Gang Lu

To preserve the intrinsic properties of polypropylene (PP), a durable and scalable superhydrophilic coating was fabricated by introducing a polydopamine (PDA) adhesive interlayer followed by the deposition of an organic–inorganic hybrid coating composed of zwitterionic poly(carboxybetaine acrylamide) (PCBAA) and silica sol. FTIR and XPS analysis confirmed the successful synthesis of CBAA and the successful immobilization of the hybrid coating on the PP surface. The coating with a CBAA/silica sol mass ratio of 1:2 exhibited the best overall performance, achieving a water contact angle of approximately 5°, excellent antifogging capability, and high optical transparency. At −15 °C, the coating exhibited a freezing time of 603 s, corresponding to a freezing delay of 425 s relative to pristine PP. Moreover, the optimized coating maintained stable superhydrophilicity after hot-water treatment and immersion under acidic and neutral conditions, while retaining good hydrophilicity after repeated sandpaper abrasion. These results demonstrate that the PDA-PCBAA/SiO₂ hybrid coating provides a simple and effective strategy for fabricating multifunctional superhydrophilic PP surfaces with excellent antifogging, anti-icing, and durability.

Chemical excess sludge, containing viruses, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other components, exhibits high toxicity, making its safe disposal an urgent issue. In this work, MIL-100 (Materials of Institut Lavoisier – 100(iron)) was synthesized using 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid and iron extracted from excess sludge. Additionally, titanium dioxide was loaded onto MIL-100 via an impregnation–calcination method to form T@MIL-100, and their visible-light-driven photocatalytic activities for methylene blue (MB) degradation were evaluated. The results showed that the synthesized MIL-100 exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance for MB degradation, with a degradation efficiency of 92.44% and a corresponding kinetic constant (k_obs) of 0.97612 h⁻¹. The degradation efficiency of MB over 1%T@MIL-100 was enhanced to 98.42%, and the k_obs value increased to 1.39943 h⁻¹. Quenching experiments further revealed the catalytic mechanism: h⁺ was the dominant active species in the MIL-100 system, while ·O₂ ⁻ and h⁺ primarily contributed to MB degradation in the T@MIL-100 system. This study provides a low-cost, efficient, and sustainable approach to convert excess sludge into functional metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and further load TiO₂. This strategy not only promotes the recycling of residual iron in excess sludge to significantly reduce catalyst costs, but also enhances photocatalytic degradation performance, offering an excellent functional material for MB removal.

Weak interfacial bonding between the two phases limited the toughening efficacy of carboxylated cellulose nanofibers (CNF‐C) on epoxy resin. To address this interfacial incompatibility, surface modification of CNF‐C was implemented through polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalization. The toughening mechanism of PEI‐modified CNF‐C was systematically investigated through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Optimal composite performance was achieved at a CNF‐C:PEI mass ratio of 1:1, where the impact strength of the epoxy resin increased significantly from 15.7 to 37.2 kJ/m ² , representing a 136.9% enhancement. At the same time, the effect of using high molecular weight PEI is significantly higher than that of low molecular weight PEI. The toughening mechanism analysis revealed that stress dispersion and transfer were significantly enhanced by the long‐chain PEI structure, while the amine groups on PEI were found to participate in the epoxy‐curing reaction. Through these dual mechanisms, the interfacial bonding strength of CNF‐C was effectively reinforced. This systematic investigation provided both theoretical validation and experimental evidence to support the application of CNF‐C in composite materials.

3D printing technology is widely used in several fields due to its design flexibility in the preparation of complex geometries. However, conventional 3D printing techniques make it difficult to directly construct polymeric materials with nanoscale structures, which are critical for areas such as adsorption, separation and tissue engineering. In this study, a method combining digital light processing 3D printing with polymerization‐induced phase separation is proposed for the preparation of 3D objects with nanoporous structures. Without designing macroscopic pores, the porosity of 3D objects prepared by this method can reach 20%–30%, and efficient processing of complex structures can be achieved. Moreover, the controllability of nanopores was systematically investigated from both molecular weight and concentration dimensions by adding polyethylene oxide (PEO) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as synergistic porogens in the ink. The results showed that low molecular weight PVP is able to significantly increase the pore number and distribution uniformity with increasing concentration. Among the products, ZK/PVP _6wt% showed the best effect. High molecular weight PEO can effectively enlarge pores under low concentration conditions (ZK/PEO _2wt% ), but, as the concentration increases, its solubility in water limits further optimization of pore structure. The above methods enable flexible regulation of the application scope of 3D printing in structural features ranging from nanometer to centimeter scales, demonstrating broad application potential in fields such as adsorption and separation. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.