Poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) has become an attractive biomaterial in research and development for past few years. It is natural bio‐based aliphatic polyester produced by many types of bacteria. Due to its biodegradable, biocompatible, and eco‐friendly nature, PHB can be used in line with bioactive species. However, high production cost, thermal instability, and poor mechanical properties limit its desirable applications. So there is need to incorporate PHB with other materials or biopolymers for the development of some novel PHB based biocomposites for value addition. Many attempts have been employed to incorporate PHB with other biomaterials (or biopolymers) to develop sustainable biocomposites. In this review, some recent developments in the synthesis of PHB based biocomposites and their biomedical, packaging and tissue engineering applications have been focused. The development of biodegradable PHB based biocomposites with improved mechanical properties could be used to overcome its native limitations hence to open new possibilities for industrial applications.
Antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the top pharmaceutical contaminants that have been often found in the aquatic environment. The presence of these contaminants in the aquatic environment is of great concern since it has a negative impact on both ecology and human health. In contrast to other tertiary treatments, adsorption stands out as a viable treatment approach since it provides benefits such as easier operating conditions with no byproduct formation. Commercial activated carbon is widely researched as a pharmaceutical adsorbent, but its large-scale applicability is constrained by its high cost. Agricultural waste also contains a large amount of various functional groups, which may be adapted to surface modification to increase its adsorption ability. In this regard, this study is designed to review the recent progress of efficient adsorbents derived from various agricultural wastes for the removal of antibiotics and NSAIDs contaminants from water bodies. Adsorbents made from agricultural waste have important benefits over commercial activated carbon for the reduction in waste while controlling water pollution.
Including supercapacitors, rechargeable batteries, and fuel cells, conducting polyaniline (PANI) has been widely used in electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies due to its high conductivity, ease of synthesis, high flexibility, low cost, and distinctive redox properties. Because of its poor stability as a super-capacitive electrode, pure PANI cannot keep up with the rising demands for more N-active sites, better power/energy densities, and more stable molecular structures. These drawbacks as a super-capacitive electrode can be overcome by combining PANI with other active materials such as carbon compounds, metal compounds, and other conducting polymers (CPs). Recent PANI research focuses mainly on PANI-modified composite electrodes and supported composite electrocatalysts for fuel cells and rechargeable batteries, respectively. Due to the synergistic effect, PANI-based composites with various unique structures have shown superior electrochemical performance in supercapacitors, rechargeable batteries, and fuel cells. PANI typically functions as a conductive layer and network in different PANI-based composite structures. This review also discusses N-doped carbon materials produced from PANI because they are frequently employed as metal-free electrocatalysts for fuel cells. We conclude by providing a quick summary of upcoming developments and future research directions in PANI
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