The environmental and ecological concerns drive researchers to synthesize functional materials using components from natural resources. Nanocellulose (NC), derived from plants, marine animals, or microorganisms, is a green material attracting attention due to its abundance, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. NC’s interstice properties enable the synthesis of functional nanocomposites in forms like aerogels, foams, paper, sheets, or hollow filaments. This review briefly describes NC classification and production while comprehensively presenting its mechanical, rheological, optical, and electrical properties, offering foundational knowledge for future research. Additionally, it highlights recent developments in NC-based products across fields such as papermaking, water treatment, civil engineering, electronics, cosmetics, food, and medicine. For the first time, this paper explores recent advances in NC molecular simulation, providing insights into structure, arrangement, and interactions through molecular dynamic simulation. Finally, future prospects for NC-based applications are discussed to encourage studies addressing current challenges.

The widespread use of cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-based aerogels is hindered by their limited flame retardancy and mechanical properties. This study addresses these challenges by developing cellulose nanofiber/sodium alginate/fly ash (CNF/SA/FA) aerogel through a one-pot method, utilizing industrial waste fly ash (FA) as a reinforcing material. Various characterization and analytical techniques were employed to evaluate the properties of the CNF/SA/FA aerogel. The findings have revealed that resulting aerogel exhibited excellent thermal insulation performance, with a thermal conductivity of 0.485 W/(m·K), along with an impressive compressive strength of 88.4 kPa and favorable shape processability. Vertical combustion tests demonstrated a V-0 rating, indicating superior flame retardancy, and the aerogel achieved a remarkable 79.16% residual carbon, confirming their effective heat shielding capabilities. Notably, the incorporation of FA significantly enhanced both the thermal and mechanical properties of the composite aerogel, presenting a sustainable and effective solution to optimizing the properties of aerogel for thermal insulation.

Polybutylene succinate, polybutylene adipate, polybutylene suberate and their copolyesters were synthesized. The physical properties and biodegradability of these polyesters were controlled by adjusting the composition of carboxyl monomers. Compared with the homopolyesters, the addition of comonomer during polymerization resulted in the formation of copolyesters with lower melting temperatures and crystallinity. Among them, poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) had the lowest crystallinity, and poly(butylene adipate-co-suberate) (PBASub) had the lowest melting point. The elongation at break and tensile strength of PBSA was 766.2% and 21.5 MPa, respectively. Enzymatic degradation by Fusarium solani cutinase (FsC) showed that both the crystalline and amorphous regions of the polyester were simultaneously degraded by FsC, and the crystal structure of the polyester was not disrupted. FsC preferentially got attached to the surface of polyesters, subsequently attacked the center of the films, and the water penetrated the amorphous region, leading to enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis. The biodegradability of copolyester was higher than that of homopolyesters. PBSA and poly(butylene succinate-co-suberate) (PBSSub) were completely degraded in about 10 h, and can be used in agricultural, automotive, electronics, biomedical materials, packaging, etc.

This study explores the transformative potential of calcium lignosulfonate (CaL) as a sustainable additive in rubber composites based on nitrile rubber (NBR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). Through comprehensive mechanical testing, fatigue crack growth (FCG) analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we evaluated the tensile strength, elongation at break, surface morphology, and crack growth behavior of these innovative composites. By incorporating CaL into carbon black-reinforced rubber compounds (RUB/CB) based on nitrile rubber and styrene-butadiene rubber, we achieved good dispersion of both components as well as satisfactory morphology, resulting in tensile strengths of 16.3 and 12.7 MPa, respectively. While the CB/CaL hybrid did not significantly influence the intrinsic strength of the rubber samples, the ultimate strength of these compounds increased drastically – over five-fold compared to RUB/CB – indicating great potential for real-life applications. This study underscores the promise of lignin-based additives in the development of eco-friendly, highperformance rubber materials.

This is an editorial article. It has no abstract.