Life cycle sustainability assessment as a metrics towards SDGs agenda 2030

Sustainability has become increasingly important to the public. Well-known international targets and assessment approaches to a more sustainable future are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). The SDGs are a reference for the international sustainability agenda (communication), while LCSA is a framework that considers all dimensions of sustainability in a life cycle thinking based approach. Despite general relevance and demands of combining assessment and goals, there is a gap of (consensus of) combinations of LCSA indicators and SDGs. A comprehensive best-practice example of LCSA-SDG-combination is not yet available and challenges are becoming evident, but a clear direction can be seen and is already provided for some SDGs (e.g. SDG 13), including a recommendation.     

(Re)-thinking the bio-prospect of lignin biomass recycling to meet Sustainable Development Goals and circular economy aspects

Lignin, as an abundant natural polymer with interesting mechanical, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties, has the possibility to produce numerous chemicals and biofuels of current interest. However, the structural recalcitrance, heterogeneity, and complex extraction methods of lignin can hinder its transformation into value-added materials. Therefore, the research community is exploring innovative bioconversion technologies capable of effectively valorizing lignin. Thus, effective bioconversion and deconstruction methods have been recently studied. In this review, we first define lignin as a versatile raw material considering its characteristics, properties, and abundance. Then, lignin valorization is described in terms of the current opportunities and technical challenges. Finally, we discuss the industrial potential of lignin-derived products such as biofuels, biopolymers, biopesticides, and fertilizers. Those lignin-derived products are highly valuable for the energy and food industries, which are two main sectors challenged by the rapid growth of population, urbanization, and consumption. Thus, progress on lignin valorization would represent significant advancements in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and circular economy aspects.     

From Fish Waste to Value: An Overview of the Sustainable Recovery of Omega-3 for Food Supplements

The disposal of food waste is a current and pressing issue, urging novel solutions to implement sustainable waste management practices. Fish leftovers and their processing byproducts represent a significant portion of the original fish, and their disposal has a high environmental and economic impact. The utilization of waste as raw materials for the production of different classes of biofuels and high-value chemicals, a concept known as “biorefinery”, is gaining interest in a vision of circular economy and zero waste policies. In this context, an interesting route of valorization is the extraction of omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FAs) for nutraceutical application. These fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have received attention over the last decades due to their beneficial effects on human health. Their sustainable production is a key process for matching the increased market demand while reducing the pressure on marine ecosystems and lowering the impact of waste production. The high resale value of the products makes this waste a powerful tool that simultaneously protects the environment and benefits the global economy. This review aims to provide a complete overview of the sustainable exploitation of fish waste to recover ω-3 FAs for food supplement applications, covering composition, storage, and processing of the raw material.     

基于天然萜类的可持续性聚合物

随着可持续发展观念的逐步深入,可持续性聚合物已发展成为当今高分子领域的研究热点之一.萜类化合物作为自然界中一类来源广泛的天然资源,具有多种可修饰位点和丰富的功能性,由它出发制备可持续性聚合物,不仅可以简化聚合物的合成步骤,还可以赋予聚合物独特的立体构型、良好的生物活性和生物相容性等特点,进而拓展其在表面涂层、生物医药、组织工程等领域中的应用.本文综述了近年来国内外基于天然萜类可持续性聚合物的研究进展,从萜类化合物的结构特点出发,系统介绍了基于天然萜类可持续性聚合物的合成策略、特性及应用.     

UN sustainable development goals: How can sustainable/green chemistry contribute? Green chemistry as a source of sustainable innovations in the cosmetic industry

Sustainable innovation is a key-objective for our Group that has recently integrated the principles of sustainable development into all stages of a product's life cycle, from its design to consumer use. The following ambitious commitment: 100% of its products should bring an environmental (or social benefit) by 2020, will be reached, in particular, by integrating and giving a constant privilege to renewable raw materials -or ingredients-that originate from sustainable resources that fully comply with the green chemistry rules. In this short review, integration of Green Chemistry principles by our Group, strategies to identify new performing ingredients through sustainable chemistry as well as illustrative examples of innovative raw materials will be presented. With regard to the crucial respect of the environment of our planet, sustainable chemistry has become an indispensable turning point for industrial groups highly devoted to innovation.     

