Muhammad Zafar Iqbal

MXenes, due to their 2D‐layered structure, admirable conductivity, eminent electrical capacity, and unique chemical composition, paved the way for the evolution of applications such as supercapacitors. In this research work, a hybrid of Ti ₃ CN and g‐C ₃ N ₄ is synthesized. The successful synthesis of the hybrid was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction, and structural characterizations were performed to reveal the structural and morphological properties and elemental composition, followed by electrochemical characterizations. This heterostructure has been proved as an efficient electrode for hybrid energy storage devices based on its excellent performance observed in this report. The electrodes prepared showed elevated electrochemical performance in 1 M KOH electrolyte with gravimetric capacitance of approximately 1700 F g ⁻¹ at a scan rate of 5 mV s ⁻¹ which represents three times increase in capacitance than pristine Ti ₃ CN. The device demonstrates a high energy density of 33.7 Wh kg ⁻¹ with a power density of 230 W kg ⁻¹ . The stability of the best electrode is being quantified by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy after running 10 000 cycles, and it exhibited an enhanced rate performance with capacitance retention of 91%. In short, the Ti ₃ CN/g‐C ₃ N ₄ heterostructure exceeded in its performance due to its enhanced active surface area and proved to facilitate charge storage; thereby, contributing to the field of next generation energy storage devices.

We demonstrate a tunable organic/inorganic metal–organic framework (MOF) structure, constructed on in‐plane MBene ( i ‐MBene) to serve as electrodes for supercapacitors. Bimetallic Zn/Cu MOF was synthesized and hybridized in situ over in‐plane Mo _4/3 Y _2/3 B ₂ (ZC‐MYB), whereas i ‐MBene was produced by etching aluminum layers using hydrofluoric acid. The ZC‐MYB composite demonstrated a 46% increase in specific capacitance compared to ZC MOF and a 5.6‐fold increase over i‐ MBene at 1 A/g in hybrid (asymmetric) supercapacitors. The ZC‐MYB composite exhibited an 81% cyclic durability over 9000 cycles. The apparent diffusion coefficient of ZC and ZC‐MYB obtained from the Warburg element decreased, while electrochemical impedance analysis exhibited a much lower polarization resistance and a CPE response closer to the ideal capacitive behavior in 6 M KOH. The ZC‐MYB/AC device, operating as an asymmetric supercapacitor, demonstrated a specific capacitance of 73.4 F/g at a scan rate of 2 mV/s and maintained a voltage window of 1.6 V. A Random Forest model trained on 200 experimental observations from 35 independently synthesized samples showed a moderate within‐domain prediction ( R ² = 0.522), under a leave‐one‐sample‐out validation. However, very low prediction of the high specific capacitance data illustrated the role of the model as an exploratory, rather than a universal predictor.

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) using bio-based or recycled-polymer tribolayers offer a sustainable approach to energy harvesting. This work reports TENGs comprising electrospun nanofibrous membrane (ENM) tribolayers produced from bio-based poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) and recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (rPET). All nanofibrous membranes showed bead-free and smooth fibrous morphology. The PEF ENM showed the smallest fiber diameter (230 ± 10 nm), whereas the PEF/rPET blend ENM exhibited an intermediate average fiber diameter of 244 ± 13 nm and the most uniform fiber distribution. Stabilizing intermolecular interactions within the PEF/rPET blend contributed to its chemical, thermal, and mechanical stability. The single, merged glass transition temperature (Tg) of the PEF/rPET membrane and the favorable miscibility parameter (Δδ ≤ 5 MPa1/2) supported substantial miscibility between the amorphous phases of the two polymers. Compared with rPET, the bio-based PEF TENG exhibited an 11-fold increase in peak-to-peak voltage, reaching 11.4 V at 100 N and 20 Hz. The optimized PEF/rPET ENM-based TENG produced the highest output of 33.8 V and 2.4 μA at 100 N and 20 Hz, achieved a maximum power density of approximately 140 mW/m2 at 10 MΩ, and effectively charged commercially available capacitors. The optimized TENG harvested energy from and detected various human motions, with a maximum peak-to-peak voltage of 400 V generated by finger tapping. Moreover, the voltage generated by the TENG was sufficient to illuminate 15 commercial blue LEDs. Thus, the developed PEF and PEF/rPET ENM-based tribolayers provide a promising pathway toward sustainable TENG fabrication and energy harvesting.

