The development of food packaging materials with mechanical and antimicrobial properties is still a major challenge. N, P-doped carbons (NPCs) were synthesized. Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), which has an adverse effect on the environment and affects petroleum resources, has been commonly used for applications as food packaging. The development of PBAT composites reinforced with NPCs and studies on their structure and antimicrobial properties are presented in this study. The composite materials in the PBAT/NPCs were processed by solution casting. The plasticizing properties of NPCs enhanced the mechanical strength of composites produced of PBAT and NPCs. The thermal properties of PBAT composites were enhanced with addition of NPCs, according to thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). After reinforcement, PBAT/NPCs composites became more hydrophobic, according to contact angle measurements. In studies against S. aureus and E. coli food-borne pathogenic bacteria, the obtained composites show noticeably improved antimicrobial activity. The composite materials, according to the results of PBAT and NPCs may be a good choice for packing for food that prevents microorganisms.

Nitrogen-doped carbons have attracted much attention due to their novel application in relation to gas storage. In this study, nitrogen-doped porous carbons were synthesized using SBA-15 as a template, polypyrrole as the carbon and nitrogen precursor, and KOH as an activating agent. The effect of the activation temperature (600–850°C) on the CO2 adsorption capacity of the obtained porous carbons was studied. Characterization of the resulting carbons showed that they were micro-/meso-porous carbon materials with a well-developed pore structure that varied with the activation temperature. The highest surface area of 1488 m2 g–1 was achieved at an activation temperature of 800°C (AC-800). The nitrogen content of the activated carbon decreased from 4.74 to 1.39 wt% with an increase in the activation temperature from 600 to 850°C. This shows that nitrogen is oxidized and more easily removed than carbon during the activation process, which indicates that C-N bonds are more easily ruptured at higher temperatures. Furthermore, CO2 adsorption isotherms showed that AC-800 exhibited the best CO2 adsorption capacity of 110 mg g–1 at 298 K and 1 bar.

Nitrogen (N)-doped ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) with a dual transition metal system were synthesized as non-Pt catalysts for the ORR. The highly nitrogen doped OMCs were prepared by the precursor of ionic liquid (3-methyl-1-butylpyridine dicyanamide) for N/C species and a mesoporous silica template for the physical structure. Mostly, N-doped carbons are promoted by a single transition metal to improve catalytic activity for ORR in PEMFCs. In this study, our N-doped mesoporous carbons were promoted by the dual transition metals of iron and cobalt (Fe, Co), which were incorporated into the N-doped carbons lattice by subsequently heat treatments. All the prepared carbons were characterized by via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). To evaluate the activities of synthesized doped carbons, linear sweep was recorded in an acidic solution to compare the ORR catalytic activities values for the use in the PEMFC system. The dual transition metal promotion improved the ORR activity compared with the single transition metal promotion, due to the increase in the quaternary nitrogen species from the structural change by the dual metals. The effect of different ratio of the dual metals into the N doped carbon were examined to evaluate the activities of the oxygen reduction reaction.