Wood Nanotechnology for Strong, Mesoporous, and Hydrophobic Biocomposites for Selective Separation of Oil/Water Mixtures

Tremendous efforts have been dedicated to developing effective and eco-friendly approaches for separation of oil–water mixtures. Challenges remain in terms of complex processing, high material cost, low efficiency, and scale-up problems. Inspired by the tubular porosity and hierarchical organization of wood, a strong, mesoporous, and hydrophobic three-dimensional wood structure is created for selective oil/water separation. A delignified wood template with hydrophilic characteristics is obtained by removal of lignin. The delignified wood template is further functionalized by a reactive epoxy–amine system. This wood/epoxy biocomposite reveals hydrophobic/oleophilic functionality and shows oil absorption as high as 15 g/g. The wood/epoxy biocomposite has a compression yield strength and modulus up to 18 and 263 MPa, respectively, at a solid volume fraction of only 12%. This is more than 20 times that of cellulose-based foams/aerogels reconstructed from cellulose nanofibrils. The favorable performance is ascribed to the natural hierarchical honeycomb structure of wood. Oil can be selectively absorbed not only from below but also from above the water surface. High oil/water absorption capacity of both types of wood structures (delignified template and polymer-modified biocomposite) allows for applications in oil/water separation

Wood Nanotechnology for Strong, Mesoporous, and Hydrophobic Biocomposites for Selective Separation of Oil/Water Mixtures

Tremendous efforts have been dedicated to developing effective and eco-friendly approaches for separation of oil–water mixtures. Challenges remain in terms of complex processing, high material cost, low efficiency, and scale-up problems. Inspired by the tubular porosity and hierarchical organization of wood, a strong, mesoporous, and hydrophobic three-dimensional wood structure is created for selective oil/water separation. A delignified wood template with hydrophilic characteristics is obtained by removal of lignin. The delignified wood template is further functionalized by a reactive epoxy–amine system. This wood/epoxy biocomposite reveals hydrophobic/oleophilic functionality and shows oil absorption as high as 15 g/g. The wood/epoxy biocomposite has a compression yield strength and modulus up to 18 and 263 MPa, respectively, at a solid volume fraction of only 12%. This is more than 20 times that of cellulose-based foams/aerogels reconstructed from cellulose nanofibrils. The favorable performance is ascribed to the natural hierarchical honeycomb structure of wood. Oil can be selectively absorbed not only from below but also from above the water surface. High oil/water absorption capacity of both types of wood structures (delignified template and polymer-modified biocomposite) allows for applications in oil/water separation

Wood Nanotechnology for Strong, Mesoporous, and Hydrophobic Biocomposites for Selective Separation of Oil/Water Mixtures

Tremendous efforts have been dedicated to developing effective and eco-friendly approaches for separation of oil–water mixtures. Challenges remain in terms of complex processing, high material cost, low efficiency, and scale-up problems. Inspired by the tubular porosity and hierarchical organization of wood, a strong, mesoporous, and hydrophobic three-dimensional wood structure is created for selective oil/water separation. A delignified wood template with hydrophilic characteristics is obtained by removal of lignin. The delignified wood template is further functionalized by a reactive epoxy–amine system. This wood/epoxy biocomposite reveals hydrophobic/oleophilic functionality and shows oil absorption as high as 15 g/g. The wood/epoxy biocomposite has a compression yield strength and modulus up to 18 and 263 MPa, respectively, at a solid volume fraction of only 12%. This is more than 20 times that of cellulose-based foams/aerogels reconstructed from cellulose nanofibrils. The favorable performance is ascribed to the natural hierarchical honeycomb structure of wood. Oil can be selectively absorbed not only from below but also from above the water surface. High oil/water absorption capacity of both types of wood structures (delignified template and polymer-modified biocomposite) allows for applications in oil/water separation

Wood Nanotechnology for Strong, Mesoporous, and Hydrophobic Biocomposites for Selective Separation of Oil/Water Mixtures

