Paper is envisioned as an alternative to plastics in certain applications to overcome the problems associated with the excessive use of plastics. Water and oil repellency is one of the key requirements for many packaging applications. However, the existing water and oil repellent paper products have poor biodegradability and are also difficult to recycle. Here we have reported an inexpensive approach for preparing recyclable water and oil repellent paper products using biobased materials such as starch and zein. The application of dual-layer coatings of starch and zein onto a Kraft paper yielded a “Cobb 60” value of 4.81 g/m2. In addition, the coated paper exhibited excellent grease resistance with a kit rating of 12/12. Scanning electron microscopy characterization confirmed that the dual-layer coating filled the pores of the paper substrate. The mechanical properties, as well as the thermal stability of the paper, were maintained after the coating treatments, and thus this coated paper has potential for widespread use in our daily lives while also minimizing the environmental footprint of packaging materials.

Coated paper substrates are used for a wide range of applications. The biggest challenge that remains unsolved with regard to coated paper is its recyclability. Herein, we report a unique approach that relies on 100% biobased and biodegradable food-safe materials for water- and oil-resistant papers. A 35-liner paper was coated with an oil-resistant chitosan solution and subsequently by a hydrophobic zein solution. The resultant chitosan–zein-coated paper showed remarkable water resistance (Cobb 60 value of 4.88 g/m2) and oil repellency (kit rating 12/12). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was used to determine the changes in the surface texture of the paper before and after coating treatment. The excellent mechanical properties of the coated paper were retained after the coating treatment. In addition, the pulp was recycled from the chitosan–zein-coated paper to validate the recyclability of this novel approach.

Reported herein is an economical, plastic-and fluorine-free coating approach for oil and water repellent paper substrates using blends of poly(vinyl alcohol) and chitosan-graft-polydimethylsiloxane copolymer. The obtained coated paper showed good water-resistance, as evidenced by its low Cobb60 values of 20 ± 2.1 g/m 2 and high water contact angles of 119 ± 6.3. The kit rating of the coated paper was 7.6/12, indicating decent grease-resistant properties as compared to the kit value of 0/12 for the uncoated paper. The coated paper is also repulpable as demonstrated by the complete washing off the coating from the coated paper. Giving the cost-effective nature of the coating materials and good water and oil-resistant properties of the coated paper, the approach developed here is commercially viable, and will offer a multitude of environmental benefits such as the elimination of microplastic-and PFAS problems associated with existing paper coatings.

An increase in the environmental and health concerns over fluorochemicalbased, wax-based, and extrusion-based paper coatings has led to a growing interest in bio-based, biodegradable, and repulpable alternatives to obtain water-and oil-repellent coatings. Reported herein is a fluorine-free, plastic-free, and costeffective water and grease resistant paper coating approach that utilizes blends of corn-starch (S) and a novel chitosan-graft-polydimethylsiloxane (CP) copolymer. The hydrophobic and oleophobic performance of the S/CP-coated paper was evaluated by varying the ratio of S and CP in the overall blend. The S/CP-coated papers were observed to have low cobb60 values (water absorptivity) of 13 ± 0.9 g m −2 and an excellent kit rating (oil resistance) of 12/12. The S/CP-coated paper substrate surface profile was analyzed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The repulpability of the coated paper is also demonstrated by washing the coating materials from the paper and recovering the pulp.

Heteroleptic catalyst stability toward disproportionation was modelled based on ligand donor abilities, which is of critical importance in some catalyses.

The proliferation of microplastics in the ocean and other water bodies is becoming an alarming issue. The development of plastic-free water-and oilresistant paper can contribute toward mitigating this problem. Herein we report a plastic-free paper coating derived from chitosan and sunflower oil. Chitosan grafted sunflower oil paper coatings were prepared via the ring opening of the partially epoxidized sunflower oil with chitosan. The product of these reactions was characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy techniques. The sunflower oil grafted chitosan solution was coated onto a Kraft paper. The Cobb 60 and kit rating values were determined to be 8.00 g/m 2 and 7.66, respectively, for the optimal formulations. Meanwhile, the water contact angle was found to be 94.0 ± 1.6 after 30 s. Scanning electron microscopy analysis was employed to gain insight regarding the changes that occurred on the paper surface at the microscopic level.

Polybutadiene has widespread use as a commodity as well as a specialty polymer, but currently, it is prepared from non-renewable feedstocks. Herein, we report the synthesis of rubbery unsaturated polycarbonates (RUPCs) as green alternatives for polybutadiene. We prepared two RUPCs (respectively, denoted as RUPC1 and RUPC2) via the copolymerization of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and a mixture of saturated and unsaturated long-chain epoxides using a Co(III) catalyst. The RUPCs were reacted with a styrene monomer via free-radical polymerization to prepare RUPC-graft-Polystyrene.All of the prepared polymers were characterized by 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography. For RUPC, the number average molecular weight (M n ) increased by three-fold after the grafting reaction. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis confirmed that the glass transition temperature (T g ) of the RUPCs were low (~−40 C) and approached those of polybutadienes. After polystyrene chains had been grafted onto the RUPC backbone, the T g increased to 81 C. These green RUPCs have the potential to replace non-renewable polybutadiene in some applications such as high impact materials.