Sustainable, High Barrier Smart Packaging Films for Shelf-Life Extension of Edible Oils.

Smart packaging is revolutionizing the food industry by extending shelf life and enhancing quality, thus ensuring food safety and sustainability. This study presents innovative multilayer flexible packaging films to tackle the environmental challenges of single-use plastics and nonrecyclable metalized multilayer films. The fabricated films comprise three layers made up of poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(vinyl alcohol)/natural rubber latex, and PLA/Sepiolite clay from inner to outer, respectively, where the active middle layer provides oxygen-scavenging activity.

MOFGPT: Generative Design of Metal-Organic Frameworks using Language Models.

The discovery of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) with application-specific properties remains a central challenge in materials chemistry, owing to the immense size and complexity of their structural design space. Conventional computational screening techniques such as molecular simulations and density functional theory (DFT), while accurate, are computationally prohibitive at scale. Machine learning offers an exciting alternative by leveraging data-driven approaches to accelerate materials discovery.

Investigating the Reactive Reinforcement Ability of Maleic Anhydride-Modified Cellulose Nanocrystals via In-Situ Emulsion Polymerization.

CNC-based nanocomposites have gained substantial interest because of their enhanced thermomechanical properties for high-end engineering applications. The chemical modification of CNCs expands their applicability, making them suitable for use in hydrophobic polymer matrices. The current study investigates the reactive reinforcing ability of maleic anhydride-modified cellulose nanocrystals during the in situ polymerization of a vinyl monomer, i.

Insights into thermal degradation kinetics and liquid crystalline behavior of cellulose nanocrystals from the waste of Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea).

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are essential for advancing nanotechnology and modern science. This work used the Cajanus cajan stem, an agricultural waste, as a lignocellulosic mass, which can serve as a supply of CNCs. After extraction from the Cajanus cajan stem, CNCs have been thoroughly characterized.