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[Display omitted] • PCL-EO@SF-BAs membrane is developed for food freshness monitoring and retaining. • BAs endow the membrane colorimetric response and antioxidant activity. • Antibacterial activity of the membrane is from the control released EO. • Directional water transport is generated from the bilayer asymmetric wettability. • Synergistic effect of directional water transport occurs on food shelf-life extending. Currently, designing smart membranes with multifunctional effectiveness is crucial to food freshness monitoring and retention. Herein, an active colorimetric Janus bilayer membrane with directional water transport (DWT) performance is constructed by electrospinning, which comprises a hydrophilic layer of silk fibroin-bayberry anthocyanins (SF-BAs) and a hydrophobic layer of polycaprolactone-eucalyptus oil (PCL-EO). The entities of BAs and EO are well dispersed in the fiber matrix by hydrogen bonds and physical interactions, respectively. BAs endow the membrane colorimetric response and antioxidant activity, and EO contributes to the antibacterial activity while DWT performance is generated from the asymmetric wettability of the two layers. The bilayer membrane has an accumulative one-way transport index of 1077%, an overall moisture management capacity of 0.76 and a water evaporation rate of 0.48 g h−1. Moreover, the release of BAs and EO was predominantly controlled by Fickian diffusion. As a pH-sensing indicator, PCL-EO@SF-BAs is highly sensitive to external pH stimuli and the response is reversible. In addition to freshness monitoring, PCL-EO@SF-BAs can extend the shelf-life of pork beyond 100% at 4 °C. Also, it can extend the shelf life of shrimp by approximately 70% at 25 °C with the synergistic effect of antibacterial activity and the DWT performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zein electrospun nanofibers are widely used as the vehicles to load bioactive entities for release control; however, the water absorption of zein always restricts their applications in food preservation. In this work, an active hydrophobic membrane of peppermint oil (PO) loaded zein (ZN) with coating of methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) was developed for pork preservation. The fiber matrix of ZN was use for PO incorporation. The secondary structure of ZN and the feature of the relevant fibers are dependent on solvents of acetic acid and ethyl alcohol. In the composite structure, PO is hydrogen-bonded with ZN matrix; while the coating of MTES is bonded with fiber matrix by Si–O–C. The well-controlled release of PO predominantly follows the law of Fickian diffusion, endowing the membrane good antibacterial activity and antioxidant activity. The coating of MTES has no obvious influence on the bioactivities but provides the membrane outstanding hydrophobicity with water contact angle of 138 ± 5°. ZN-PO30-MTES can extend shelf life of pork by 100% (i.e., 24 h) at 25 °C, demonstrating its potential in food active packaging. [Display omitted] • An active hydrophobic electrospun membrane was developed for pork preservation. • Secondary structure of ZN and feature of fibers are dependent on solvents. • Release of peppermint oil from matrix is well controlled. • Coating of MTES endows membrane with water contact angle of 138 ± 5°. • Target membrane can effectively the extend shelf life of pork by 100% at 25 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Cross-linking improves the barrier and water resistance of casted film. • Casted film is pH-sensitive and reversible in color changes. • Electrospun membrane is antibacterial and release controllable. • Antioxidant activity is sourced from the released linalool. • Highly reliable milk freshness monitoring and double shelf-life extending at 25 °C. Colorimetric active double-layer composites of film@membrane were developed via direct electrospinning functional nanofibers on colorimetric film. In the structure, oxidized sodium alginate cross-linked carboxymethyl chitosan (CO) was used as colorimetric film matrix to incorporate the anthocyanins extract from Oxalis triangularis ssp. papilionacea (OTA); while the blend of gelatin/zein (GZ) was used as fibrous matrix for linalool (L) encapsulation. Besides good barrier and water resistance, the outer-layer of CO-OTA showed colorimetric sensitivity towards pH-stimuli with reversible color changes. The inner-layer of GZ-L exhibited good antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The volatile release of L from fibrous matrix was well controlled and mainly followed Fickian diffusion. