Improving the durability of biological materials is essential for expanding their application areas. In this study, an organic ultraviolet (UV) shielding layer (coating) composed of a UV-curable paint, ethyl acetate, anhydrous alcohol, and an organic UV absorber is constructed on the surface of outdoor bamboo scrimber (OBS). The behaviour of OBS with or without this coating was investigated under accelerated weathering. The physical properties photostability of the samples before and during exposure were evaluated by characterizing the colour and glossiness. Contact angle (CA) measurements and surface free energy (SFE) calculations were performed to investigate the wettability of the coatings. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to characterize the changes in the functional groups of the coatings during weathering. The experimental results have shown that the colour, glossiness, CA, SFE, and functional groups photostability of the sample with the UV shielding coating increased significantly compared to those of the control sample. The coating with 5% organic UV absorber was considered as the best UV shielding layer in this study, as it successfully protected the OBS and reduced the surface photodegradation of the substrate and the coating itself. which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

The effect of the migration of paraffin wax on the surface free energy of natural rubber (NR) was investigated. The rubber was mixed with the wax and then stored at ambient temperature for up to 168 hrs before its surface free energy was measured using contact angle measurement. Static secondary ion mass spectrometry was also used to provide a chemical fingerprint of the rubber surfaces. The surface free energy decreased as a function of storage time because of the migration of the wax to the rubber surface. The highest rate of reduction was recorded up to 3 hrs and thereafter, the surface free energy decreased at a much slower rate, reaching a plateau after 48 hrs in storage. In total, the surface free energy reduced by approximately 46% as a result of the migration of the wax to the rubber surface. The reduction in surface free energy could adversely affect ability of the rubber to stick to itself and to other dissimilar elastomers.

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Cinnamon essential oil (CEO) is the main ingredient in the renewable biomass of cinnamon, which contains natural cinnamaldehyde. To valorize the value of cinnamaldehyde, two simple and useful compounds (1 and 2) from CEO were synthesized using a Schiff-base reaction and characterized by infrared spectra (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Compound 1 was used to confirm the presence of Fe3+ and ClO− in solution, as well as compound 2. Using fluorescence enhancement phenomena, it offered practicable linear relationship of 1’s fluorescence intensity and Fe3+ concentrations: (0–8.0 × 10−5 mol/L), y = 36.232x + 45.054, R2 = 0.9947, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.323 μM, as well as compound 2. With increasing fluorescence, F404/F426 of 1 and the ClO− concentration (0–1.0 × 10−4 mol/L) also had a linear relationship: y = 0.0392x + 0.5545, R2 = 0.9931, LOD = 0.165 μM. However, the fluorescence intensity of 2 (596 nm) was quenched by a reduced concentration of ClO−, resulting in a linear. In addition, compounds 1 and 2 were used to image human astrocytoma MG (U-251), brain neuroblastoma (LN-229) cells, and bamboo tissue by adding Fe3+ or ClO−, with clear intracellular fluorescence. Thus, the two compounds based on CEO could be used to dye cells and bamboo tissues by fluorescence technology.