Piezoelectric Nanogenerator Based on Electrospun Cellulose Acetate/Nanocellulose Crystal Composite Membranes for Energy Harvesting Application

Nanogenerators, as the typical conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy devices, have great potential in the application of providing sustainable energy sources for powering miniature devices. In this work, cellulose acetate/cellulose nanocrystal(CA/CNC) composite nanofiber membranes were prepared by electrospinning method and then utilized to manufacture a flexible pressure-driven nanogenerator. The addition of CNC not only increased the content of piezoelectric cellulose I crystallization but also strengthened the mechanical deformation of the nanofiber membranes, which could greatly enhance the piezoelectric performance of CA/CNC composite membranes. The CA/CNC composite nanofiber membrane with 20%(mass fraction) of CNC(CA/CNC-20%) showed optimal piezoelectric conversion performance with the output voltage of 1.2 V under the force of 5 N(frequency of 2 Hz). Furthermore, the output voltage of the CA/CNC-20% nanogenerator device exhibited a linear relationship with applied impact force, indicating the great potential in pressure sensors.     

Carbohydrate-based nanostructured catalysts: applications in organic transformations

The requirement of green and sustainable materials to prepare heterogeneous catalysts has intensified for practical reasons over the past few decades. Carbohydrates are possibly the most plentiful and renewable organic materials in nature with inimitable physiochemical properties, plausible low-cost and large-scale production, and sustainability features could be exploited in the generation of nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts. This review article outlines the organic transformations catalyzed by diverse carbohydrate-based nanostructured catalysts in greener and environmentally friendly processes. Selected examples are highlighted for a variety of organic reactions exploiting the proposed catalysts’ reactivity and reusability, and interactions with the intrinsic nature of the applied carbohydrate supports; advantages and speculated challenges of the introduced catalysts are deliberated as well.     

Cellulose as recyclable organocatalyst for ipso-hydroxylation of arylboronic acids

Cellulose catalyzed oxidative hydroxylation of aryl and hetero-arylboronic acids to the corresponding phenols under metal and base free strategy has been demonstrated. The sustainable ipso-hydroxylation takes place using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant in water under mild condition in shorter period of time. Interestingly, easy recovery and reusability of heterogeneous catalyst without significant loss in catalytic yield makes the protocol environmentally benign.     

Enhancement of thermal,mechanical and barrier properties of EVA solar cell encapsulating films by reinforcing with esterified cellulose nanofibres

Solar cell encapsulating film based on ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) was modified by using bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibres. Bacterial cellulose was chemically modified with propionic anhydride prior to compounding with EVA in a twin screw extruder. The effects of fibre content on the mechanical, thermal, optical and barrier properties of the EVA composite films were investigated. Better mechanical and barrier properties of the EVA films were obtained when the modified BC nanofibres were used. The results were ascribed to the different chemical functional groups on the fibre surface, as verified by FTIR spectra. Deacetylation of the EVA was delayed and visible light transparency of the EVA films above 75% was retained. Overall, our study showed that it was possible to improve the barrier properties of EVA film without sacrificing much transparency by using a suitable type and content of cellulose nanofibres.     

Investigation of melamine and DOPO-derived flame retardants for the bioplastic cellulose acetate

In order to identify suitable flame retardant additives for the eco-friendly polymer cellulose acetate (CA), high-melting derivatives of the known flame retardant 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) were combined with the thermoplastic CA and the combustion properties were tested. CA mixtures with bis-phosphonamidates (EDA-DOPO and PIP-DOPO) showed distinct flame retardation effects and a reduction of peak heat release rates (PHRR) by up to 18%. CA mixtures with MDOP, a melamine salt of DOPA (an oxidation product of DOPO), also showed considerable effects and a reduction of PHRR by up to 27%. While producing more smoke than pure CA and CA plus melamine, owing to its aromatic component, MDOP was superior to the CA mixtures with DOPO, EDA-DOPO and PIP-DOPO in this regard. The mixture of CA with melamine gave rise to a distinctly reduced formation of toxic CO and smoke when compared with pure CA. Thus, these additives can be considered for future applications of CA-based polymers with enhanced flame protection.     

