The use of bio-based polymers in place of conventional polymers gives positives effects in the sense of reduction of environmental impacts and the offsetting of petroleum consumption. As such, in this study, jatropha oil was used to prepare epoxidized jatropha oil (EJO) by the epoxidation method. The EJO was used to prepare a shape memory polymer (SMP) by mixing it with the curing agent 4-methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride (MHPA) and a tetraethylammonium bromide (TEAB) catalyst. The resulting bio-based polymer is slightly transparent and brown in color. It has soft and flexible properties resulting from the aliphatic chain in jatropha oil. The functionality of SMP was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. The thermal behavior of the SMP was measured by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and it showed that the samples were thermally stable up to 150 °C. Moreover, the glass transition temperature characteristic was obtained using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The shape memory recovery behavior was investigated. Overall, EJO/MHPA was prepared by a relatively simple method and showed good shape recovery properties.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using a series of different catalysts, derived from FeCoNiAl, CoNiAl and FeNiAl layered double hydroxides (LDHs). Catalyst-active particles were obtained by calcination of LDHs at 800 °C for 5 h. Nitrogen and hexane were used as the carrier gas and carbon source respectively, for preparation of MWCNTs using CVD methods at 800 °C. MWCNTs were allowed to grow for 30 min on the catalyst spread on an alumina boat in a quartz tube. The materials were subsequently characterized through X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, surface area analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It was determined that size and yield of MWCNTs varied depending on the type of LDH catalyst precursor that is used during synthesis. MWCNTs obtained using CoNiAl-LDH as the catalyst precursor showed smaller diameter and higher yield compared to FeCoNiAl and FeNiAl LDHs.

Recently, the antibacterial properties of Carvacrol (Carv) have been significantly reported. However, due to the unstable properties of Carv under various environment conditions, research approaches tailored towards its widespread and efficient use in various antimicrobial applications are scarce. Here, we discuss progress towards overcoming this challenge by utilising the encapsulation of Carv in gellan gum hydrogels to form thin films (GG-Carv) containing different concentrations of Carv (0.01–0.32 M). FTIR spectrum of GG-Carv revealed that both functional groups from GG and Carv existed. The carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen elemental analysis further supported the encapsulation of Carv with the changes in the element percentage of GG-Carv. Both swelling and degradation percentage increased with time and the decreasing patterns were observed as the concentration of Carv increased. In an antibacterial study, GG-Carv exhibited significant antibacterial activity against E. coli with the clear inhibition zone of 200 mm and the detection of bacterial growth showed enhancement with continuous decline throughout the study as compared to free-standing Carv.

Current case in modern agriculture industry has shown that application of agrochemicals has led to high cost of production and serious environmental pollution. In this study, a natural organism known as seaweed, a renewable bio-resources originated from the sea has been chosen to be encapsulated in chitosan hydrogel. The rationale to use seaweed is because it is common in agriculture and horticulture, that the application of seaweed could promote growth, prevent pests and diseases. The seaweed was encapsulated at different concentrations (w/v%) of 5%-20% in chitosan solution using sodium tripolyphosphate as a crosslinker. The encapsulated seaweed in chitosan has been made into beads to suit the application as fertilizer beads. The analysis of FTIR for all beads confirmed the encapsulation took place when both functional groups of the host, chitosan and the guest, seaweed existed together in all the FTIR spectra of the chitosan-seaweed beads. CHNS further confirmed quantitatively that addition of seaweed at various concentrations into the chitosan beads showed increased percentage of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulphur content accordingly. The swelling test showed that when seaweed was encapsulated into the chitosan beads, the swelling percentage decreased accordingly with the increase in concentration of seaweed. This is due to the seaweed filling up the voids in the chitosan thus limiting the uptake of water into the system. The morphology study by SEM supported the results of swelling test, agglomeration of large particles surface out accordingly to the concentration of seaweed when the void spaces has been fulfilled. It could be perceived that the encapsulated seaweed chitosan beads is a promising material to the agriculture sector; promoting plant growth which could enhance the income of the farmers and yet safe to the human and environment.

Agrichemical adjuvants that combine a highly selective, efficient, and active mode of operation are critically needed to realize a more sustainable approach to their usage. Herein, we report the synthesis and full characterization of two new metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), termed UPMOF-1 and UPMOF-2, that were constructed from eco-friendly Ca2+ ions and naturally-occurring, low molecular weight plant acids, L-malic and D-tartaric acid, respectively. Upon structural elucidation of both MOFs, a widely-used fungicide, hexaconazole (Hex), was loaded on the structures reaching binding affinities of -5.0 and -3.5 kcal mol-1 and loading capacities of 63 and 62% for Hex@UPMOF-1 and Hex@UPMOF-2, respectively, as a result of the formation of stable host-guest interactions. Given the MOFs’ framework chemistry and predisposition to disassembly in relevant agricultural conditions, the sustained release kinetics were determined to show near quantitative release (98 and 95% for Hex@UPMOF-1 and Hex@UPMOF-2, respectively) after >500 h – a release profile drastical-ly different than the control (>80% release in 24 h), from which the high efficiency of these new systems was established. To confirm their high selectivity and activity, in vitro and in vivo studies were performed to illustrate the abilities of Hex@UPMOF-1 and Hex@UPMOF-2 to combat the known, aggressive pathogen Ganoderma boninense (G. boninense) that causes basal stem rot disease in oil palm. Accordingly, at an extremely low concentration of 0.05 μg mL-1, both Hex@UPMOF-1 and Hex@UPMOF-2 were demonstrated to completely inhibit (100%) G. boninense growth and during a 26-week in vivo nursery trial, the progression of basal stem rot infection was not only completely halted upon treatment with Hex@UPMOF-1 and Hex@UPMOF-2, but seedling growth accelerated given the additional nutrients supplied via the disassembly of the MOFs. This study represents a significant step forward in designing adjuvants to support the environ-mentally responsible use of agrichemical crop protection.

The Volume 12, Issue 1 published for IJTAN Journal.