Controlled Assembly of Nanocellulose into Functional Hierarchical Mesostructures

由于石油储量的不断枯竭和环境的恶化，适应更可持续和更绿色的原材料来源是非常紧迫的。天然丰富的生物质是一种重要的原材料原料，如果有效利用，可以潜在地取代石油基材料。纳米纤维素作为植物细胞壁的基本结构单元，具有优异的力学性能、比表面积和多功能的表面官能团。天然丰富和良好的性能使纳米纤维素成为设计高性能材料的绝佳候选者。然而，纳米纤维素的更多实际应用仍然受到限制，这是由于组装材料的性能与石油基对应物相比较差以及功能有限。在过去，我已经大量研究了纳米纤维素组装成不同的结构，用于目标应用。设计的结构包括连续的亚微米纤维，超轻和超吸收性气凝胶，透明和等离子体薄膜。这些分级结构材料可广泛用于过滤、吸附剂、水净化、水污染物检测和降解以及能量储存。 我的研究计划的长期目标是促进对纳米纤维素组装成不同层次结构的基本理解和鲁棒控制，这可以促进具有扩展应用的高性能可持续功能生物材料的开发。我在这些拟议领域做出了重大贡献，我相信我的团队将继续在这一领域做出贡献，帮助促进加拿大的可持续生物经济。在未来5年的研究中，我们将在可持续生物材料的利用方面取得重大成果，包括：（1）开发更高效、更环保的工艺来分离和化学改性木质纤维素纳米材料;（2）制造具有优异机械、光学、热和导电性能的高性能材料;（3）研究组装材料在能源和环境领域（超级电容器、锂电池和催化剂）的应用。总之，我的研究小组将有利于加拿大林业在多样化的产品组合，促进可持续发展，并减少对环境的影响。

Due to continuous petroleum reserve depletion and environmental deterioration, it is of significant urgency to adapt to a more sustainable and greener source of raw materials. The naturally abundant biomass represents an important raw materials feedstock, which can potentially replace petroleum-based materials if being efficiently utilized. As a basic building block in the plant cell wall, nanocellulose exhibits several superb properties such as high mechanical performance, large specific surface area, and versatile surface functional groups. The natural abundance and good performance have made nanocellulose an excellent candidate for designing high performance materials. However, more practical applications of nanocellulose are still limited due to the inferior performance of the assembled materials compared to petroleum-based counterparts and limited functionalities. In the past, I have investigated heavily on the assembly of nanocellulose into varied structures for targeted applications. The designed structures include continuous sub-micron fibers, ultralight and superabsorbent aerogel, transparent and plasmonic films. These hierarchical structured materials can be widely used for filtration, absorbents, water purification, water pollutant detection and degradation, and energy storage. The long-term objective of my research program is to foster fundamental understanding and robust control of the assembly of nanocellulose into varied hierarchical structures, which can promote the development of high performance sustainable functional biomaterials with expanded applications. I have made significant contributions in these proposed areas, and I am confident that my group will continue to contribute in this field, to help foster a sustainable bioeconomy for Canada. During the next 5 years of this Discovery Grant, we will expect to deliver significant outcomes in the utilization of sustainable biomaterials, including (1) more efficient and greener process will be developed to isolate and chemically modify lignocellulosic nanomaterials; (2) high performance materials with exceptional mechanical, optical, thermal, and conductive properties will be fabricated; (3) applications of the assembled materials in the area of energy and environment (supercapacitor, lithium battery, and catalysts) will be investigated. All together, my research group will benefit the Canadian forest industry in diversifying its products portfolio, promoting sustainability, and reducing environmental impacts.