Realising Functional Cellulosic Bio-based Composites

从使用石油为基础的塑料原料到更可持续的塑料原料的全球转型正在进行中。这种转变是由于石油库存的减少，以及人们意识到目前的石油利用水平已不再可持续。更可持续的材料来源以植物纤维素的形式存在。这种材料是一种用途广泛的聚合物，实际上是世界上使用最多的材料。在过去的20多年里，我一直在研究纤维素的结构-性能关系，并在向可再生材料的过渡中发挥关键作用。大自然很好地利用了纤维素。纤维素纤维本身的强度和硬度意味着，按重量计算，它可以与大多数合成纤维（如玻璃纤维）进行机械竞争。在自然界最普遍的天然复合材料——木材中，纤维素构成了其卓越结构性能的基础。我们所有试图复制木材和植物复合性能的尝试都失败了，而这个研究项目旨在解决这些问题，同时也利用植物纤维和木材本身的固有特性。拟议的研究旨在在天然和合成材料的背景下做到这一点，为复合材料增加功能，同时也在交叉意义上解决材料和结构的可持续性证书。

The worldwide transition from the use of oil-based to more sustainable feedstocks for plastics is underway. This transition is due to dwindling oil stocks and a realisation that current levels of the use of this resource is no longer sustainable. More sustainable sources for materials use exist in the form of cellulose from plants. This material is a very versatile polymer and is in fact the most utilised material worldwide. For the last 20+ years I have been researching the structure-property relationships of cellulose and am ideally placed to play a key role in the transition to renewable materials. Nature makes use of cellulose to good effect. Being intrinsically strong and stiff means that cellulose fibres, per weight, can compete mechanically with most synthetic alternatives such as glass. In nature's most prevalent natural composite - wood - cellulose forms the basis of its outstanding structural performance. All our attempts to replicate the composite performance of wood and plants have fallen short, and this fellowship seeks to address these issues, while also using the intrinsic properties of plant fibres and wood themselves. The proposed research aims to do this in the context of both natural and synthetic materials, adding functionality to the composites, while also addressing in a cross-cutting sense the sustainability credentials of the materials and structures proposed.