Filtration using biobased electrospun nanofibrous membranes (ENMs) is gaining prominence as a powerful strategy for mitigating microplastics (MPs) pollution. This study presents a bio‐based electrospun nanofibrous composite membrane (ENCM) composed of emerging poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) and graphene oxide (GO) (PEF/GO), which spontaneously forms a self‐assembled multilayer structure during electrospinning, eliminating the need for complex layer‐by‐layer fabrication. Optimized ethanol treated PEF/GO ENCM (s‐PEF/GO) produces ultrafine fibers (189.3 ± 8.9 nm), shows dynamic superhydrophilicity (contact angle decaying from 44° to 0° within 3 s), alongside plant‐inspired directional water transport. The s‐PEF/GO ENCM exhibits enhanced tensile strength (17.14 ± 0.4 MPa), antifouling properties, and superior water flux of up to 50.6 × 10 ⁴ ± 3371 L m ⁻² h ⁻¹ , which is 1.6 times greater than that of the ethanol‐treated PEF (s‐PEF) membrane. The concentration‐dependent increase in hydraulic resistance during polylactic acid (PLA) MPs filtration provides clear evidence of PLA MPs cake‐layer formation on the ENCM. The membrane achieves 99.9% removal of PLA MPs through a synergistic membrane interception and electrostatic repulsion mechanism, while sustaining a 99.5% flux recovery ratio (FRR) across multiple cycles. These results establish a self‐assembled multilayer structured and robust membrane with high water flux and MPs separation efficiency for next‐generation sustainable water purification.

The development of high‐performance cation‐intercalated‐based electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs), exhibiting high pseudocapacitance and long cycle life, demands for a rational, cost‐effective, and promising electrode materials. Two‐dimensional (2D) titanium carbonitride (Ti ₃ CNT _x ) MXene is emerging as a key member of the MXene family for electrode applications in EESDs due to its high electrical conductivity and rich surface chemistry. Here in, we investigated the method to reduce sheet restacking and to significantly improve the aggregated structure of Ti ₃ CNT _x MXenes, which leads to higher gravimetric capacitance by hydrophilic cations (Li ⁺ , Na ⁺ , Mg ^{2 +} ) and hydrophobic cation (K ⁺ ) intercalation. In potassium ions‐intercalated Ti ₃ CNT _x MXene (K ⁺ ‐Ti ₃ CNT _x ), the hydrophobic nature of K ⁺ inevitably enhances the number of redox‐active sites, resulting in improved environmental stability and superior electrochemical performance through a pillaring effect, emerging as a high‐performance anode material for advanced potassium‐ion storage devices. Notably, the engineered K ⁺ ‐Ti ₃ CNT _x exhibited a high charge storage capacity of 1003 F g ⁻¹ , which represents an almost threefold increase compared to delaminated Ti ₃ CNT _x (d‐Ti ₃ CNT _x ), outperforming the already reported conventional supercapacitors. Moreover, the AC //K ⁺ ‐Ti ₃ CNT _x device exhibits an excellent energy density of 37 W h kg ⁻¹ and remarkable long‐term cycling stability of 95%, coupled with a Coulombic efficiency greater than 99% over 10 000 cycles.

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) electrospun films are attractive for biomedical and packaging uses, but they are brittle and provide weak UV protection. Poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) is biobased and offers excellent barrier properties but limited ductility. We fabricated PEF/PLA bilayer electrospun films in which curcumin-loaded PLA serves as the active top layer and PEF acts as a mechanically supportive, barrier, and photoprotective backing. Sequential electrospinning was adopted after identifying hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) as a suitable PEF solvent that yields strong adhesion, whereas trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) produced unstable interfaces. Bilayers showed smaller, more uniform fibers, significant interfacial cohesion, and mechanical gains compared with a PLA monolayer, including higher tensile strength, elongation, and modulus. FTIR indicated no new covalent bonds on curcumin addition, consistent with mainly physical interactions. Increasing curcumin content lowered contact angle, tuned hydration, and modulated release: 1–2 wt % enabled slow, sustained delivery (∼20% at 9 h), whereas 3 wt % accelerated release (∼50% at 9 h) due to morphology-related effects. Water-vapor permeability was high initially but decreased markedly over 72 h as the fibrous network equilibrated. Orientation-dependent UV tests showed that the PEF layer effectively shielded the curcumin-loaded PLA from UV-A, while direct exposure of the PLA side caused measurable degradation. This structurally engineered, biobased bilayer couples mechanical reinforcement, barrier and UV-shielding with controllable payload release, supporting sustainable films for biomedical, food packaging, and other protective applications.