Tremendous efforts have been dedicated to developing effective and eco-friendly approaches for separation of oil–water mixtures. Challenges remain in terms of complex processing, high material cost, low efficiency, and scale-up problems. Inspired by the tubular porosity and hierarchical organization of wood, a strong, mesoporous, and hydrophobic three-dimensional wood structure is created for selective oil/water separation. A delignified wood template with hydrophilic characteristics is obtained by removal of lignin. The delignified wood template is further functionalized by a reactive epoxy–amine system. This wood/epoxy biocomposite reveals hydrophobic/oleophilic functionality and shows oil absorption as high as 15 g/g. The wood/epoxy biocomposite has a compression yield strength and modulus up to 18 and 263 MPa, respectively, at a solid volume fraction of only 12%. This is more than 20 times that of cellulose-based foams/aerogels reconstructed from cellulose nanofibrils. The favorable performance is ascribed to the natural hierarchical honeycomb structure of wood. Oil can be selectively absorbed not only from below but also from above the water surface. High oil/water absorption capacity of both types of wood structures (delignified template and polymer-modified biocomposite) allows for applications in oil/water separation

Wood Nanotechnology for Strong, Mesoporous, and Hydrophobic Biocomposites for Selective Separation of Oil/Water Mixtures

Tremendous efforts have been dedicated to developing effective and eco-friendly approaches for separation of oil–water mixtures. Challenges remain in terms of complex processing, high material cost, low efficiency, and scale-up problems. Inspired by the tubular porosity and hierarchical organization of wood, a strong, mesoporous, and hydrophobic three-dimensional wood structure is created for selective oil/water separation. A delignified wood template with hydrophilic characteristics is obtained by removal of lignin. The delignified wood template is further functionalized by a reactive epoxy–amine system. This wood/epoxy biocomposite reveals hydrophobic/oleophilic functionality and shows oil absorption as high as 15 g/g. The wood/epoxy biocomposite has a compression yield strength and modulus up to 18 and 263 MPa, respectively, at a solid volume fraction of only 12%. This is more than 20 times that of cellulose-based foams/aerogels reconstructed from cellulose nanofibrils. The favorable performance is ascribed to the natural hierarchical honeycomb structure of wood. Oil can be selectively absorbed not only from below but also from above the water surface. High oil/water absorption capacity of both types of wood structures (delignified template and polymer-modified biocomposite) allows for applications in oil/water separation

Optically Transparent Wood from a Nanoporous Cellulosic Template: Combining Functional and Structural Performance

Optically transparent wood (TW) with transmittance as high as 85% and haze of 71% was obtained using a delignified nanoporous wood template. The template was prepared by removing the light-absorbing lignin component, creating nanoporosity in the wood cell wall. Transparent wood was prepared by successful impregnation of lumen and the nanoscale cellulose fiber network in the cell wall with refractive-index-matched prepolymerized methyl methacrylate (MMA). During the process, the hierarchical wood structure was preserved. Optical properties of TW are tunable by changing the cellulose volume fraction. The synergy between wood and PMMA was observed for mechanical properties. Lightweight and strong transparent wood is a potential candidate for lightweight low-cost, light-transmitting buildings and transparent solar cell windows

Nanostructured Wood Hybrids for Fire-Retardancy Prepared by Clay Impregnation into the Cell Wall

Eco-friendly materials need “green” fire-retardancy treatments, which offer opportunity for new wood nanotechnologies. Balsa wood (Ochroma pyramidale) was delignified to form a hierarchically structured and nanoporous scaffold mainly composed of cellulose nanofibrils. This nanocellulosic wood scaffold was impregnated with colloidal montmorillonite clay to form a nanostructured wood hybrid with high flame-retardancy. The nanoporous scaffold was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and gas adsorption. Flame-retardancy was evaluated by cone calorimetry, whereas thermal and thermo-oxidative stabilities were assessed by thermogravimetry. The location of well-distributed clay nanoplatelets inside the cell walls was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. This unique nanostructure dramatically increased the thermal stability because of thermal insulation, oxygen depletion, and catalytic charring effects. A coherent organic/inorganic charred residue was formed during combustion, leading to a strongly reduced heat release rate peak and reduced smoke generation