Environmental and resource aspects of sustainable biocomposites

This review critically discusses the environmental and resource implications for the design of sustainable biocomposites. Sustainable biocomposites should satisfy several requirements: (i) renewable and/or recycled resources should be utilized for their manufacture; (ii) the synthetic, modification, and processing operations should be benign and energy effective; (iii) no hazardous environmental or toxicological effects should arise during any stage of their life cycle; and (iv) their waste management options should be implemented. The future integration of biorefineries and green chemistry will guarantee the availability of a wide range of raw materials for their preparation. The emission of volatile organic compounds and the release of nanoparticles should be evaluated from a toxicological and environmental point of view. Finally, the susceptibility of sustainable biocomposites towards degradation, including abiotic effects (water absorption, thermo- and photo-oxidation) and biofilm formation and biodegradation, must be considered, to guarantee their structural and functional stability during service life, and to ensure their biodegradability and assimilation during composting.     

Secondary Metabolites of the Genus Amycolatopsis: Structures,Bioactivities and Biosynthesis

Actinomycetes are regarded as important sources for the generation of various bioactive secondary metabolites with rich chemical and bioactive diversities. Amycolatopsis falls under the rare actinomycete genus with the potential to produce antibiotics. In this review, all literatures were searched in the Web of Science, Google Scholar and PubMed up to March 2021. The keywords used in the search strategy were “Amycolatopsis”, “secondary metabolite”, “new or novel compound”, “bioactivity”, “biosynthetic pathway” and “derivatives”. The objective in this review is to summarize the chemical structures and biological activities of secondary metabolites from the genus Amycolatopsis. A total of 159 compounds derived from 8 known and 18 unidentified species are summarized in this paper. These secondary metabolites are mainly categorized into polyphenols, linear polyketides, macrolides, macrolactams, thiazolyl peptides, cyclic peptides, glycopeptides, amide and amino derivatives, glycoside derivatives, enediyne derivatives and sesquiterpenes. Meanwhile, they mainly showed unique antimicrobial, anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, and enzyme inhibition activities. In addition, the biosynthetic pathways of several potent bioactive compounds and derivatives are included and the prospect of the chemical substances obtained from Amycolatopsis is also discussed to provide ideas for their implementation in the field of therapeutics and drug discovery.     

Azeotropes as Powerful Tool for Waste Minimization in Industry and Chemical Processes

Aiming for more sustainable chemical production requires an urgent shift towards synthetic approaches designed for waste minimization. In this context the use of azeotropes can be an effective tool for “recycling” and minimizing the large volumes of solvents, especially in aqueous mixtures, used. This review discusses the implementation of different kinds of azeotropic mixtures in relation to the environmental and economic benefits linked to their recovery and re-use. Examples of the use of azeotropes playing a role in the process performance and in the purification steps maximizing yields while minimizing waste. Where possible, the advantages reported have been highlighted by using E-factor calculations. Lastly azeotrope potentiality in waste valorization to afford value-added materials is given.     

Rh(I) Complexes in Catalysis: A Five-Year Trend

Rhodium is one of the most used metals in catalysis both in laboratory reactions and industrial processes. Despite the extensive exploration on “classical” ligands carried out during the past decades in the field of rhodium-catalyzed reactions, such as phosphines, and other common types of ligands including N-heterocyclic carbenes, ferrocenes, cyclopentadienyl anion and pentamethylcyclopentadienyl derivatives, etc., there is still lively research activity on this topic, with considerable efforts being made toward the synthesis of new preformed rhodium catalysts that can be both efficient and selective. Although the “golden age” of homogeneous catalysis might seem over, there is still plenty of room for improvement, especially from the point of view of a more sustainable chemistry. In this review, temporally restricted to the analysis of literature during the past five years (2015–2020), the latest findings and trends in the synthesis and applications of Rh(I) complexes to catalysis will be presented. From the analysis of the most recent literature, it seems clear that rhodium-catalyzed processes still represent a stimulating challenge for the metalloorganic chemist that is far from being over.     

