Controlled Assembly of Nanocellulose into Functional Hierarchical Mesostructures

由于石油储备的不断枯竭和环境的恶化，迫切需要适应更可持续和更绿色的原材料来源。天然丰富的生物质是一种重要的原料原料，如果得到有效利用，有可能取代以石油为基础的材料。纳米纤维素作为植物细胞壁的基本构件，具有机械性能高、比表面积大、表面官能团多样等优良性能。天然的丰度和良好的性能使纳米纤维素成为设计高性能材料的极佳候选者。然而，纳米纤维素的更多实际应用仍然受到限制，因为组装材料的性能比石油基材料差，而且功能有限。在过去，我曾大量研究将纳米纤维素组装成各种结构以用于靶向应用。设计的结构包括连续亚微米纤维、超轻型和高吸水性气凝胶、透明和等离子薄膜。这些层次化结构材料可广泛用于过滤、吸收剂、水净化、水污染物检测和降解以及储能。*我的研究计划的长期目标是促进对纳米纤维素组装成各种分层结构的基本理解和强有力的控制，这可以促进高性能可持续功能生物材料的开发和扩大应用。我在这些拟议的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，帮助促进加拿大可持续的生物经济。在接下来的5年里，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)将开发更高效、更绿色的工艺来分离和化学修饰木质纤维纳米材料；(2)将制造出具有特殊机械、光学、热学和导电性能的高性能材料；(3)将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。总而言之，我的研究小组将使加拿大林业行业受益于其产品组合的多样化，促进可持续性，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.