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of the composites is source from the released linalool. The high reliability on milk freshness monitoring and double shelf-life extending at 25 °C suggest the potential of CO-OTA@GZ-L in colorimetric active food packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intelligent bionic trilayer fibrous membrane is developed via electrospinning for the moisture-adjusting of a storage space. The trilayer is composed of a hydrophobic inner layer of cellulose acetate (CA), a super hygroscopic intermediate layer of gelatin (GA) and a hydrophilic outer layer of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH). The hierarchical pore networks of EVOH/GA/CA (∼2.45/∼4.5/∼36.0 μm) and the asymmetry wettability endow the membrane with outstanding directional water transport capacity. Specifically, the membrane has an excellent accumulative one-way transport index (1293 %), a remarkable overall moisture management capacity (0.91) and a reasonably high water evaporation rate (0.59 g h−1). The target membrane can regulate the relative humidity (RH) from 75 % to 50 % without extra energy consumption, which is capable of extending the shelf-life of jerk beef by ∼100 % under surrounding temperature of 25 °C and humidity of 75 % RH. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium metal anodes are widely regarded as the ideal candidate for the next generation of high‐energy‐density lithium batteries. Here, a 3D host made of lithiophilic Mo2C clusters‐embedded carbon nanofibers (Mo2C@CNF) is developed. The uniformly dispersed clusters and large specific surface areas of Mo2C@CNF provide numerous nucleation sites for lithium deposition. Mo2C clusters exhibit ultralow nucleation overpotential compared to MoO2, which is also supported by density functional theory calculations. Furthermore, the transition metal element serves as a catalyst for the formation of a stable and robust solid electrolyte interphase layer containing LiF on Mo2C@CNF, effectively mitigating the occurrence of dead lithium and enhancing the Coulombic efficiency during prolonged operation. As a result, the Mo2C@CNF composite delivers superior electrochemical performance (>1600 h) at 1 mA cm−2 and lower nucleation overpotential (13 mV) for lithium plating. The Li/Mo2C@CNF anode coupled with the commercial LiFePO4 cathode exhibits excellent cycling stability (300 cycles at 1 C) and high rate capability at low N/P ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, Janus membranes have attracted growing attention in oil-water separation due to the unique asymmetric wettability on opposite two surfaces. Nevertheless, it is still challengeable to achieve the superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity of the two opposite sides. Inspired by the lotus leaf and orange structure, the Janus membrane of polyacrylonitrile/poly (vinylidene fluoride)@poly (vinylidene fluoride)-methyltriethoxysilane (PAN/PVDF@PVDF-MTES) is developed by electrospinning and electrospraying technique for oil-water separation. In Janus membrane structure, each layer is physically combined, and the Janus-PAN side is superhydrophilic with water contact angle (WCA) of ∼0°, while the Janus-PVDF-MTES side is superhydrophobic with WCA of ∼170.2 ± 2.4°. These characteristics endow the membrane with outstanding separation efficiencies and good reusability. The separation mechanism is elucidated on the basis of the asymmetric wettability. The kinetics behavior of the oils in Janus membrane follows the models of pseudo-first-order and intra-particle diffusion. The oil flux of the Janus membrane is associated with the types of oil and the diffusion is not the only influence factor in oil adsorption. The application trial results indicate the potential of PAN/PVDF@PVDF-MTES membrane in the separation of the oil/water mixtures and surfactant-stabilized emulsions. [Display omitted] • A stragety of bionic Janus membrane of lotus leaf and orange structure is proposed. • Janus-PAN side is superhydrophilic with water contact angle of ∼0°. • Janus-PVDF-MTES side is superhydrophobic with water contact angle of ∼170.2 ± 2.4°. • Kinetics behavior of oils follows pseudo-first-order and intra-particle diffusion. • Janus membrane is highly efficient with good reusability for oil-water separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A colorimetric cellulose acetate (CA) membrane incorporated with Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. anthocyanins (PFA) and chamomile essential oil (CO) is developed via electrospinning technique for food freshness monitoring and shelf-life extending. The moieties of PFA and CO are well-dispersed in fiber matrix by hydrogen bonds and their incorporation increases the fiber size but with no obvious influence on the fiber morphology at incorporation levels. The presence of CO enhances membrane hydrophobicity. The target membrane of CA-PFA6-CO15 (PFA6%, CO15%) has a