Predictive Modeling of Critical Temperatures in Superconducting Materials

In this study, we have investigated quantitative relationships between critical temperatures of superconductive inorganic materials and the basic physicochemical attributes of these materials (also called quantitative structure-property relationships). We demonstrated that one of the most recent studies (titled "A data-driven statistical model for predicting the critical temperature of a superconductor” and published in Computational Materials Science by K. Hamidieh in 2018) reports on models that were based on the dataset that contains 27% of duplicate entries. We aimed to deliver stable models for a properly cleaned dataset using the same modeling techniques (multiple linear regression, MLR, and gradient boosting decision trees, XGBoost). The predictive ability of our best XGBoost model (R2 = 0.924, RMSE = 9.336 using 10-fold cross-validation) is comparable to the XGBoost model by the author of the initial dataset (R2 = 0.920 and RMSE = 9.5 K in ten-fold cross-validation). At the same time, our best model is based on less sophisticated parameters, which allows one to make more accurate interpretations while maintaining a generalizable model. In particular, we found that the highest relative influence is attributed to variables that represent the thermal conductivity of materials. In addition to MLR and XGBoost, we explored the potential of other machine learning techniques (NN, neural networks and RF, random forests).     

The need for reference materials when monitoring nitrate intake

Whether dietary exposure to nitrate metabolites is detrimental or beneficial to human health has long been a matter of controversy. In spite of no consistent epidemiological evidence, nitrate metabolites are associated with the formation of carcinogenic-nitrosamines and gastric cancer. Furthermore, recent studies demonstrate that ingested nitrate plays a role in host defence against gastrointestinal pathogenic bacteria. Analytical values of nitrate content in foods are essential for estimating nitrate intake. The analytical process is of paramount importance for assessing human nitrate exposure and for establishing a link between these exposures and the current and future observed health effects. Therefore, the quality assurance of the measurement process is crucial to obtaining reliability, comparability and traceability of results. Certified Reference Materials (CRM) should play a role in the consistency of the measurement process. However, the availability of nitrate CRMs is still poor. When food monitoring is demanded, an approach could be to use In House Reference Materials (IHRM), prepared at a high metrological level, and all preparation steps should be quality driven. IHRMs were prepared, and available CRMs were used to provide traceability of the process. The homogeneity of IHRM was evaluated using an appropriate statistical design. The stability was monitored using an isochronous method. The material shelf life and storage conditions are presented.HPLC was optimised for the determination of nitrates in four vegetable categories. When a suite of IHRMs were used, the response of the HPLC system was linear over the range 1 to 8 mg L^–1. The detection limit for these compounds was 0.2 g L^–1 and the determination limit 1.2 g L^–1.The relationship between measurement uncertainty and critical points of the analytical process is presented. The differences in observed relative uncertainty between food categories could reflect current limitations in the food matrix reference materials.     

基于纤维素的先进功能材料（专题报道）

 收集整理了近几年间发表在国内外重要期刊上的约360篇文献,以纤维素功能材料的制备方法为线索,简要综述了该领域的最新进展,对纤维素基纤维材料、膜材料、光电材料、杂化材料、智能材料、生物医用材料等功能材料的制备过程、功能和应用前景做了概括性描述.     

Cathode pre-lithiation/sodiation for next-generation batteries

Electrochemical energy storage is playing a pivotal role in the global pursuit of a clean and sustainable energy future. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the state-of-the-art technology, but future energy requirements demand higher energy densities and a more diverse battery landscape to meet a wide variety of applications. Unfortunately, many next-generation LIB chemistries and beyond-LIB technologies suffer from large first-cycle irreversible capacity caused by active ion loss. The field of pre-lithiation/sodiation has recently emerged as researchers attempt to mitigate active ion loss and boost the energy density of next-generation LIBs and sodium-ion batteries. In this short review, we highlight recent advances in cathode pre-lithiation/sodiation using sacrificial additives and pre-lithiation/sodiation of cathode active materials.     

