In recent years, coffee waste by-products have been incorporated into polymer blends to reduce environmental pollution. In this study, coffee parchment (CP) was incorporated into biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) and poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) polymer blends to prepare ribbons through the extrusion process. Extracted green coffee bean oil (CO) was used as a plasticizer, and…
Ferulic acid amides are naturally present in the cell walls of potato (Solanum tuberosum) periderms. In this study, we investigated their modes of incorporation into the periderm cell wall polymers. A lignin/suberin-enriched fraction was isolated and analyzed by GPC, DFRC, and 2D-NMR. The analyses revealed that the lignin domain of this fraction was predominantly composed…
Plasticized cellulose bioplastics with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties were prepared by blending cellulose and glycerol in a mixture of trifluoroacetic acid and trifluoroacetic anhydride, adding a solution of beeswax in chloroform, and subsequent drop-casting. Optical, chemical, structural, mechanical, thermal, and hydrodynamic properties were fully characterized. In addition, the biodegradability in seawater was investigated by determination…
Gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are regarded as a promising alternative to conventional electrolytes, combining the advantages of solid and liquid electrolytes. Leveraging the abundance and eco-friendliness of cellulose-based materials, GPEs were produced using methyl cellulose and incorporating various doping agents, either an ionic liquid (1-Butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [Pyr14][TFSI]), its polymeric ionic liquid analogue (Poly(diallyldimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) [PDADMA][TFSI]),…
Polylactide-based materials represent a promising bio-based alternative to traditional food packaging polymers. However, their widespread use is still limited due to significant drawbacks, such as brittleness, high gas permeability, and biodegradability only under specific conditions. This work introduces fully bio-based Triphenyl Acetic Glyceroate (TPAG), synthesized through a solvent-free and mild conditions valorization of glycerol and…
Active and sustainable food packaging materials were prepared through solvent casting, by blending tea waste (TW) extract rich in bioactive molecules with a neat polylactide (PLA) polymeric matrix. The optimization of tea waste extraction using a response surface methodology allowed achieving efficient yield and high phenolic content, which significantly enhanced the antioxidant properties of the…
Plant biomass is an attractive precursor to prepare activated carbons with high surface area for CO2 adsorption due to its low-cost and easy regeneration. Despite this interest, there are still remaining questions regarding the optimal processing conditions and the choice of activating agent. Moreover, since plant biomass shows a highly variable proportion of different biopolymers…
Laser-induced graphene (LIG) is widely used to fabricate microsupercapacitors (MSCs) on various sustainable substrates, such as wood, cork, and lignin. However, the fabrication of MSCs, especially high energy density devices on paper, has rarely been reported. In this work, LIG electrodes are fabricated on wax-coated paper, followed by electrochemical deposition of manganese oxide (MnO2). The…
The plant cuticle is located at the interface of the plant with the environment, thus acting as a protective barrier against biotic and abiotic external stress factors, and regulating water loss. Additionally, it modulates mechanical stresses derived from internal tissues and also from the environment. Recent advances in the understanding of the hydric, mechanical, thermal,…
Carbon is a critical material for existing and emerging energy applications and there is considerable global effort in generating sustainable carbons. A particularly promising area is iron-catalyzed graphitization, which is the conversion of organic matter to graphitic carbon nanostructures by an iron catalyst. In this paper, it is reported that iron-catalyzed graphitization occurs via a…