Military systems have become more complex, and the development of future advanced materials for defence applications have received much attention. Nanocellulose has been identified as a 'super versatile material' that...

The adsorption and desorption of contaminants by nanocellulose.

The wide availability and diversity of dangerous microbes poses a considerable problem for health professionals and in the development of new healthcare products. Numerous studies have been conducted to develop membrane filters that have antibacterial properties to solve this problem. Without proper protective filter equipment, healthcare providers, essential workers, and the general public are exposed to the risk of infection. A combination of nanotechnology and biosorption is expected to offer a new and greener approach to improve the usefulness of polysaccharides as an advanced membrane filtration material. Nanocellulose is among the emerging materials of this century and several studies have proven its use in filtering microbes. Its high specific surface area enables the adsorption of various microbial species, and its innate porosity can separate various molecules and retain microbial objects. Besides this, the presence of an abundant OH groups in nanocellulose grants its unique surface modification, which can increase its filtration efficiency through the formation of affinity interactions toward microbes. In this review, an update of the most relevant uses of nanocellulose as a new class of membrane filters against microbes is outlined. Key advancements in surface modifications of nanocellulose to enhance its rejection mechanism are also critically discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review focusing on the development of nanocellulose as a membrane filter against microbes.

In recent years, cellulose nanofiber (CNF) has become an avidly researched material in cutting edge research fields involving prominent researchers, both in academia and industry. This has become an exciting time reaching beyond just scientific curiosity as CNF is beginning to enter various marketplaces. CNF shows unique and potentially useful features, which includes abundance, high specific surface area, renewability, high strength, eco-friendliness and high crystallinity. It is an excellent material for polymer reinforcement. Many studies have been conducted to understand the effects of CNF as a filler in polymer composites. Interestingly, most CNF polymer composites have shown a better mechanical performance compared to the neat base polymer. Thus, this enhances the application of CNF into reinforced polymer composites in several industries such as automotive, packaging, medical implant, electronics, building material and paper. Therefore, in this review, the performances of CNF polymer composites are carefully evaluated. Beyond that, several factors influencing the performance of these composites are discussed.

The threat of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is worrying as millions of people suffered from this outbreak. The COVID-19 can be airborne by attaching to human nasal or saliva secretion of an infected person or suspended fine particulates in the air. Therefore, in order to minimize the risks associated with this pandemic, an efficient, robust and affordable air‐borne virus removal filters are highly demanded for prevention of spreading viruses in hospitals, transportation hubs, schools, and/or other venues with high human turn‐over. Respirators such as N95, N99 and N100 as well as surgical masks have been widely used. To date, there is no filter standards or special filter technologies tailored for effectively adsorbing the airborne viruses. Studies had shown the electrostatic fibers were capable to entrap the negatively charged viruses including COVID-19. Researchers believed that the positive surface charge of filtration material is an important key to efficiently adsorb the negatively charged viruses. Nanocellulose has emerged as a new class of biobased material with promising potential application in the filtration of viruses. Nanocellulose which is uniform in diameter and has excellent nanofibrillar morphology. To the best of our knowledge, lack of study is done to determine the efficiency of cationic nanocellulose as filtration material of COVID-19.