Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) biocomposites are usually plasticized to overcome the problem of poor ductility, which decreases the valuable tensile strength. In this study, novel nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) was extracted to enhance the acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC) plasticized PLA biocomposites. Interestingly, NFC not only exhibited an excellent strengthening effect but also showed a further toughening effect in the biocomposites. When 4 wt% NFC was added, the tensile strength, elongation at break, and impact strength of the biocomposites with 15 wt% ATBC and 20 wt% ATBC reached 52.6 MPa, 28.4%, 34.9 J/m and 35.8 MPa, 300.1%, 40 J/m, respectively. This is at least 1.1 folds higher in strength and 2.3 folds higher in impact toughness than the biocomposites without NFC. Glass transition and melting temperature slightly increased with NFC addition. More importantly, the mechanism of the strengthening and toughening effect was definitely elucidated, and the comprehensive performance of the application was evaluated. The findings of the study provide significant guidance for PLA application, such as in food packaging, medical engineering materials, and household products.

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An Ni-CeO2 catalyst with high Ni loading (50 wt.%) prepared by a salt-assisted solution combustion method was characterized by different methods and used for CO2 methanation. The specific surface area of the Ni-CeO2 catalyst prepared by salt-assisted solution combustion is 7 times that of the catalyst prepared by conventional solution combustion. The Ni-CeO2 catalyst prepared by salt-assisted solution combustion has smaller particle sizes of Ni and exhibits excellent activity at low temperatures. The high Ni loading and small Ni particle size can provide more metal Ni site and Ni-CeO2 interface, which help to improve the CO2 methanation performance.

Electrochemical CO 2 reduction has been acknowledged as a hopeful tactic to alleviate environmental and global energy crises. Herein, we designed an Fe@C/g-C 3 N 4 heterogeneous nanocomposite material by a simple one-pot method, which we applied to the electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction reaction (ECR). Our optimized 20 mg-Fe@C/g-C 3 N 4 -1100 catalyst displays excellent performance for the ECR and a maximum Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 88% with a low overpotential of −0.38 V vs. RHE. The Tafel slope reveals that the first electron transfer, which involves a surface-adsorbed *COOH intermediate, is the rate-determining step for 20 mg-Fe@C/C 3 N 4 -1100 during the ECR. More precisely, the coordinating capability of the g-C 3 N 4 framework and Fe@C species as a highly active site promote the intermediate product transmission. These results indicate that the combination of temperature adjustment and precursor optimization is key to facilitating the ECR of an iron-based catalyst.

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