Nanocellulose is considered as one of the most fascinating naturally derived nanomaterials with great potential for designing high performance materials and advanced applications. Due to its high surface area and large amounts of functional groups, nanocellulose can not only serve as model substrate to understand interactions with other biomolecules, but also as building blocks for constructing advanced structures for emerging applications. My research program at the University of British Columbia focuses on three main directions, including, i). green and sustainable isolation of lignocellulosic nanomaterials from biomass; ii). hierarchically complex structure design; and iii). using nanocellulose for emerging applications. In this presentation, I will mainly focus on the last two themes of my research interest. Designing hierarchical structure from nanocellulose can enhance its performance and diversify the applications. Nanocellulose can be assembled into various forms by ice crystal templating, emulsion templating, and 3D printing. Such assembly can be influenced by many factors such as surface chemistry and dispersion media, to name only a few. In addition, as nanocellulose has abundant polar groups that can interact with water, such hydrogen bonding interaction can help to design high performance materials such as superstrong panel and superelastic 3D monolith. Lastly, I will introduce some of the applications using nanocellulose for sensors, thermal insulation and storage, and water treatment.

Nanocellulose assembly, advanced structure design and applications

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.