Gerardo Fonseca

Integrating emergent optical, ionic, mechanical, and electronic functionalities within soft materials enables autonomous electronics, intelligent robotics, and adaptive human–machine interfaces. Here, we introduce photoresponsive piezoionics in eutectogels nanocomposites (NCs) containing photochromic WO ₃ nanoparticles (NPs). WO ₃ NPs are dispersed within a photocurable deep eutectic solvent (DES) and incorporated into the crosslinked polymer network, yielding transparent, mechanically compliant, and printable eutectogel NCs. WO ₃ NPs impart reversible photochromism and restructure the local ionic microenvironment, enhancing ionic transport while preserving the bulk elastic properties of the eutectogels. The resulting NCs exhibit strong optical modulation, efficient NIR attenuation, excellent thermal insulation, and compatibility with DLP‐based 3D printing. Remarkably, the photochromic transition directly modulates the piezoionic response by coupling photoinduced electronic processes with pressure‐driven ionic transport. The eutectogel containing the highest WO ₃ loading generates piezoionic outputs of 52 mV and 8200 nA and 53 mV and 11000 nA in the transparent and photoactivated states, respectively. The piezoionic eutectogel NCs enable self‐powered strain sensing for soft robotics applications and optical modulation for adaptive smart windows. This work establishes interfacial nanoparticle engineering as an effective approach to coupling optical, ionic, mechanical, and electronic functionalities in eutectogels and introduces photoresponsive piezoionics as a new paradigm for self‐powered iontronics.

This study investigates the development of corn starch-based biocomposites reinforced with pistachio shell powder, focusing on improving their mechanical and thermal performance. Composite films were prepared by solution casting with pistachio shell contents ranging from 2 wt% to 8 wt% by weight. The materials were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and tensile testing. The incorporation of pistachio shell particles led to a progressive improvement in tensile strength and elastic modulus, with the highest values observed in the formulation with 8% reinforcement (SP08). The TGA results indicated a shift in degradation temperatures for the sample with the highest percentage, reflecting a higher thermal stability that is attributed to the interactions between the starch, plasticizer, and cellulosic components of the pistachio shell. The FITR spectra shows very similar structures between starch and pistachio. An XRD analysis shows the alpha-type structure for starch and the cellulose type 1 structure for pistachio. Overall, the results suggest that pistachio shell powder can serve as an effective natural reinforcement, improving the functional properties of starch matrices and promoting the development of environmentally friendly materials derived from agro-industrial waste.

In this study, new polyurethanes (PUs) were prepared by using inulin and polycaprolactone as polyols. Their structure and morphology were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman dispersive spectroscopy, Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), whereas their mechanical properties were evaluated by a universal testing machine. Additionally, their water uptake, swelling behavior, and degradation were evaluated to be used as drug delivery carriers. Therefore, an anti-cancer drug was loaded to these PUs with 25% of loading efficiency and its release behavior was studied using different theoretical models to unveil its mechanism. Finally, the ability of the new PUs to be used as a clip marker in breast biopsy was evaluated. The results clearly demonstrate that these PUs are safe and can be used as intelligent drug release matrices for targeted drug delivery and exhibits positive results to be used for clip marker and in general for breast cancer applications.

Downstream waste from industry and other industrial processes could increase concentration of heavy metals in water. These pollutants are commonly removed by adsorption because it is an effective and economical method. Previously, we reported adsorption capacity of a chitosan/polyurethane/titanium dioxide (TiO₂) composite for three ions in a dynamic wastewater system. There, increasing the chitosan concentration in composite increased the cation removal as well; however, for ratios higher than 50% of chitosan/TiO₂, the manufacturing cost increased significantly. In this work, we address the manufacturing cost problem by proposing a new formulation of the composite. Our hypothesis is that inulin could replace chitosan in the composite formulation, either wholly or in part. In this exploratory research, three blends were prepared with a polyurethane matrix using inulin or/and chitosan. Adsorption was evaluated using a colorimetric method and the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis curves were obtained to characterize blends. Results indicate that blends are suitable for toxic materials removal (specifically lead II, Pb²⁺). Material characterization indicates that polysaccharides were distributed in polyurethane’s external part, thus improving adsorption. Thermal degradation of materials was found above 200 °C. Comparing the blends data, inulin could replace chitosan in part and thereby improve the cost efficiency and scalability of the production process of the polyurethane based-adsorbent. Further research with different inulin/chitosan ratios in the adsorbent and experiments with a dynamic system are justified.