Sustainable Nanomaterials for Advanced Engineering Applications

加拿大对其自然资源的依赖在许多方面指导了该国的研究和发展，目前正在出现两个重要趋势。首先，来自森林产品和农业生物质的可再生自然资源可以被开发和用作生物医学、个人护理和电子应用的高附加值原材料。其次，利用森林产品，如纤维素纳米晶(CNCS)，可以帮助减少包括二氧化碳在内的温室气体。*通过光合作用，植物吸收二氧化碳，并与水结合生成纤维素，通过酸解过程从纤维素中提取CnC。从这一可再生资源中，我们将开发功能化数控系统作为高附加值原材料的用途。该方案侧重于在绿色溶剂中合成功能化的CNCS(数控杂化)，避免了合成后产物的繁琐和复杂的提纯。将对纳米颗粒的表面电荷、表面官能团的组成和形貌进行量化。我们将进行基础性研究，以阐明控制CNC杂化材料与添加剂(如金属离子、有机分子、两亲性化合物等)之间相互作用的作用力。我们将推进对物理和分子相互作用的详细物理理解，并将其与整体性质(如流变学、胶体稳定性、导电性等)相关联。这些原理将被评估并应用于几个先进的工程应用，即：*1.皮克林乳状液-我们预计未来的许多产品将使用良性纳米颗粒来稳定油/水乳状液。我们将把对pH和温度敏感的刷子移植到CNC上，并将检查这些刺激、刷子长度和密度的影响。*2.抗微生物制剂-美国食品和药物管理局(FDA)最近宣布禁止使用19种抗菌化学制剂。作为这一计划的一部分，我们将设计和开发可持续的抗菌剂，以有效地取代这些禁用化合物。*3.导电油墨-未来的电子产品将是柔性的，导电油墨将印刷在柔性聚合物基板上。我们将通过使用导电聚合物/金属纳米颗粒对CNC进行功能化来开发导电油墨，使我们能够调整导电性。这些导电油墨的性能将在模型电子设备中进行评估。*该计划产生的基本知识将推动各种先进工程应用的可持续纳米材料的设计和开发。通过这项计划，将创造价值创新，从而为加拿大人创造高技能工作岗位。接受过数控混合动力车改装和配方技术培训的HQP将能够支持这一新行业，并为经济做出贡献。

Canada's reliance on its natural resource has, in many ways, directed the country's research and development, and two important trends are emerging. Firstly, renewable natural resources from forest products and agricultural biomass can be exploited and used as high valued-added raw materials for biomedical, personal care and electronic applications. Secondly, the utilization of forest products, such as cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) can aid in the reduction of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide. *** Through photosynthesis, plants extract CO2 and combine with water to produce cellulose, from which CNC is extracted through an acid hydrolysis process. From this renewable resource, we will exploit the use of functionalized CNC as high value-added raw materials. The proposal focuses on the synthesis of functionalized CNCs (CNC-Hybrids) in green solvents, which eliminates the tedious and complicated purification of products after synthesis. The surface charges, composition of functional groups on CNC surfaces, and morphology of the nanoparticles will be quantified. We will conduct fundamental studies to elucidate the forces that control the interactions between CNC-Hybrids and additives, such as metal ions, organic molecules, amphiphilic compounds etc. Detailed physical understanding of the physics and molecular interactions will be advanced, and correlated to bulk properties (e.g. rheology, colloidal stability, conductivity etc). These principles will be evaluated and applied to several advanced engineering applications, namely:*** 1. Pickering emulsions - We anticipate that many of the future products will utilize benign nanoparticles to stabilize oil/water emulsions. We will graft pH and temperature responsive brushes onto CNC, and the impact of these stimuli, brush length and density will be examined.*** 2. Anti-microbial agents - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a ban on 19 antibacterial chemical agents. As part of this program, we will design and develop sustainable anti-microbial agents that can effectively replace these banned compounds.*** 3. Conductive inks - Future electronics will be flexible and conductive inks will be printed on a flexible polymeric substrate. We will develop conductive inks by functionalizing CNC with conductive polymer/metallic nanoparticles that permit us to tune the conductivity. The performance of these conductive inks will be evaluated in a model electronic device.*** The fundamental knowledge generated from this program will advance the design and development of sustainable nanomaterials for various advanced engineering applications. Through this program, value innovation will be created resulting in the creation of highly skilled jobs for Canadians. HQP trained with skills on the modification and formulation of CNC-Hybrids will be able to support this new industry and contribute to the economy.