Functional and Antioxidant Properties of Plastic Bottle Caps Incorporated with BHA or BHT

In this study, we prepared new antioxidant active plastic bottle caps by incorporating butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) or butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and 2% (w/w) white masterbatch in high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry revealed that the antioxidants and HDPE were uniformly mixed with noncovalent bonding. In addition, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test revealed that the change in melting point and initial extrapolation temperature of the antioxidant active caps was not significant. Sensory evaluation and removal torque tests validated the suitability of the antioxidant active plastic bottle caps in industrial application. The antioxidant activity increased with a greater concentration of BHA and BHT incorporated in both antioxidant active caps (p < 0.05) and with more impact on the BHA cap compared to BHT cap in terms of antioxidant activity. Migration experiments for 10 days at 40 °C and 2 h at 70 °C showed that active antioxidants in the plastic bottle cap were more easily released into fatty foods and milk products that are highly sensitive to oxidation, and the migration of BHA and BHT did not exceed the maximum amount specified in (EC) No 1333/2008 (<200 mg/kg). As such, the antioxidant active plastic bottle caps inhibited oxidation, thereby ensuring higher food quality.

Ultrarobust, tough and highly stretchable self-healing materials based on cartilage-inspired noncovalent assembly nanostructure

Self-healing materials integrated with excellent mechanical strength and simultaneously high healing efficiency would be of great use in many fields, however their fabrication has been proven extremely challenging. Here, inspired by biological cartilage, we present an ultrarobust self-healing material by incorporating high density noncovalent bonds at the interfaces between the dentritic tannic acid-modified tungsten disulfide nanosheets and polyurethane matrix to collectively produce a strong interfacial interaction. The resultant nanocomposite material with interwoven network shows excellent tensile strength (52.3 MPa), high toughness (282.7 MJ m‒3, which is 1.6 times higher than spider silk and 9.4 times higher than metallic aluminum), high stretchability (1020.8%) and excellent healing efficiency (80–100%), which overturns the previous understanding of traditional noncovalent bonding self-healing materials where high mechanical robustness and healing ability are mutually exclusive. Moreover, the interfacical supramolecular crosslinking structure enables the functional-healing ability of the resultant flexible smart actuation devices. This work opens an avenue toward the development of ultrarobust self-healing materials for various flexible functional devices.

Towards highly active heterogeneous catalysts via a sequential noncovalent bonding strategy

Here, a novel synthetic route of ceria-based nanocatalysts with high catalytic activity and excellent stability was constructed by utilizing function groups from surface ligands. The surface of ceria nanorods were...

Fullerene Polymers: A Brief Review

This paper reviews the ways in which C60 and other fullerene molecules can be incorporated into polymeric structures. Firstly, polymers in which the fullerenes are incorporated into the structure by covalent or noncovalent bonding are discussed. These include “pearl necklace” structures, “charm bracelet” structures, organometallic polymers, crosslinked polymers, end-capped polymers, star-shaped polymers and supramolecular polymers. Secondly, all-carbon polymers, which are produced by fusing fullerenes together, are covered. The synthesis and properties of each class of fullerene polymer are outlined and the prospects for commercial applications considered.

Ultrarobust, tough and highly stretchable self-healing materials based on cartilage-inspired noncovalent assembly nanostructure

Self-healing materials integrated with robust mechanical strength and high healing efficiency simultaneously would be of great use in many fields but have been proven to be extremely challenging. Here, inspired by animal cartilage, we present a ultrarobust self-healing material by incorporating high density noncovalent bonds at interface between the assembled interwoven network of two-dimensional nanosheets and polymer matrix to collectively produce a strong interfacial interaction. The resulted nanocomposite material shows robust tensile strength (52.3 MPa), high toughness (282.7 MJ m–3, which is 1.6 times higher than spider silk and 9.4 times higher than metallic aluminum), high stretchability (1020.8%) and excellent healing efficiency (80-100%), which overturns previous understanding of the traditional noncovalent bonding self-healing materials that high mechanical robustness and healing ability tend to be mutually exclusive. Moreover, the interfacical supramolecular crosslinking structure enables the functional-healing ability of the resultant flexible devices. This work opens an avenue toward the development of ultrarobust self-healing materials for various flexible functional devices.