In this study, organic acids were used as cross-linker with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films prepared by a solution-casting method for food packing applications. The effect of incorporating three different organic acids, i.e., malic acid (MA), tartaric acid (TA), and lactic acid (LA), on the physicochemical and biological properties of PVA was explored in detail. The crystalline phase, optical absorption, and functional groups were examined via UV–Vis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Thermal, microstructural, and surface investigations were conducted by thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy, and the antibacterial activity was evaluated. The surface topography and roughness were found to have a strong effect on the bactericidal properties of the films, as confirmed by atomic force microscopy. Among the considered films, PVA/LA exhibited the highest bacterial inhibition, which was largely due to its capacity to modify the local pH and alter the permeability of the microbial layer by disrupting bacteria–substrate interaction. In general, the composite film was found to have attractive properties and can be considered as a food packaging material with low environmental impact based on polyvinyl alcohol.

Highly efficient g-C ₃ N ₄ based MoS ₂ /Bi ₂ O ₃ nanorod embedded novel (g-C ₃ N ₄ /MoS ₂ /Bi ₂ O ₃ ) nanocomposites were effectively fabricated by a hydrothermal–calcination method. The schematic depiction is illustrating the plausible mechanism of charge separation and degradation of pollutants under visible-light exposure by a g-C ₃ N ₄ /MoS ₂ /Bi ₂ O ₃ photocatalyst.

Nickel-based metal–organic frameworks (Ni-MOFs) have received enormous amounts of attention from the scientific community due to their excellent porosity, larger specific surface area, tunable structure, and intrinsic redox properties. In previous years, Ni-MOFs and their hybrid composite materials have been extensively explored for electrochemical sensing applications. As per the reported literature, Ni-MOF-based hybrid materials have been used in the fabrication of electrochemical sensors for the monitoring of ascorbic acid, glucose, L-tryptophan, bisphenol A, carbendazim, catechol, hydroquinone, 4-chlorophenol, uric acid, kaempferol, adenine, _L-cysteine, etc. The presence of synergistic effects in Ni-MOF-based hybrid materials plays a crucial role in the development of highly selective electrochemical sensors. Thus, Ni-MOF-based materials exhibited enhanced sensitivity and selectivity with reasonable real sample recovery, which suggested their potential for practical applications. In addition, Ni-MOF-based hybrid composites were also adopted as electrode modifiers for the development of supercapacitors. The Ni-MOF-based materials demonstrated excellent specific capacitance at low current densities with reasonable cyclic stability. This review article provides an overview of recent advancements in the utilization of Ni-MOF-based electrode modifiers with metal oxides, carbon-based materials, MXenes, polymers, and LDH, etc., for the electrochemical detection of environmental pollutants and biomolecules and for supercapacitor applications. In addition, Ni-based bimetallic and trimetallic catalysts and their composites have been reviewed for electrochemical sensing and supercapacitor applications. The key challenges, limitations, and future perspectives of Ni-MOF-based materials are discussed. We believe that the present review article may be beneficial for the scientific community working on the development of Ni-MOF-based materials for electrochemical sensing and supercapacitor applications.