Mohammed. E. Ali Mohsin

This study explores the valorisation of post-industrial recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) via incorporation of sepiolite clay to develop a composite adsorbent for methylene blue (MB) dye removal. The composite formulation was evaluated by varying the rPET concentration, TFA:DCM solvent ratio, sepiolite content, and blending time. The selected formulation had an average particle size of 267.10 nm, a specific surface area of 0.67 m²/g, and a pore volume of 0.003925 cm³/g. Adsorption conditions were then optimised using a five-factor, three-level Box–Behnken design, considering contact time, MB concentration, adsorbent dosage, pH, and temperature. The resulting quadratic model was statistically significant (F = 114.18, p < 0.0001), with R² = 0.9892, adjusted R² = 0.9805, and predicted R² = 0.9568; however, the lack-of-fit was also significant (F = 90.90, p < 0.0001), indicating that model predictions should be interpreted within the investigated factor ranges. At the selected conditions of 62.5 min, 25.5 mg/L MB, 2.55 g/50 mL adsorbent, pH 7, and 55 °C, the model predicted an MB removal efficiency of 99.03%. The adsorbent retained at least 93% reusability efficiency after six adsorption–washing–reuse cycles. The kinetic data were described more closely by the pseudo-second-order model, whereas the Freundlich model provided a better representation of the equilibrium data (R² = 0.9976). Thermodynamic results indicated that adsorption was favourable and exothermic within the investigated temperature range. Overall, the results show that post-industrial PET can be converted into a value-added sepiolite-containing adsorbent for MB removal.

Membrane distillation commonly faces challenges such as wetting, fouling, and scaling, which limit its long‐term desalination performance. In this study, an omniphobic membrane was developed via an ecofriendly coating approach, a nonfluorinated omniphobic PVDF hollow fiber membrane via dip coating of zinc oxide nanoparticles with various concentrations of 1–3 wt% as re‐entrant structures, followed by stearic acid grafting. The proposed strategy enhanced surface roughness, reduced surface free energy, and promoted stable omniphobicity without fluorination. A comprehensive characterization was conducted using SEM, AFM, FTIR, XRD, contact angle goniometry, LEP testing, and ICP‐OES analysis to confirm surface morphology, roughness, chemical bonding, and coating stability. The results show that increasing ZnO NPs concentration up to 3 wt% produced a surface roughness of 100.43 nm and contact angle above 120° for all tested liquids. The best membrane exhibited excellent desalination performance with water flux above 14 L/m ² h and salt rejection of ~99.97% for five consecutive days under 30,000 ppm NaCl feed and 100 ppm humic acid. Accelerated chemical exposure under hot synthetic seawater showed less than 5% salt deposition while water contact angle remained above 90° after 48 h, demonstrating strong resistance to surface coating degradation.

A chemistry-informed machine learning (CIML) model was developed for the prediction of equilibrium concentration (Ce) and adsorption capacity (Qe) of synthesized sustainable and cost-effective zeolite 4 A from kaolin clay. In this framework, the chemistry-informed integrates fundamental adsorption principles, including mass balance, kinetic descriptors (mass transfer dynamics), equilibrium relationship (saturation behaviour), stoichiometry consistency and dimensionless loading, into a learning architecture. The materials are thoroughly characterized using FT-IR, FE-SEM, XRD, and BET. In the experimental study, 1 g of zeolite was utilized to treat 10 L of dye effluent through column adsorption demonstrating the material’s practical applicability for large volume wastewater treatment. The breakthrough curve exhibited sigmoidal profile, with Thomas model yielding an adsorption capacity of 56.6 mg/g. Extensive experimental data of 200 points under varying conditions supported machine learning simulations. Bayesian optimization identified the Gaussian process as the optimal model. The proposed CIML framework integrates the GP prediction (R ² = 0.9979 for Ce and 0.9993 for Qe) with mass balance formulation, error propagation, residual correction stage and uncertainty quantification. To further access generalizability, external validation is performed using 63 independent data points under varying conditions. CIML performance is benchmarked against, conventional mass balance model, predicting Qe directly from Ce using mass balance equation and a two stage GP model lacking physical constraints. The results show that the proposed CIML framework achieves R ² = 0.9993 and RMSE = 0.0493, outperforming both the mass balance model (R ² = 0.9974 and RMSE = 0.0973) and the two stage GP model (R ² = 0.9973, RMSE = 0.0938) corresponding to an approximate 47% reduction in Qe prediction error. Multi-layer validation confirmed robustness, while uncertainty quantification showed 96.8% coverage. Interpretability analysis identified the key influential variables. The results demonstrates that the CIML enhances accuracy, generalizability, and reliability for wastewater treatment applications.

Despite substantial progress, developing wound dressing that simultaneously address infection, oxidative stress, and tissue regeneration remains an active area of research. To address these concerns, we report the development of semi-interpenetrating hydrogel network comprised of polyacrylamide and chitosan, synthesized via a one-pot free radical polymerization. To enhance the therapeutic efficacy, hydrogel was loaded with polyaniline and retinyl palmitate. The developed hydrogel displayed excellent applicability, enabling easy administration at irregular wound sites. In vitro characterization confirmed hydrophilic nature and ability to scavenge reactive nitrogen species (> 90%), promoted cellular activity (L929 cells and red blood cells (< 5%)), mitigates infection risk (kills over 94% and 87% of the Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacterial population respectively), prevents biofilm formation, thereby offering a favorable microenvironment for rapid healing. Furthermore, in a rat full-thickness excisional wound model, the developed hydrogel markedly accelerated wound contraction (98.6%), epithelial closure, and collagen deposition (0.8 µg/mg). Overall, this multifunctional polyaniline/retinyl palmitate-integrated hydrogel offers a promising step forward in the development of advanced biomaterials for next generation wound care.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-47485-8.

The pursuit of enhanced lightweight materials is intensifying, with stakeholders in metallurgy, thermal/mechanical treatments, and materials fabrication converging to develop high-performance alloys. Aluminum (Al), Titanium (Ti), and Magnesium (Mg) based alloys are at the forefront, drawing significant attention. Among their critical properties, fatigue performance—alongside corrosion resistance is crucial. This review aims to unify perspectives from diverse domains on factors affecting fatigue behavior, fostering collaborative progress in material and process development. The literature on Al, Ti, and Mg-based alloys was systematically reviewed, categorized, and presented for easy access. The influence of alloying elements, phases, and microstructures on fatigue properties is examined. Additionally, the impacts of thermal and thermo-mechanical treatments—including roller burnishing, peening, deep rolling, severe plastic deformation, hydrostatic extrusion, and friction stir processing on microstructural evolution and fatigue enhancement are highlighted.