•Chitosan derivative/organic montmorillonite composite (QCOM) was prepared.•QCOM had good moisture-absorption and retention ability and UV-protection capacity.•A cosmetic cream containing QCOM was prepared and evaluated for skin-care activity.•QCOM cosmetic cream had good moisture-retention efficacy on human stratum corneum.•QCOM showed its potential to be an active cosmetic ingredient against skin aging.It is of technical and economic importance to develop an effective cosmetic ingredient against skin aging through low-cost and facile production. This study developed a polymer/layered silicate nanocomposite as cosmetic ingredient against skin aging. Firstly, quaternized carboxymethyl chitosan (QCMC)/organic montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposite (QCOM) was fabricated via solution-induced intercalation. QCOM with different mass ratios of QCMC to OMMT were studied by various characterizations as well as moisture-adsorption and retention activities and UV-protection capacity. QCOM was then added into a cosmetic formulation to prepare a cosmetic cream. And the evaluation of its efficacy about skin care was conducted. The results showed that the optimal QCOM had better moisture-adsorption and retention behaviors than hyaluronic acid, and QCOM solution displayed good UV-protection ability. Furthermore, the QCOM-containing cosmetic cream meets the hygienic standard for cosmetics; it has negligible dermal irritation and a prominent moisture-retention efficacy on human stratum corneum.

This study reported the direct utilization of bagasse as an ultra-light aerogel with AgNPs for the first time. Firstly, AgNPs were synthesized in situ using a green route with bagasse, a by-product of the refined sugar industry. During the reaction, the crystalline region of cellulose in bagasse was destroyed, and some groups of bagasse were partly oxidized into CO of ketone, which confirms the reducing capacity of bagasse. Then, the obtained bagasse–AgNP composite was dissolved in EmimAc to prepare an aerogel with AgNPs. The aerogel piled up in slices, and its weight after swelling in water was about 19 times the dry weight, and the aerogel did not crush a flower branch because its density was only 0.035 g cm−3, although the mole and mass ratios of the Ag atom were 5.26% and 29.94% in the aerogel, respectively. Furthermore, the obtained aerogel showed a strong antibacterial effect, especially against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. This study not only provides an interesting way for bagasse to be applied directly, but also develops an antibacterial biomass-based ultra-light aerogel without AgNP dissociation.

•A new type of environmentally friendly antifouling agent were prepared.•The thermostability and antibacterial advantages of CMC, OMMT and Cu+ was combined.•CMC/OMMT–Cu nanocomposites showed high thermal stability.•CMC/OMMT–Cu nanocomposites exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity.•The lowest MIC of CMC/OMMT–Cu nanocomposite against E. coli was only 0.0003125%.To obtain environmentally friendly antifouling agent, an effort was made to intercalate carboxymethyl chitosan into the interlayer of organic montmorillonite to prepare carboxymethyl chitosan/organic montmorillonite nanocomposites and their copper complexes. In comparison, carboxymethyl chitosan–copper complexes were also obtained. Their structures were characterized by X-ray diffaraction, transmittance electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared, and their thermal behavior and antimicrobial activity were discussed. The results revealed that the interlayer distance of carboxymethyl chitosan/organic montmorillonite nanocomposites enlarged with the increasing mass ratio of carboxymethyl chitosan to organic montmorillonite, when the mass ratio was at 20:1, the layer spacing of carboxymethyl chitosan/organic montmorillonite nanocomposites reached the maximum of 3.68 nm. As compared to other samples, carboxymethyl chitosan/organic montmorillonite–copper nanocomposites showed much higher thermal stability and inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli, the lowest minimum inhibition concentration was only 0.0003125% (w/v). The study provides a new method to find novel antifouling agent.

•Magnetic particles (Fe3O4) were prepared using organic rectorite as a template.•Chitosan/organic rectorite-Fe3O4 (CS/Mt-OREC) intercalated microspheres are prepared.•Adsorption capacity of the microspheres is higher than CS microspheres due to the addition of Mt-OREC.•This adsorbent has better adsorption performance on cationic dye than anionic dye.•This adsorbent can be easily separated from the aqueous solution in a magnetic field.In this study, magnetic particles were prepared using organic rectorite as a carrier, and then a novel magnetic adsorbent named chitosan/organic rectorite-Fe3O4 intercalated composite microspheres (CS/Mt-OREC microspheres) was synthesized. The microspheres were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TEM, SEM and VSM. The effects of adsorbent dosage, initial pH, contact time, temperatures, initial concentrations of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) were studied. The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics, and the intra-particle diffusion was one but not the only rate-limiting step. The adsorption equilibrium data can be well described by Langmuir model. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS were estimated to understand the adsorption mechanism of dyes. Moreover, CS/Mt-OREC microspheres were successfully regenerated using NaOH and HCl, and could be easily separated from aqueous solution in magnetic field.

•Quaternized chitosan and rectorite acted as reducing and stabilizing agents.•Spherical Ag NPs were synthesized greenly and rapidly.•AgNP dispersed well on the surface and the interlayer of exfoliated rectorite.•Quaternized chitosan/rectorite/AgNP nanocomposite was prepared as a film.•The film showed excellent catalytic efficiency and reusable performance.This study investigated a one-step green fabrication of exfoliated quaternized chitosan/rectorite/AgNP nanocomposites under microwave radiation method. The nanocomposites were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, XPS and TEM. The results revealed that quaternized chitosan and rectorite acted as reducing and stabilizing agents, spherical AgNPs were synthesized greenly and rapidly, meanwhile the layers of rectorite were exfoliated, and when the ratio of quaternized chitosan, rectorite and silver nitrate was 100 mg: 10 mg: 2 mmol, the AgNP content reached the maximum of 2.73%. Then, the quaternized chitosan/rectorite/AgNP nanocomposite was fabricated as a film, which was used in the catalytic reduction from 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol by NaBH4. The film showed excellent catalytic efficiency with an activation energy of 29.76 kJ mol−1 and outstanding reusable performance even after catalysis for 10 times.Quaternized chitosan/rectorite/AgNP nanocomposite catalyst was prepared greenly in one pot and fabricated as a film, which showed excellent catalytic efficiency and reusable performance.

This study reported the direct utilization of bagasse as an ultra-light aerogel with AgNPs for the first time. Firstly, AgNPs were synthesized in situ using a green route with bagasse, a by-product of the refined sugar industry. During the reaction, the crystalline region of cellulose in bagasse was destroyed, and some groups of bagasse were partly oxidized into CO of ketone, which confirms the reducing capacity of bagasse. Then, the obtained bagasse–AgNP composite was dissolved in EmimAc to prepare an aerogel with AgNPs. The aerogel piled up in slices, and its weight after swelling in water was about 19 times the dry weight, and the aerogel did not crush a flower branch because its density was only 0.035 g cm−3, although the mole and mass ratios of the Ag atom were 5.26% and 29.94% in the aerogel, respectively. Furthermore, the obtained aerogel showed a strong antibacterial effect, especially against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. This study not only provides an interesting way for bagasse to be applied directly, but also develops an antibacterial biomass-based ultra-light aerogel without AgNP dissociation.