The Art of Framework Construction: Core–Shell Structured Micro-Energetic Materials

Weak interfacial interactions remain a bottleneck for composite materials due to their weakened performance and restricted applications. The development of core–shell engineering shed light on the preparation of compact and intact composites with improved interfacial interactions. This review addresses how core–shell engineering has been applied to energetic materials, with emphasis upon how micro-energetic materials, the most widely used particles in the military field, can be generated in a rational way. The preparation methods of core–shell structured explosives (CSEs) developed in the past few decades are summarized herein. Case studies on polymer-, explosive- and novel materials-based CSEs are presented in terms of their compositions and physical properties (e.g., thermal stability, mechanical properties and sensitivity). The mechanisms behind the dramatic and divergent properties of CSEs are also clarified. A glimpse of the future in this area is given to show the potential for CSEs and some suggestions regarding the future research directions are proposed.     

基于类石墨烯二维材料的析氢反应电催化剂的研究进展

利用可再生能源产生的电能电解水制取氢气,被认为是下一代清洁能源的最佳选择之一。然而,通过电解水可持续的产生氢气需要高活性的催化剂来使得反应有效地进行。基于类石墨烯二维材料的析氢反应电催化剂展现出巨大的潜力,因而备受关注。本文主要结合我们课题组近期在析氢反应电催化剂方面的研究,介绍了类石墨烯二维材料的析氢反应电催化剂的研究进展,主要包括过渡金属二硫族化合物、前过渡金属碳化物(MXenes)以及硼单层纳米片等。最后总结和展望了析氢反应电催化剂所面临的挑战与未来发展方向。     

Water as the reaction medium in organic chemistry: from our worst enemy to our best friend

A review presenting water as the logical reaction medium for the future of organic chemistry. A discussion is offered that covers both the “on water” and “in water” phenomena, and how water is playing unique roles in each, specifically with regard to its use in organic synthesis.

A review that highlights water as the logical reaction medium in which organic chemistry can be practiced. The key roles that water can play in directing reaction outcomes, including impacting mechanistic features, are discussed using selected examples.     

Post-Lithium-Ion Battery Era: Recent Advances in Rechargeable Potassium-Ion Batteries

Lithium shortage and the growing demand for electricity storage has encouraged researchers to look for new alternative energy-storage materials. Due to abundant potassium resources, similar redox potential to lithium metal, and low cost, potassium-ion batteries (PIBs), as one of the promising alternatives, have been applied in energy-storage research recently. However, PIBs do not have adequate competition in their electrochemical efficiency because the molar volume of potassium ions is higher than those in lithium and sodium ions. Therefore, for better application and development of PIBs, finding suitable anode and cathode materials is currently the most important task. The latest developments in electrode materials for PIBs have been outlined in depth in this review. It focuses on the structural design and synthetic methods for novel electrode materials, ingenious optimization and tuning strategies, and explains the intrinsic reaction mechanism. The effects of organic electrolytes and aqueous electrolytes on battery systems are compared and clarified. Finally, theoretical and viable insights are given to the challenges posed by the creation and practical application of PIBs in the future.     

面向共享的高分子材料网络数据库的设计和实现

以国家材料科学数据共享网为依托,我们建立了一个大型的高分子材料数据库并已向公众开放访问。数据库主要面向科研工作人员和工业企业等,提供基于高分子材料工业产品信息的数据共享服务。该数据库涵盖塑料、橡胶、纤维、涂料、胶粘剂、加工助剂等高分子领域主要的材料类型,目前已纳入7 000余个牌号的50 000多条数据。针对高分子材料类型的复杂性,该数据库采取了网状带冗余的分类方式以使一些组成复杂的材料可通过多种分类路径查询到。数据入库前,通过在数据生产、搜集、整合等多个过程中的评估以确保数据质量和可靠性。入库的数据也从数据来源、评估结果、修改记录等多个方面进行标记,以便后期进一步进行核对与评估。