Experimental and molecular simulating study on promoting electrolyte-immersed mechanical properties of cellulose/lignin separator for lithium-ion battery

Lithium-ion batteries have been developing intensively and earn an unprecedented reputation, yet advanced performance and safety issue still require considerable investigation. Separator is vital to comprehensive properties of batteries, where the mechanical properties are key to breaking through of new-type separator. Unfortunately, electrolyte submersion has caused damage to strength of cellulose separator. Whereupon, in this work, cellulose separator is optimized by introducing lignin particles to promote electrolyte-immersed mechanical strength. Experiments are conducted concerning surface morphology, contact angle, porosity, electrolyte uptake, mechanical properties and electrochemical performance. Molecular simulation is implemented to explore the mechanism of tensile behavior of cellulose and lignin subjected to electrolyte solvents. Experimental results confirm positive effect of lignin addition in improving mechanical properties and simultaneously maintaining impressive electrochemical performance of the cellulose/lignin composites separators. Besides, lignin addition amount of 2.5% and 5% is recommended to achieve promising overall properties. Molecular simulation has successfully unveiled that weakening of cellulose separator submerged in electrolyte is resulted by the deformed cellulose amorphous region and the promoting effect of adding lignin is contributed from the new hydrogen bonds generated between cellulose and lignin molecules. Hopefully, this work provides novel insight on preparing remarkable separator and mechanism of materials behavior.     

Lewis酸催化纤维素制乳酸机理研究

Because fossil fuels are continuously depleted, valorization of biomass into valuable liquid products and chemicals is of great significance yet it remains challenging. Among many biomass-derived products, lactic acid is one of the most important renewable monomers for preparing the degradable polymer polylactic acid. The use of raw biomass to produce lactic acid through catalytic conversion is an attractive approach. In this work, the catalytic reaction performance and mechanism of different Lewis acids (Y³⁺, Sc³⁺, and Al³⁺) for the production of lactic acid from cellulose were investigated in detail by isotopic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry. The production of lactic acid from cellulose includes tandem and competing reactions. The order of catalytic activity for the one-pot conversion of cellulose into lactic acid is as follows: Y³⁺ > Al³⁺ > Sc³⁺. The main tandem reactions involve the hydrolysis of cellulose into glucose, the isomerization of glucose into fructose (the order of catalytic activity, the same below: Y³⁺ > Al³⁺, Y³⁺ > Sc³⁺), the cleavage of fructose via a retro-aldol reaction to glyceraldehyde (GLY) and 1, 3-dihydroxyacetone (DHA) (Sc³⁺ > Y³⁺ > Al³⁺), and the conversion of DHA or GLY to the final product lactic acid (Al³⁺ > Y³⁺ > Sc³⁺). It was found that the process of glucose isomerization to fructose was the key step to the final selectivity of the tandem reaction of cellulose conversion to lactic acid, and it was clarified that the production of lactic acid from DHA underwent a keto-enol (K-E) tautomerization process rather than a classical 1, 2-shift process. First, DHA was transformed into GLY via the isomerization process, then the adjacent hydroxyl group of GLY was removed in the form of water to produce an α, β-unsaturated species. After that, the α, β-unsaturated species underwent K-E tautomerization to generate unsaturated aldehyde-ketone intermediates. Meanwhile, a molecule of water was added to aldehyde-ketone intermediates to obtain a diol product, the hydrogen atom at the methine position was transferred and the lactic acid was finally obtained through the K-E tautomerization process. The in-depth understanding of the reaction mechanism presented in this work will help to design more selective catalysts for cellulose conversion into value-added oxygen-containing small molecule chemicals.      

A Petrochemical-Free Route to Superelastic Hierarchical Cellulose Aerogel

Cellulose aerogels are plagued by intermolecular hydrogen bond-induced structural plasticity, otherwise rely on chemicals modification to extend service life. Here, we demonstrate a petrochemical-free strategy to fabricate superelastic cellulose aerogels by designing hierarchical structures at multi scales. Oriented channels consolidate the whole architecture. Porous walls of dehydrated cellulose derived from thermal etching not only exhibit decreased rigidity and stickiness, but also guide the microscopic deformation and mitigate localized large strain, preventing structural collapse. The aerogels show exceptional stability, including temperature-invariant elasticity, fatigue resistance (∼5 % plastic deformation after 10⁵ cycles), high angular recovery speed (1475.4° s⁻¹), outperforming most cellulose-based aerogels. This benign strategy retains the biosafety of biomass and provides an alternative filter material for health-related applications, such as face masks and air purification.     