wide color change range of pH 2–12 which is high sensitive and reversible towards external pH-stimuli. The membrane has good antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus besides antioxidant activity. The release of bioactive moieties is predominantly controlled by Fickian diffusion. The target membrane can simultaneously monitor pork freshness in real-time and double the shelf-life at 25 °C, indicating its potential application in active and intelligent food packaging. [Display omitted] • A facile strategy is proposed to fabricate a multifunctional colorimetric membrane. • Color change of CA-PFA6-CO15 is high sensitive and reversible. • Release of bioactive moieties is predominantly controlled by Fickian diffusion. • Monitoring pork freshness effectively and doubling its shelf-life at 25 °C. • Freshness monitoring and shelf-life extending are achieved simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The as-prepared binder-free Co 1−x S/MCF anode exhibits the desirable electrochemical performance for LIBs and SIBs, which can be attributed to the unique hierarchical nanostructure which provides enough active sites and internal space for volume expansion. [Display omitted] • The flexible Co 1−x S/MCF electrode is prepared via the electrospinning technique. • The Co 1−x S/MCF presents hierarchically hollow and multichannel structures. • The Co 1−x S/MCF electrode can effectively ease the huge volume expansion. • The Co 1−x S/MCF electrode shows high electrochemical performance for LIBs and SIBs. The exploration of prospective electrode materials represents great challenges for remarkable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Herein, we report a reliable synthetic approach for the in-situ growth of the Co-based zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) on electrospun nanofibers, followed by carbonization and sulfurization with the formation of free-standing Co 1−x S hollow polyhedrons anchored on multichannel carbon nanofibers (Co 1−x S/MCF) for LIBs and SIBs. The Co 1−x S/MCF electrode displays a high reversible capacity (813 mAh g−1 over 180 cycles at 0.1 A g−1), and stable cycle performance (559 mAh g−1 for 300 cycles at 1 A g−1) in LIBs. For SIBs, Co 1−x S/MCF electrode exhibits a favorable Na-storage capacity (433 mAh g−1 over 120 cycles at 0.1 A g−1). The as-prepared binder-free Co 1−x S/MCF anode demonstrates the advanced electrochemical properties for LIBs and SIBs. It is attributed to the particular multichannel nanostructure and the Co 1−x S hollow polyhedrons (Co 1−x S HPs), which provide enough active sites, and the internal void space effectively reduces the structural strain and eases the volume expansion to maintain structural integrity. This work gives insights to design a unique structure for promising LIBs and SIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The as-prepared binder-free Co 1−x S/MCF anode exhibits the desirable electrochemical performance for LIBs and SIBs, which can be attributed to the unique hierarchical nanostructure which provides enough active sites and internal space for volume expansion. [Display omitted] • The flexible Co 1−x S/MCF electrode is prepared via the electrospinning technique. • The Co 1−x S/MCF presents hierarchically hollow and multichannel structures. • The Co 1−x S/MCF electrode can effectively ease the huge volume expansion. • The Co 1−x S/MCF electrode shows high electrochemical performance for LIBs and SIBs. The exploration of prospective electrode materials represents great challenges for remarkable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Herein, we report a reliable synthetic approach for the in-situ growth of the Co-based zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) on electrospun nanofibers, followed by carbonization and sulfurization with the formation of free-standing Co 1−x S hollow polyhedrons anchored on multichannel carbon nanofibers (Co 1−x S/MCF) for LIBs and SIBs. The Co 1−x S/MCF electrode displays a high reversible capacity (813 mAh g−1 over 180 cycles at 0.1 A g−1), and stable cycle performance (559 mAh g−1 for 300 cycles at 1 A g−1) in LIBs. For SIBs, Co 1−x S/MCF electrode exhibits a favorable Na-storage capacity (433 mAh g−1 over 120 cycles at 0.1 A g−1). The as-prepared binder-free Co 1−x S/MCF anode demonstrates the advanced electrochemical properties for LIBs and SIBs. It is attributed to the particular multichannel nanostructure and the Co 1−x S hollow polyhedrons (Co 1−x S HPs), which provide enough active sites, and the internal void space effectively reduces the structural strain and eases the volume expansion to maintain structural integrity. This work gives insights to design a unique structure for promising LIBs and SIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]