the subsequent development of efficient, economical and practical MDMs adsorbents.

This work aims to develop the novel TVB-N sensitive film for monitoring food freshness. The film was fabricated based on carboxymethyl starch sodium (CMS)/agar (AG) complex and natural pigment, red radish anthocyanins (RRA). However, RRA is highly unstable under high humid conditions for their hydrophily. To immobilize RRA in AG film, we brought up CMS (negative charge) to immobilize RRA (positive charge) via electrostatic attractions and combined CMS and AG via hydrogen bond self-assembly. Zeta potential, Fourier transforms infrared (FT-IR) spectra, and X-ray diffraction analysis proved the electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bond self-assembly effect, indicating RRA immobilized effectively. Migration evaluation displayed that RRA remained stable in a high humidity environment (from RH 35%-95%). And its color difference is less than 5% in the low-temperature environment (4 ?). The prepared sensing film was found to be applied to detect the freshness of packaged grass carp and shrimp products. Its colors changed from initial orange-red to light red (3rd day) and then purple (4th day) with the increase of volatile amines inside the packaging. These findings suggested the film can be used as a sensing device for intelligent packaging of protein-rich food.

Hydrogel dressings that can fit irregular wounds, promote wound healing, and detach from wounds without damage represent the development trend of modern medical dressings. Herein, a novel composite hydrogel with excellent wound shape matching and painless removability via a gel-sol phase transition is constructed through dynamic borate ester bonds between phenylboronic acid-grafted F127 (PF127) and polydopamine-coated reduced graphene oxide/silver nanoparticles (rGO@PDA/Ag NPs). After contact with the skin tissues, the administered liquid-like sols gradually transform into solid-like gels, robustly adhering to the wound. The hydrogel dressings containing near-infrared (NIR)-responsive rGO@PDA and in situ formed Ag NPs can generate localized heat and gradually release Ag+ to realize safe, effective, and durable photothermal-chemical combined sterilization. In addition, catechol-rich PDA endows the hydrogel dressings with good antioxidant activity and adhesiveness. In vivo study results indicate that the hydrogel dressings can significantly accelerate full-thickness skin infected wound healing by eliminating bacteria, promoting collagen deposition and angiogenesis, as well as reducing inflammation. Collectively, the thermoreversible rGO@PDA/Ag-PF127 hydrogel dressings with an improved self-adapting ability, superior antimicrobial activity, and tunable adhesion appear to be a promising candidate for the treatment of infected wounds.

Biomass films with ultraviolet (UV)-shielding ability have attracted considerable attention. Curcumin was introduced into castor oil-based polyurethane (CCPU) as a chain extender, which was melt with polylactic acid (PLA) as a reinforcement to obtain biomass UV-shielding film. The excellent UV absorption and antioxidant qualities of curcumin contributed to the impressive UV-shielding capacity (97.6% UV radiation absorption) and antioxidant (51% free radical scavenging) of PLA/CCPU-20 film. In the scanning electron microscopic images of film fracture, the mixing of CCPU elastomer into the PLA matrix caused the blend films to exhibit significant toughening fracture characteristics compared to the pure PLA film. The excellent thermal stability, low water swelling degree, and low water solubility of PLA/CCPU blend films were maintained after CCPU was added to the PLA matrix. Therefore, the PLA/CCPU blend films can be considered as a potential packaging material because of its favorable UV-shielding properties and film stability.

The sensitive and selective determination of the active ingredient in medicines has become an inescapable challenge in the sensing field. With the concerns above, an electrochemical sensor has been designed based on theoretically optimized bioenzyme-induced molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the specific determination of protocatechuic acid (PA) for the first time. In detail, the LaFeO3 nanosphere is employed as the carrier to support bovine hemoglobin (BHb) and biomimetic enzyme Au nanoparticles, which can decompose hydrogen peroxide to generate hydroxyl radicals. These hydroxyl radicals can initiate polymerization to afford the optimized MIPs without any pollution. More importantly, density functional theory based on computational chemistry is utilized to deduce the optimal functional monomer, resulting in the best recognition effect. Subsequently, the pre-fabricated electrochemical sensor based on Au@LaFeO3@BHb-MIPs could achieve the specific determination of PA with a wide linear detection range of 0.2 μM to 1000 μM and the limit of detection of 55 nM. Meanwhile, the specific recognition of PA in traditional Chinese medicines such as hibiscus has been also accomplished with satisfactory recoveries, foreboding that the Au@LaFeO3@BHb-MIPs is indeed a suitable candidate for monitoring medication safety.

A composite material with excellent thermal, mechanical and optical properties was prepared by compounding modified graphene oxide with aqueous polyurethane. Graphene oxide was prepared from graphite and modified with a silane coupling agent, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. Composite emulsions were prepared by reacting of modified graphene oxide containing an amino group with the isocyanate group of polyurethane prepolymer. The successful synthesis was confirmed by IR spectroscopy and XRD tests. Comparing the mechanical and thermal properties of physically blended graphene oxide and polyurethane, polyurethane and modified graphene oxide with polyurethane has revealed that the tensile strength and the thermal stability of the latter was significantly improved.