纤维素基吸附分离材料研究进展

以纤维素为原料制备吸附分离材料可以减少对石油资源的依赖,并具有成本低、环境友好和生物相容性好等优点。利用纤维素中的羟基基团,通过交联、接枝、引入无机粒子或与聚合物复合,可以制备出微球和薄膜等不同形态的吸附分离材料,广泛应用于生物医学,废水处理、气体分离等领域。本文结合近五年来国内外纤维素及其复合材料在吸附分离领域的研究近况,从水、油、重金属、气体和有机物的应用进行了综述,总结了纤维素基吸附分离材料的研究尚存在的问题,探讨了今后的研究方向。     

多孔炭材料在纤维素催化转化中的应用

生物质作为自然界唯一可再生的有机碳资源,其利用受到了越来越多的关注。特别是随着能源和环境危机的日益加重,将生物质中非可食用部分催化转化为燃料及具有高附加值的化学品被认为是高效、环保、原子经济的绿色过程。同时,多孔炭材料具有丰富的孔道结构、优异的水热稳定性和大比表面积,是生物质催化转化反应中最常用的载体材料之一。兼之炭材料表面极性、亲疏水性的可调变性,及对酸碱溶剂的反应惰性,也使其无论在学术研究还是在工业应用中都具有特殊的优势。另外,随着纳米炭材料科学的飞速发展,合成孔径、形貌、及表面官能团可控的介孔炭和具有多级孔道结构的多孔炭材料成为可能,将其应用到纤维素催化转化过程中,对深入理解孔道结构、表面官能团对纤维素转化的作用,揭示催化反应作用机制,指导炭基催化剂的设计合成,均具有重要意义。在本综述中,我们首先对纤维素转化中多孔炭的孔道结构和表面官能团性质的独特作用进行了阐述。由于商业活性炭的孔径一般在微孔尺度,但纤维素及可溶低聚糖的分子体积较大,因而其在活性炭中的传质受到了极大的限制。通过模板法获得的介孔炭材料,可实现孔径在2–10 nm的可控合成,大大提高了反应物的扩散速率,使之能与催化活性位有效接触。但孔道过于狭长,在反应过程中堵塞的可能性增高,进而导致催化剂失活;因此,在介孔孔道的基础上,建立互通的多级孔道结构对反应物、中间物、和产物的扩散,及催化活性的保持更为有利。另一方面,炭材料表面的含氧官能团不仅具有加强1,4-糖苷键吸附的作用,还可以作为酸性活性中心催化水解反应的进行;尤其是在传统的水相纤维素催化转化过程中,亲水表面对多孔炭催化剂与反应物的接触非常有利。本文以纤维素水解及纤维素水解加氢反应为例,展开讨论了多孔炭作为固体酸及双功能催化剂载体的应用。在水解反应中,纤维素首先在热水中降解为可溶低聚糖,之后再与活性炭表面官能团反应;其中多孔炭的比表面积、酸量、及酸强度均是促进水解发生的正向因素。在水解加氢反应中,炭载贵金属催化剂作为最常用的加氢催化剂,可获得以六元醇为主的纤维素转化产物。除了加氢作用之外,贵金属小颗粒被证实可以通过氢溢流作用提供水解所需的H+,同时,正价的贵金属也可促进反应过程中的氢转移。另一方面,由于钨物种可催化逆羟醛缩合反应的发生,因此在反应体系中引入钨物种时,水解加氢的主要产物由六元醇变为乙二醇。需要特别指出的是,在纤维素催化水解加氢的过程中,多孔炭材料作为载体同样具有非常重要的作用：一方面,三维介孔的孔道结构不仅有利于反应物、产物的扩散,也有利于加氢金属催化剂的分散,进而提高金属的催化加氢能力;另一方面,当炭材料的表面化学性质改变时,也会影响产物的选择性分布,例如当炭表面显碱性时,由于异构化作用,丙二醇成为主要产物。本文最后,我们列举了一些新型多孔炭材料,包括杂原子改性的多孔炭材料和金属氧化物-炭复合多孔材料的合成方法及其在纤维素催化转化乃至生物质转化中的潜在应用。