In this study, we successfully prepared nine non-woven, supported polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes, using a phase inversion precipitation method, starting from a 15 wt % PVDF solution in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. Various membrane morphologies were obtained by using (1) PVDF polymers, with diverse molecular weights ranging from 300 to 700 kDa, and (2) different temperature coagulation baths (20, 40, and 60 ± 2 °C) used for the film precipitation. An environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) was used for surface and cross-section morphology characterization. An atomic force microscope (AFM) was employed to investigate surface roughness, while a contact angle (CA) instrument was used for membrane hydrophobicity studies. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results show that the fabricated membranes are formed by a mixture of TGTG’ chains, in α phase crystalline domains, and all-TTTT trans planar zigzag chains characteristic to β phase. Moreover, generated results indicate that the phases’ content and membrane morphologies depend on the polymer molecular weight and conditions used for the membranes’ preparation. The diversity of fabricated membranes could be applied by the End User Industries for different applications.

Encapsulation offers broad scope of applications. It can be used to deliver almost everything from advanced drugs to unique consumer sensory experiences; it could be also employed as a protection system or a sensing material. This cutting-edge technology undergoes rapid growth in both academic and industrial conditions. Research in this matter is continuing to find a new application of microcapsules as well as to improve the methods of their fabrication. Therefore, in this review, we focus on the art of the encapsulation technology to provide the readers with a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of up-to-day development of microcapsule preparation methods. Our goal is to help identify the major encapsulation processes and by doing so maximize the potential value of ongoing research efforts.

Nowadays, the self-accelerating increase in global temperatures strengthens the idea that the cutting of CO₂ emissions will not be enough to avoid climate change, thus CO₂ from the atmosphere must be removed. This gas can be easily trapped by converting it to bicarbonate using hydroxide solutions. However, bicarbonate must be converted into a more valuable product to make this technology profitable. Several studies show great efficiency when reducing bicarbonate solutions saturated with pure CO₂ gas to formate. However, those approaches don’t have a real application and our objective was to obtain similar results without pure CO₂ saturation. The method consists of electroreduction of the bicarbonate solution using bulk tin (Sn) as catalysts. Tin is a relatively cheap material that, according to previous studies performed in saturated bicarbonate solutions, shows a great selectivity towards formate. The ¹H NMR analysis of bicarbonate solutions after electroreduction show that, without pure CO₂ gas, the faradic efficiency is around 18% but almost 50% for saturated ones. The formate obtained could be used to power formate/formic acid fuel cells obtaining a battery-like system, with greater energy density than common lithium batteries, but electroreduction efficiency needs to be improved to make them competitive.

At present, Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most used biodegradable polyesters. The good properties and its biodegradability make that PLA can replace the fossil fuel derived polymers in different applications. PLA can be synthesized by using different methodologies. Among them, the most widely used forms on an industrial scale are the direct polycondensation of Lactic acid and the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic Lactide. The final properties of the obtained PLA are dependent on the used stereoisomers of the raw materials (Lactic acid and/or Lactide) and the conditions employed to polymerize them. Therefore, the comprehension of the synthetic mechanism of PLA is crucial to control the stereoregularity of PLA, which in turn results in an improvement of the polymer properties. So, distinct mechanisms for the synthesis of PLA by ring-opening polymerization using different catalysts systems (organometallic catalysts, cationic catalyst, organic catalyst, bifunctional catalysts) are examined in this review.